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1971 Perceptive Intent in the Works of Guenter Grass: an Investigation and Assessment With Extensive Bibliography. George Alexander Everett rJ Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
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EVERETT, Jr., George Alexander, 1942- PRECEPTIVE INTENT IN THE WORKS OF GUNTER GRASS: AN INVESTIGATION AND ASSESSMENT WITH EXTENSIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY.
The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, Ph.D., 1971 Language and Literature, modern
University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan
THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PRECEPTIVE INTENT IN THE WORKS OF GUNTER GRASS;
AN INVESTIGATION AND ASSESSMENT
WITH EXTENSIVE BIBIIOGRAPHY
A Thesis
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
in The Department of Foreign Languages
by George Alexander Everett, Jr. B.A., University of Mississippi, 1964 M.A., Louisiana State University, 1966 May, 1971
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to thank Dr. S. James Hintze,
Dr. Earl N. Lewis, Dr. Don D. Moore, Dr. Hans-Jôrg
Nagelschmied, Dr. Edward J. Newby, Dr. Adolf E. Schroeder, Dr. Richard E. Wood, and the subject of
this paper, Gûnter W. Grass, for their assistance,
without which this dissertation would not have been
possible. The author wishes also to thank Rena N.
Everett for her untiring and selfless aid in preparing this manuscript in its present form. Appreciation is
also given to Louisiana State University and to the
Department of Foreign Languages for the graduate teach
ing assistantship which made this study possible.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to investigate the
ideas which the German author, Gunter Grass, wishes to
convey to the German youth of today and to find Grass’ reasons for so doing. To this end, a personal inter
view, personal correspondence, and an extensive study of the primary, secondary,and, in some cases, tertiary
works dealing with the author-politician Gûnter Grass
have been undertaken. We find, as a result of this investigation, that
Grass feels a need to teach the youth of Germany about
certain aspects of their past and present because he
knows of their ignorance of these facts, and because
this same ignorance of the truth behind publicized
stories has led to past human mistakes. Grass’ own metaphysical belief has also been found to be a real
cause for his ideas. His recollections and studies of
history, his interest in philosophy, and his personal credo— each, in its turn, has led him to advocate re liance in and dependency upon m a n ’ ability to reason.
Reason is considered by Grass to be preferable to re liance on a preconceived notion, on the false fronts
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. adopted by political and religious leaders, or on the
organized church of today.
History, in its purest sense, is the easiest text for the betterment of the future, according to
Grass; and man, being what he has become, is the chief hinderance toward this goal of betterment. On the other hand, this same man, in his most basic form, has the innate abilities necessary for the promotion of a
better future, when these abilities are combined with
the inborn gift of reason. It is further shown in this
paper that the beliefs of the man, Gûnter Grass, as
stated above, have led him to become the writer and
the politician, Gûnter Grass, and that he has thus become, in the truest sense of the word, a preceptor
of modern German youth.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OP CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I. GÛNTER GRASS: THE PRE CEPTOR...... 1
II. PRECEPTS OF HISTORY ...... 20
III. PRECEPTS OP POLITICS ...... 49
IV. GUNTER GRASS’ BELIEFS: THEIR SOURCE AND EFFECT ...... 77
V. THE NATURE OF M A N ...... 101
CONCLUSION ...... 119 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 128
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INTRODUCTION
Gûnter Grass has as his primary goal in life the desire to teach German youth the truths about the pres ent and the past. He feels that this can best be
accomplished through the written word. It is the intent
of this paper to delineate the reasons for his need to
write and to define the concepts on which he bases his
choice of subjects. We shall gain insight in this re
spect primarily from Gûnter Grass himself, and we shall
revert to the opinions of other writers only where there
is no direct statement to be found in Grass' works or
where the views of others are found to be both pertinent
and elucidating. We shall then investigate those precepts which
Grass desires to propound. His basic thoughts on this
subject seem to fall into five main categories: history,
social classes, politics, morals, and religion. These
categories are often difficult to separate. History
and politics are so closely related as to be almost inseparable. The same is true of morals and religion.
Therefore, for the purposes of this paper, it seems advisable to divide the preceptive material into three
vi
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. groups; history, politics and social classes, and morals
and religion.
Grass' ideas in regard to historic fact and fan
tasy and his reasons for so strongly advocating a true
knowledge of the facts of the past will be discussed.
We shall observe through his eyes the fallacies and faults of past and present governments in Germany and
hear his advice as to the possible betterment of such
institutions. Grass' own metaphysical viewpoint will
be investigated in order to find the basic underlying cause of his beliefs in regard to the topics already
mentioned, as well as the reasons for his rejection of
the church as it stands today. After discussing Grass' intention to teach and
viewing his precepts, we will turn our attention to the
nature of the man to whom Grass speaks— viewing him
through Grass' own angle of perception.
It is a subject of amazement to the author of
this paper, in view of the countless studies of the
works of Gûnter Grass and in view of his signal impor tance in present-day German literature and politics,
that there has been no in-depth study of this most impor
tant facet of the writings of Gûnter Grass. It is hoped
that this paper will contribute the keystone to the
bridge of this yawning gap. vii
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. To further aid in this direction, an attempt
has been made to append the most complete bibliography of primary and secondary source materials to be published
to date. Kurt Lothar Tank, Gert Loschütz, Theodor Wieser,
and Wilhelm Johannes Schwarz have each made the same attempt; but, in each case, a different factor was lack ing which would have completed the bibliography. The bibliographies of these men have been compared and here
appended with additions not-to be found in any other
works. It is for these reasons that this study has been
made.
viii
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GUNTER GRASS; THE PRECEPTOR
The word preceptor is derived from the Latin praeceptum. meaning to instruct, and it is defined by
Webster as one who makes "a commandment, instruction, or direction meant as a rule of action or conduct, a
rule of moral conduct."^
It is the purpose of this paper to demonstrate
that Gûnter Grass has the intent to be a preceptor, to indicate that he has as his students the German youth,
to point out why he feels the need to educate them, and
to define what it is that he wants to teach. Gûnter
Grass wishes to teach German youth to recognize the dan
ger of forgetting the past. Very skillfully, Grass
unfolds before our eyes the inherent chaos of the fate
ful epochs of German history. He possesses a clear and ironic view of the past and the present in Germany. Nothing escapes his scathing
irony. History, institutions, social classes, politics.
^Webster's New World Dictionary (Cleveland and New York: World PubTlsKihg Company, I960), p. 1147.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. morals, and religion: everything is affected by his
irritating ability to portray man and man's works in
an atmosphere which is at the same time both sad and
mediocre. His object in thus portraying Germans and Germany
is to teach the Geirman youth about their history, and thus to aid in making them and their country better:
"All die MSglichkeiten, die sich heutzutage einem Dreiûig-
jâhrigen bieten, mûfîen Oberpruft werden, womit überprüft,
wenn nicht mit meiner Trommel. So werde ich also jenes Liedchen, das mir immer lebendiger und furchterlicher 2 wird, auf mein Blech legen, ..." So speaks Oskar
Matzerath in the Blechtrommel, the work which first brought public attention to Gûnter Grass; and so speaks
Grass himself. In Hundejahre. Grass gives us a description of
himself in the following words: Bin Nichttater, der seinen Vater . . . mittels langer Gedichte in Schulheften zu ermorden ver- suchte und sein Mutter als KSchin bezeichnete. Bin empfindsamer Jimge. . . . Bin Betischist, der einen perlweiBen Schneidezahn aus Grunden im Portemonnaie trug. Bin Phantast, der viel log, leise sprach, und den andauernden Krieg als Ergânzung des Schulunterrichtes betrachtete. Bin Knabe . . . der den Führer, Ulrich von Hutten, den General Rommel, den Historiker Heinrich von Treitschke . . . mal Savonarola, dann wieder
P Gûnter Grass, Die Blechtrommel; Sonderausgabe (Neuwied: Luchterhand, 1^66), p. 'I1Ô.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Luther und seit einiger Zeit den Philosophen Martin Heidegger verehrte. Mit Hilfe dieser Vorbilder gelang es ihm, einen tatsachlichen, aus menschlichen Knochen erstellten Berg mit mittelalterlichen Allegorien zuzuschûtten.^
This autobiographical vignette is designed along literary-
historical lines just as Grass' thoughts are. In his works one can easily see that he attaches undue impor
tance to such things as eggs, teeth (always thirty-two
of them), and birds. That he is a visionary is supported
by the fact that he is an author of fiction, and fiction
is, by its very nature, made up or invented. That he
regards the war as a mere extension of his schooling is
understandable on the one hand, since he left his school
and immediately began waging war. On the other hand,
the quoted passage, as so many of Grass' statements, has the double meaning that it was indeed a furthering of his education. It taught him a lesson which he wants
now to pass on to the youth of Germany, so that they,
too, will be initiated. Grass' method of reaching the German youth has
been through the medium of his books, just as now through
his public speeches. Es kann nicht mein Ehrgeiz sein, den vSlkischen Parteibarden Pleyer Oder den ehemaligen SA- Obersturmbannführer und nun Propagandachef
^Gûnter Grass, Hunde.iahre (Neuwied; luchter hand, 1963), p. 375.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. der NPD Otto Hess, bekehren zu wollen,— war in sich hraun gefSrht ist, der vermag, das lehrt die Geschichte, allenfalls im stalinistischen Rot eine Alternative zu erblicken,— es geht mir um junge Wâhler, die allzu bedenkenlos bereit sind, sich auf ein Abenteuer einzulassen, das für unser Land, aber auch fûr einzelnen j ungen NPL-Wahler, schlimme und spurenlassende Polgen haben wird.2
Grass himself calls his works "ein Spielzeug . . . das
für die Jugend vom siebenten bis zum einundzwanzigsten
Lebensjahr bestimmt ist. The reasons for Gûnter Grass* intent to teach the
German youth, the outlook on life which causes him to feel that they need teaching, and his qualifications to
do so may be easily observed in a study of his works—
in looking into his themes and into the causes which have
induced these themes. Grass himself has made little secret of this subject. In Ortlich betaubt, he says:
"... heute schon bin ich ein Studienrat fur Deutsch
und also Geschichte, der seinen Schûler . . . überreden n mSchte, vom jugendlichen Anarchismus abzulassen. . . ."
Grass was born in Langfuhr, a suburb of the former
Free City of Danzig, in what is now Poland. The memory
^The so-called "Neo-Nazi" party in Germany. ^Gûnter Grass, Ober das Selbstverstandliche (Neuwied: Luchterhand, 1958), p. 113. 6 Grass, Hundejahre. p. 547. ^Gûnter Grass, Ortlich betâubt (Neuwied: Luchterhand, 1969), p. Ï6.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. of this town, populated by the working class and by
small businessmen, plays an important part in his
works. In fact. Grass says that Danzig is "die Haupt- stadt, der Mittelpunkt der Welt" to him.® This is
easily seen in that the only time Grass waxes senti mental, or shows weakness, sympathy, or warmth in his works is when he writes of Danzig and his childhood
there. His parents were poor but hard-working grocers.
His father was of Polish ancestry, and his mother was Q a mixture of Polish and Kaschubian. Grass' youth
did not pass as quietly as it should have, since in
1939, before he could finish Gymnasium, Poland fell into the hands of the invading German Nazis, or as Grass
puts it: "Die Preie Hansestadt Danzig konnte den An-
schlufi ihrer Backsteingotik an das Grofideutsche Reich
feiern und jubelnd jenem unermüdlich im schwarzen
Mercedeswagen stehenden, fast pausenlos rechtwinklig
grüûenden Mhrer und Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler in jene
blauen Augen sehen. . . This event proved to be a turning point in the life of the twelve-year-old Grass.
®Kurt Lothar Tank, "Gûnter Grass," K5pfe des XX. Jahrhunderts, ed. Otto H. Hess (Berlin: Colloquium Tërlag, 1565 )' TXXVIII, 12. ^Grass' affinity for the Kaschubians can be seen in the opening pages of Die Blechtrommel.
^^Grass, Die Blechtrommel, pp. 296-297.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Because of the pressures caused by this annex
ation, Grass became a member of the Hitler.iugend in
1942. ”Es war ja doch so schSn, die Uniform sonntags
auf der Maiwiese zu tragen," as Grass himself has said.^^ Two years later, at the age of sixteen, he was drafted,
just in time to take part in von Rundstedt's Ardennes offensive. After less than a year of fighting, he was
wounded and taken prisoner by Allied forces and removed
to a prisoner of war camp in south Germany. There he
washed dishes, peeled potatoes, and learned to hate 1 ? adults. Is it then any wonder that Oskar Matzerath
chose to remain a boy and not grow up?
l'or three years after his release from the camp.
Grass worked in a potash mine, studied stonemasonry and
sculpture, and carved tombstones for a living. He soon
felt, however, that he could achieve more by writing
memorials of the dead past than by carving memorials
of stone for the dead. Having himself experienced the conditions in
Danzig and in Germany before, during, and after the
years of Hitler, he now has the avowed intention of
^^In an interview with the author in Berlin, April 29, 1967. ^^Günter Grass, "Rede von der Gew3hnung," Frank furter Allgemeine Zeitung. Literaturblatt, March 20,
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. "drumming out" all of the mistakes and crimes of the
past and of giving the youth of today a more precise
perspective of those times. As he says:
Ich wurde im Jahre 1927 in Danzig geboren. Mit 10 Jahren war ich Mitglied des Jungvolkes, mit 14 Jahren wurde ich in die Hitlerjugend eingeglie- dert. Als 17 jâhriger war ich ein Panzerschütze. Und als 18 jâhriger wurde ich aus amerikanischer Kriegsgefangenschaft entlassen. Jetzt erst war ich erwachsen. . . . Jetzt erst, und Jahre spâter in immer erschreckenderem MaBe, begriff ich, welch unfassliche Verbrechen im Namen der Zukunft meiner Generation begangen worden waren. Ich begann . . . mein MiBtrauen einer sich schon wieder harmlos gebenden kleinbûrgerlichen Welt gegenûber zu schârfen. . . . Aber ich weiB auch, wie anfallig dieser Staat immer noch ist. Ob seine Fundamente von ganz links oder, wie zur Zeit, von ganz rechts untergraben werden sollen: es gilt ihn zu schützen,— und zwar nicht mit den unzulânglichen Mitteln eines Verfassungsschutzes, der Grund genug hâtte, sich selbst zu Überprûfen,— hier im offenen Gesprâch . . . gilt es, dem Verbrechen von damais jede Chance einer Neuauflage zu n e h m e n . l 5
Grass becomes almost rabid in his speeches when he begins to speak of the days of National Socialism and of the
problems of Germany which still remain for today’s Germans
as a result of those "Dog Years." Remembering those bad
times, he has not only faced the reality of present-day
Germany, but he has also attacked it and attempted to
change it thereby.
In Gleisdreieck. in his poem, ^ Ei, Grass informs
n % ## Grass, Uber das Selbstverstandliche, pp. 114- 115.
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us that:
Wir leben im Ei Wir werden gebrütet.
Wir nehmen an, dafi wir gebrütet werden
Und wenn.wir nun nicht gebrütet werden?^^ In the same work, in In Eigener Sache, he continues this
theme :
Er geht den HÜhnern nach, n5 als gene es darum, das Ei zu verbessem.
It is well known that the Greeks, Persians, Phoe
nicians, and Romans associated eggs with the waking earth.
What Grass means here is that we do indeed live in a
waking earth, that we are in a troubled state about our
future on this earth; and he continues, not by attempt ing to prophesy what might later be, but by saying that
we should better our world now. Thus, our doubts and
fears would, at least in part, be removed.
His world is a realistic one and admits of no
compromises. As a result of this, his writing is also
realistic and without compromise. He has said: Die Blechtrommel ist zu allererst ein realistischer feoman. Die Èatlre, die Legende, die Parabel, die Gespenstergeschichten, kurz, allés was heutzutage
^^Günter Grass, Gleisdreieck (Neuwied; luchter hand, i960), pp. 30-51. l^ibid.. p. 77.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. dummvereinfacht als Surrealismus abgesteinpelt wird, dienen und gehSren dieser Realitât.
Seien wir uns dessen bewufit; das Gedicht kennt keine Compromisse; wir aber leben von Kompro- missen. Wer diese Spannung tâtig aushalt, ist ein Narr und ândert die Welt,17
Soil man die NPD totschweigen? Wer neben vollaufgedrehten lautsprechem zu leben vermag, m3ge schweigen; ich spreohe gegen-an.l° We live in a state of compromise, but in a world which admits no compromise if it is to be changed, and Gûnter
Grass is trying to change it by enlisting the aid of
the youth to whom he writes and to whom he usually speaks.
He has great faith in the ability of German youth to
affect change. And he hopes to influence them to make
changes which will lead to better conditions, rather
than to make "changes" in the present system which would
throw them back to the problems of the previous eras, back to the policies which brought death, misery, destruc
tion, and self-denigration to the German people.
We can easily see this idea in the Blechtrommel,
as elsewhere.He shows, in the person of Egon Mûnzer, the average post-war German, how a man can be content
to lie in a soiled bed of his own making, complacently
Tank, "Gûnter Grass," p. 57. Grass, Uber das Selbstverstandliche, p. 112.
'Ibid.. p. 119. 'Grass, Die Blechtrommel. pp. 602-609.
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wallowing in self-pity. He is ashamed of his scapegoat
father, hut yet frivously able to turn over the reins
of government to the same noblemen who had engineered 20 the conditions in which the Germans now find themselves.
The expression "aus den Augen, aus dem Sinn" occurs to one immediately. Grass' self-avowed purpose is to
bring what has been lost to sight back into view. 21 In the podium scene of the same work, Oskar
instructed that, "Wer eine TribOne von hinten anschau-
te, . . . wird . . . gegen jegliche Zauberei, die in
dieser oder jener Form auf Tribünen zelebriert wird,
gefeit sein." Grass has no place in his world for
those who merely look on the surface of things and who
are satisfied thereby. Thus, besides reviewing for
gotten days and events, Grass attempts to bring falsely
remembered events into their proper perspective.
Grass' early poetry had a decidedly political
nature. He wrote about the trafficking between East and West Berlin ("Gleisdreieck"), the state control in
the East ("Ausverkauf"), the Nazi past ("Das grofle Mund- aufmachen") ("Adebar"), Differing from his contemporaries,
George A. Everett, Jr., "Swift's Gulliver's Travels and Grass' Die Blechtrommel," M.A. Thesis Louisiana State University 1966, pp. 28-29. PI Grass, Die Blechtrommel. pp. 154-141.
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Grass became more than just an engagierter Schrift-
steller. a term which he hates. As we have seen, he later took an active role in the political scene. He
began by writing speeches for Willy Brandt, and later
he, himself, spoke for the Social Democratic Party
during the election campaigns, Theodor Wieser, in his book, Portrât und Poesie. informs us that Grass:
. . . hat es in seinen Romanen untemommen, die Leser an die deutsche Wirklichkeit der letzten Jahrzehnte heranzufûhren; Über einzelnen über- dimensionierten Satiren an bundesrepublikanischen Zustânden vergaû mancher Kritiker, daS in diesen BClchem, ganz abgesehen von der kÔnstlerischen Leistung, deutsche Schicksale in den Brechungen der jOngsten deutschen Geschichte und Politik wiedergegeben werden, Klischees werden weggerSumt, jene Ubergânge sichtbar, wo Gut und B3se, Gleich- gûltigkeit und Panatismus sich mischen. Darin vor allem 13st Grass jede Ideologic auf,22
Certainly one can find caricaturistic portrayals of West
German events, but the important facet— to this study,
or to any consideration of the author Gûnter Grass— is
that Grass reconstructs the basic patterns underlying
the Nazi years, without depending on any political one
sidedness, which would weaken his case. It speaks for itself that he is able to effectively present his case for a new Germany by merely drawing a true, unbiased
picture of the old Germany,
^^"GOnter Grass,” Portrât und Poesie (Neuwied: Luchterhand, 1968), p. 48.
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Grass is very interested in removing the rose-
colored glasses from the German people partly because
he has had his own removed. Not only does he remove
these glasses, but he attempts to go one step farther—
to substitute other glasses for them. These substitute
glasses, his books, he calls "Erkennungsbrillen" for the reason that "Vater und Mutter . . . entdecken,
erkennen, schlimmer noch: entlarven die /substituierten/ Brillen.”^^ Grass continues by saying: Die Jugend gewinnt Einblick, . . . Episoden, die aus diesen oder jenen Grunden den heran- wachsenden Kindern verschwiegen wurden, werden greifbar deutlich. . . . Gewalttatten, verübt geduldet veranlaGt vor elf zwolf dreizehn Jahren: Mord, oft hundertfacher. . . . Viele bleiben so gut wie ungeschehen . . . bis im elften Nach- kriegsjahr die Wunderbrillen auf den Markt kommen und Tâter zur Schau stellen. 24-
He knows the realities of the war and its causes, and
this is the story he tells in Katz und Maus. He has
also said in a speech in Germany: Ich will nicht von den unfafilichen Zahlen, von den Millionen Ermordeten, Verhungerten, und sinnlos Gefallenen sprechen. Nur von jenen ûber dreifiig Siebenzehnjahrigen spreohe ich, die vor uber zwanzig Jahren, gleich mir, am ersten Tag unseres sogennanten Kampfeinsatzes nicht3 als Angst hatten, bevor sie, ohne auch nur einen Gegner gesehen zu haben, zerrissen, vernichtet wurden. Von diesem organisierten Wahnsinn gilt es zu sprechen. . . . Um es klar
^^Grass, Hundejahre, p. 549.
^^Ibid.. pp. 550ff.
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zu sagen; Der Kreig setzte sich nicht zusammen aus Ritterkreuztrager~Hist5rchen; vielmehr war ar der geplante und fortwahrende Verschleifi von jungen Menschen, die leben, auf jeden Fall leben wollten und denen jede MSglichkeit des Protestes gegen die demagogische Heroisierung ihres Todes genommen wurde.25
Grass does not consider or abnegate the effects of Nazism;
rather he seeks out the roots of the disease and exposes
them to the light of truth in order to eradicate the possibility of their springing forth again. Purely and
simply; the Army was composed of youths who fought and
died, who knew nothing of the real reasons for fighting
and dying; youths who simply were wiped out by the god
of war, and who, afterwards, were lionized as heroes in
the same way the Aztecs' sacrifices were idolized as
messengers to the gods. Grass wants none of this. He wants, quite the contrary, to show war as it really is—
as a child-killer and a destroyer of a way of life. His
book, Katz und Maus. has as its underlying theme this
very idea. The propagandizing of the schoolboys by
"Einer von uns, aus unserer Mitte, aus dem Geist unseres 26 Gymnasiums hervorgegangen. ..." is a good example of what Grass decries. This soldier describes war as being romantic, brotherly, and beautiful:
^^Grass, Uber das Selbstverstândliche. p. 115. ^^GOnter Grass, Katz und Maus (Neuwied: Luch terhand, 1964), p. 80.
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'Mannschaft ist eine eingeschworene Gemein- sohaft, derm fern der Heimat, Belastung der Nerven enorm, mUfit euch mal vorstellen, mitten im Atlantik oder im Eismeer unser Boot eine Sar- dinenbüchse, eng feucht heiû. . . .* Peinlich wurde ea, wenn er Sonnenunter- gânge auszupinseln begann: . die atlantische Nacht wie ein aus Raben gezaubertes Tuch. . . . welch ein fremd^tiges Geleucht über der blutvoll rollenden S e e ! * 2 /
Grass has taken this poetic propaganda, this method of inspiring and indoctrinating the German youth to go to war and be killed; and he has reversed it for his own
purpose— that of giving his young readers basic pre
cepts by which to avoid political tribunes and tribunals.
Being himself the typical "burned child," Grass is not
only determined to avoid fire, but he also wants to
teach others to avoid it. Grass also realizes how much circumstances and
human fallibility have to do with the course of history— whether it be the individual history of one person, or the collective history of a nation or a world. His
novel Hunde.iahre describes how these circumstances and human errors caused the enmity between childhood friends,
Walter Matern, a Catholic, and Eddi Amsel, a Jew. Pres sure from home, from his friends^ and from the government
of the time caused Matem to sink so low as to attack his friend, Amsel, in the dark of night with other SS
2?Ibid.. pp. 82-84.
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friends. As Matem himself later confesses;
'Ja, ich habe ihn geliebt. Und sie haben ihn mir genommen. Schon als Knabe schützte ich ihn mit meinen Faust en, denn wir Matems, alle meine Vorfahren, Simon Materna, Gregor Materna, wir haben immer die Schwachen. Aber die andern waren stSrker, und ich konnte nur ohnmachtig zusehen, wie Terror diese Stimme zerbrach. Eddi, mein Eddi! Seitdem ist auch in mir viel zerbrochen unheilbar: Miûklang, Scherbengericht. Bruchstücke meiner selbst, nie mehr zu ordnen.'^S
Grass then strengthens his argument by creating a scene
in which we see that no answers are given to Matem.
Instead he is merely smothered with platitudes by well-
meaning friends: "Hier widerspricht Praulein Oelling,
und die Herren Lüxenich und Petersen, anteilnehmend
ûber funkelndem Mosel, stimmen ihr zu: 'Lieber Ereund,
nie zu spat. Zeit heilt Wunden. Musik heilt Wunden. Glaube heilt Wunden. Kunst heilt Wunden. Besonders
liebe heilt Wunden!'— Alleskleber. Gummi Arabicum.
Uhu. Porzellankitt. Spuke."^^ Not only were the Germans capable of turning on friends, but afterward
they soothed their consciences with such false remedies
as time, the music of Heilige Cacilie. faith, art, and love. These things are the "omnistickum" for the broken
pieces of their consciences, an4, according to Grass,
are only as good for that purpose as spittle.
28Grass, Hunde.iahre, pp. 465-466.
^^Ibid.. p. 466.
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In a speech, "Rede von der GewShnimg, " made in
Israel and published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung. Grass tells a parallel to the Matern-Amsel
story, in which Ben, a Jewish boy and Dieter, a German, are friends who have troubles because of a third friend.
This time, however, one receives the feeling that this story is taken from the life of Gûnter Grass, He then
tells a further parallel— that of Adenauer and Ben Gurion.
Although these two men were friends, their relationship was, for a time, strained by the fact that Adenauer's
assistant, Hans Globke, was among those who explicated
the Nürnberg racial laws. Grass continues by saying
that habituation to political crimes merely opens the door to new crimes, and is therefore not a good solution.
Instead of this habituation to crime, Grass offers rea
son. The following is an excerpt from this speech,
and would serve as a summary of what has been said
already in this paper; demand kommt aus einem der beiden Deutschland /sic/ und erzâhlt Ihnen eine Geschichte. Warum erzSUblt er Geschichten und ruft nicht auf zur VersShnung, BrÛderlichkeit, zur Sûhne? Weil er nicht fdr Ladenhüter werben will. . . . Es ist zu spat, das Gewiasen aufzurufen. Zweiundzwanzig Jahre, nachdem das groûte Verbrechen der Mensch- heit durch die bedingungslose Kapitulation des Grofideutschen Reiches an weiterer Verbreitung gehindert wurde, hat sich GewShnung an das
Grass, "Rede von der GewShnung."
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Verbrechen ausgebreitet. Es 1st Schulpensum geworden und bleibt den Geschichtslehrern aus- geliefert. Und wo bleibt das Positive? Die Spraohe raeines Landes kennt das Wort 'Nestbe- schmutzung*. . . . Auch diese Rede von der Gew3hnung an das politischen Verbrechen wird, sobald ich sie dem Laser in der Bundesrepublik vorgelegt haben werde, den Titel 'Nestbeschmut- zung' aushalten mils sen. Denn ich habe versaumt, vom 'schSnen V/esterwald' zu singen. Da ich nicht bereit war, illusionSre Steckenpferde zu reiten, war nicht die Rede von VersShnung und BrUderlichkeit, . . . Zwei Manner in der Tret- mühle der Vemunft waren mir Vorbild. Denn nur fûr die Vernunft will ich werben. Schwach steht sie zwischen wachsender Gewohnimg. Sie bedarf der Hilfe, auch Ihrer Hilfe.^l
What Grass is essentially saying here is that he tells
stories instead of preaching because he feels that preaching is for those who advocate the "live and let
live" type of habituation, existing both yesterday and
today. He has another reason for telling his stories,
which may be equated with the one just given: "Denn
Solange wir noch Geschichten erzahlen, leben wir . . .
Solange uns Geschichten noch zu unterhalten vermSgen,
vermag keine H311e uns unterhaltsam sein. . . . Erzahle, "52 Solange Dir Lein Leben lieb ist." Yet another reason for writing his advice to
youth, instead of initiating some action to point up
^^Ibid. ^^Grass, Hundejahre, p. 641.
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his teachings, is that the written word is lasting. As
he says in Ortlich hetâubt;
Sie glauhen nicht an das Wort, Sie wollen Ak- tionen, die Tat. Nehmen wir an, Sie machen, was Sie vorhahen. Sie verbrennen Ihren Max vor dem Kempenski. Die Leute schlagen Sie wenn nicht tod, dann doch Krankenhausreif. . . . Und vierzehn Tage spater spricht kein Mensch mehr davon. . . . Dagegen: Sie setzen sich hin und schreiben die Ballade vom Dackel Max. Wenn Ihnen des Song gelingt, wird er bleiben und alle Schlagzeilen ûberleben.^^ His tales stress reason. In advocating the kind
of reason which he does. Grass has run the risk of being
called a Nestbeschmutzer. as he has indeed been called;
but for the sake of what he feels to be the reasonable
approach for changing what we consider today's reality,
he does as he feels he must. In a mock "Report Card for Postwar Germany,"
Grass makes the following remarks:
Oral; Satisfactory; Written: Adequate; Religion: Good; Conduct: Unstable; Geography: Terrible— student using out-of-date maps; General Evaluation: Learns quickly but forgets much faster. Often depressed but then, without reason, satisfied. Always puts the blame on others. Grabs, as soon as big troubles loom, for radical solutions. Pupil passes— on proba tion. 54
^^Grass, Ortlich betaubt. pp. 222-223. ^^"Report Card for Postwar Germany," Baton Rouge Morning Advocate. February 3, 1969, p. 3-A.
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He decries the inability of the German to accept the
facts— facts of life such as the Oder-Neiûe Line, such
as the fact that West Berlin will remain an island in
East Germany, and, that, barring another World War,
the two Germanies will never be one again. The first
step in restructuring today's Germany is for the German youth to realize what present-day Germany really is.
Then, by learning how and what Germany previously was, they should begin restructuring in order to avoid the
errors of the past, retaining those desirable features
which are so entirely compatible with the German nature. The tension and pressures inherent in such a role
as preceptor can easily be imagined. For engaging him
self in such a course, and for other reasons, GOnter
Grass has often been called a fool. But as he himself
admits, "Wer diese Spannung tâtig aushalt, ist ein Harr,
und ândert die Welt.(Emphasis mine) And that,
indeed, is his goal.
^^Grass, Uber das Selbstverstândliche, p. 112.
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PRECEPTS OF HISTORY
History, and the lessons which we can learn from
it, are' the prime motivating interests of Gunter Grass.
By actual page count, of the 1,572 pages inclusive in
his first three novels, 154 concern themselves with
pure history. The fact that approximately one-tenth
of these novels is concerned with pure history is suffi
cient to show us the author’s interest in and dependency
upon the history of Eanzig and Germany. Grass believes that the youth of today should know not only the history
of the Third Reich, but also the totality of history.
In 1969 he told radical students in Frankfurt that they
should begin their study of history with the year zero,^
emphasizing again his point that "Revolutionaries" should
study the past successes and failures of former insur
gents before making their own moves. In Ortlich betaubt
he outlines this idea in more detail: Ich versuchte, immer auf Pakten gestûtzt.
^Henry Raymont, "Frankfurt: Buffoons and Tra gedians," American-German Review. 35» No, 2 (1969), 17. 20
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Scherbauin mit dem Chaos der Geschichte bekannt 2u machen Ich legte es darauf an, die Absurditât vernünftig gemeinter Handlungen bloûzulegen. AuÛerplanmâSig behandelten wir die franzSsische Revolution und ihre Auswirkungen. Ich begann mit dem Ursachenzusammenhang. (Die Ideen der Aufklarung: Montesquieu, Rousseau. Die Kritik der Physiokraten am merkantilist- ischen Wirtschaftssystem und am standischen Stufenaufbau der Gesellschaft.) Bis zur ErmÜdung machte ich Scherbaum auf die Auseinandersetzungen zwischen den Vertretern der liberalen und der totalen Demokratie aufmerksam. (Ableitungen auf die spateren GegensStze zwischen parlamentar- ischer— formaler— Demokratie und dem Rate-System.) Wir sprachen Ober die moralisohe Rechtfertigung des Terrors...... Schliefîlich dokumentierte ich, wie— und wie unersattlich— die Revolution ihre Kinder frifit...... Und wie allés in Reformismus endete. Das hâtte man, bei Geduld, billiger haben konnen. So wurde Napoleon mSglich. Die Revolution als Reproduktion...... Des- gleichen Auswirkungen aufierhalb Prankreichs; Forster in Mainz. (Wie ihm die Luft ausgeht. Wie er verreckt. Wie ihn Paris einnimmt und ausspeit.) .... (Ahnlich Marcuse. Flucht in die Heilslehre: befriedetes Dasein.) Vorsicht- ig zitierte ich Seneca, bevor ich den resignierenden Pestalozzi zitierte: ’Bessere Menschen werden einst auch bessere Menschen an ihre Spitze rufen ... .‘2
This statement comes as a result of Grass’ belief in the
pendulum theory of history, i.e. in the recurrence of
events, given the same favorable conditions. He points
out in the Blechtrommel: "... daB es schon damais, zu Belisars Zeiten, wechselvoll zuging, daB man auch
damais schon, geographisch recht weitraumig, Siege und
Niederlagen an FluBûbergangen und Stadten feierte Oder
^Grass, Ortlich betâubt. pp. 199-201.
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% einsteckte.”^ Grass repeats this idea poetically in
the Himde.jahre; "Kartoffeln, vor Himdejahren gemampft,
sollen Euch heute beweisen, dafi es damais Kartoffeln
schon gab. Mordmotive von einst sind leitmotivs von jetzt."4
Grass is of the opinion that history is no more than a bellicose progression of hostilities. "Wahrend die Geschichte lauthals Sondermeldungen verkündend wie
ein gutgeschmiertes Gefâhrt Europas StraGen, Wasserwege und LUfte befuhr, durchschwamm und fliegend eroberte, liefen meine Geschâfte, . . schlecht, zôgernd, über- c. haupt nicht mehr. It is perfectly understandable that Grass should
so perceive history. Danzig, his birthplace, was in earliest times the land of the Rugii; then the Goths
and Gepidae came. The Kashubes took it from them and
the Poles, in turn, from the Kashubes (or Borussians),
who retook Danzig and had it taken from them by the
Brandenburgers, and again by the Poles. Prom 1257 to 1508 the Princes of Pomerelia ruled. The German Teutonic Knights took over from them until approximately 1466.
Grass, Die Blechtrommel. p. 580.
4Grass, Hunde.jahre. p. 596. 5Grass, Die Blechtrommel. p. 505.
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The Brandenburgers returned, only to be thrown out by
the Bishops of Wroolawek, who were deposed by the
Hussites. The Poles of one dynasty returned again, only
to succumb to another dynasty, the Jagellons; the Swedes
attempted several times in vain to possess Danzig, but
the Poles held on until 1815, when Napoleon's troops arrived. After seven years, the Russians and Prussians
occupied the city. Danzig was involved in the Franco- Prussian War of 1870. It was returned to the Poles,
but was a part of Germany in 1914 and was an integral
part of the Eastern Front until 1920, after the cessa
tion of World War I. It was then made a Free City which
bordered on the Polish Corridor until 1935 when the
German Nazis took over again. At war's end it was
returned to Poland in 1945, a position which it still holds today. One can easily see how Grass thus equates
history with war! His intention in including so many references to
history is transpairent. The major reasons for these in
clusions are that Grass realizes that what was actually the past has been forgotten by, or intentionally kept from today's youth. He repeatedly makes this statement.
In the Hunde.jahre. he has M a t e m say: "Sie überschâtzen
die Qualitat deutscher LesebÛcher gehSrig. Da steht
nach wie vor der alte Mist drin. Niemand, der die
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Jugend mal richtig aufklSrt über die Vergangenheit and
so welter. Lauter lûgengeschichtenîIn Grass' "Re
port Card" the average German's geography is terrible—
"Student using out-of-date maps" and he "learns quickly 7 but forgets much faster."
We hear this story again in Ausgefragt. his
latest volume of poetry;
Uns Geschâdigten . . . ordnet die Géographie wirre Geschichte;
Schonungen geben dem land Enge und Hoffnung, damit Nutzholz und eine neue Generation schon morgen vergiSt, wie verschuldet, wie abgeholzt Schwarzwâlder waren.° Here he makes a pun on the word "Schonungen," using it
in the sense of both "tree nurseries" and "indulgences."
The German parents are trying to bring up a new genera tion of youth— one which is "spared" the truth about
the German people. If we consider the facts, we can easily deduce
sound reasons for Grass' preoccupation with teaching
German youth about history. If history is equated with
war, and if history is a recurrence of events under
^Grass, Hundenahre, p. 631. ^"Report Card for Postwar Germany." p GOnter Grass, Ausgefragt (Neuwied; Luchter- hand, 1967), p. 72.
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favorable circumstances, then it follows that, with
"favorable" circumstances, war will come again to
Germany. The remedy is to ferret out these "favorable"
circumstances which give birth to and nurture war. « This cannot be accomplished without knowing what these circumstances are, and the only way to learn these
facts is to study a true picture of what the past has held— not to hide the facts from the "new generation,"
fearing it to be too much for the youthful mind!
Ralf Dahrendorf, a friend of GOnter Grass, a
cabinet member, and a historical philosopher, is a
celebrated spokesman for the new generation of young
German intellectuals. In his book. Society and Demo cracy in Germany, he seems to agree with Grass: "Where
did the totalitarian potential in National Socialism
stem from? This is an historical question. . . ."^
"So Germany's most terrible answer to the German question
took its course. At its beginning stood an historical
error. . . An historical error was the basis on
which the German people allowed National Socialism to become a reality, and its totalitarian potential is also
Ralf Deihrendorf, Society and Democracy in Germany (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Com pany, Inc. 1967), p. 390. l°Ibid.. p. 400.
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an historical question. It is therefore quite easy to
understand Grass' thesis that a knowledge of history
is indispensable to the solution of problems both now
and for the future.
Fortunately, merely because he suffered and lost so much during the days of the Third Reich, he does not completely reject the past as something of which to be ashamed. Grass sincerely loves the essence
of "old Germany." He is extremely sorry to see the old
folkways and dialects dying out, and he has attempted to aid in bringing them back to life. He delights in portraying the "Hanziger Platt" dialect in his works
as well as the old customs of the northeastern sector
of Germany. In a political speech. Was ist des Deutschen
Vaterland. he pleads: "Schlufi mit den kostspieligen . . . Plüchtlingstreffen. Aber an ihrer Stelle fordere ich die ernsthafte Erforschung aussterbender Dialekte,
und . . . die Gründung von gutgeplanten . . . nicht nur
musealen Stâdten, die Neu-KÔnigsberg . . . und Neu-Danzig
heifien mdgen. In his works. Grass presents us with the nega
tive as well as the positive aspects of German history. This not only yields a good poetic balance and contrast
^^Günter Grass, Was ist des Deutschen Vaterland (Neuwied: Luchterhand, 1'9'65), p. 7.
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to the good facets of politico-historical fact, but also
allows him to achieve his goal of pointing up the evils
so that later generations may avoid them. He sees the
fallacies inherent in totally reviving the past, for
that would necessarily include Bismarck, Hitler, and
what Grass considers to be other great mistakes imbedded in the past of Germany. History does not necessarily mean only ancient
history. History can mean yesterday or 1938, and the
German people, as we shall see, ai*e actually beginning
to bring back mistakes made in the years 1932-1938 in an indirect manner. It is a political truism that the
voter has the shortest memory of all. The realization of this and the attempt to combat it brought Grass into
the political arena, about which we will later speak. 12 Egon Mûnzer admitted to never having heard of Danzig.
This is inexcusable, in itself, but he further indicated
a desire to return it to the hands of those lords who
lost it in the first place. Leaving the fictional and entering the real world of today, we see the German voter returning Kurt Georg Kiesinger and Heinrich Lûbke to power, having obviously forgotten that they were
important Nazis.
1 ? Grass, Die Blechtrommel. pp. 624-625.
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Ein Beispiel mag erklâren, wie eine irrationale Entscheidung irrationale Reaktionen provoziert: Im Eezember 1966 wurde der ehemalige National- sozialist Kurt Georg Kiesinger zum Bundeskanzler gewahlt. . . . Und Kurt Georg Kiesinger verharm- loste die NPB. . . . und er sei weder aus Opportunismus noch aus Uberzeugung in die NSDAP eingetreten . . . dabei liegt offen zutage, dafi er kein ganz grofier und kein ganz kleiner Nazi gewesen ist, daB er immer nur seinen Schreibtisoh wahrgenommen hat.
So much, at the risk of passing into the realm of poli
tics, will suffice to show that Grass is at once both
aware of the problems and engaged in combatting them.
The search for the past, with which Grass is
continuously concerned, constantly reappears in his
works. In the persons of Oskar Matzerath, Joachim
Mahlke, Eduard Amsel, and Walter Matern, the novelist calls together his own childhood memories. Although he
has been away from Danzig since the war years, he does
not describe his home with the romantic yearning of
the refugee. Where Thomas Mann portrayed Lübeck in such a manner as to evoke tears of sentimentality. Grass
describes Danzig with the clinical objectivity of a
physician's report, in that he is more attentive to those aberrations which cause trouble than to those
which are benign. This impersonal description allows
him to see the period in a more proper perspective. He
^^Günter Grass, "Uber Ja und Nein," Die Zeit. No. 51, December 24, 1968, p. 9.
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is, at the same time, both physician and patient. He
expresses this phenomenon in Davor; "Wie Sie den Unter-
schied zwischen Lehrenden und Lemenden aufheben wollen,
so werden wir den Unterschied zwischen Arzt und Patient
endgûltig abbauen— und zwar systematisch. As a
physician he heals himself, and this is precisely what he admonishes youth to do. One must become involved, and, to be certain of one’s own cure, must actively par
ticipate in it. The Halbstarkenrevolution in 1965-1966, and today's student revolt against the present show that
youth is indeed becoming engaged in the transformation
of the present. Grass calls upon them in the name of
humanity to consider the past when forming the future, so as to assure themselves of a future which will be
better than past or present, and which will perhaps
allow us to tell time by means other than wars and cata
clysms. He asks them to guard the good things they have
and not throw them away in the rehabilitation of Germany:
Es ist sinnlos, Taschenmesser in Plüsse zu wer- fen. . . . Genau so sinnlos war es, den sogenannten Nibelungenhort im Rhein zu versenken. . . . Doch nun genug zwischen TÜr und Angel geplaudert. Keinen Dank, bitteÎ Allenfalls Geduld, meinen kleinen Ratschlag zu hôren: tragen Sie dem frischgewonnenen Besitz mehr Sorge. Werfen Sie ihn nicht, wie einst in die Weichsel, heut in
^^GOnter Grass, Davor (Berlin: Gustav Kiepen- heuer Btthnenvertriebs, p. 5.
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IB die Spree. . . . ^
This seems an apt summation of the thoughts of Gûnter
Grass on history in its larger sense. Within this larger frame lie multitudes of smaller facets, the individual
components of history, the events themselves. We shall
now inspect these individual events through Grass' eyes
in order to gain knowledge of his own feelings toward them.
It is difficult to separate the histories of Dan
zig and Germany from one another— indeed, GOnter Grass
has seemingly not been able to do so himself. The two histories have been so intertwined and are so mutually
dependent on one another that the history of the one would be left lacking without the history of the other.
As long ago as the fourteenth century, the Teutonic
Knights established a Germanic military outpost in
Danzig. Hitler's 88 troops in Poland were nothing more than a rebirth of this order, also dedicated to
extending the borders of Germany.
In Hunde .jahre and Die Blechtrommel. are to be found many summaries of the history of Danzig^^ and the
area in which Danzig is to be found, Koshnavia. 17 These
15^Grass, Hunde .jahre. p. 635. ^^Examples of this are to be found in Die Blech trommel. pp. 384-386 and Hunde .jahre. pp. 277-278. 17 'Grass, Hunde.jahre. p. 133.
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sketchy summaries provide two important functions. On
the one hand, they serve to show that the history of
this area is characterized by a series of wars and con
quests. (The only historical event mentioned which is
not a conquest is the Franco-Polish Treaty of the 19th
Century— a treaty which was broken by the French.) On the other hand, these summaries are so constructed as
to entice the reader to delve more deeply in this his
tory using outside works which are not so sketchy. In
this way, the reader learns more about history, just as
Grass desires him to do. Grass describes the Peasants' War in South Germany T8 circa 1525, calling the peasants "Waldundwiesescheuchen."
He leaves no doubts about his feelings that these "scare
crows"^^ were nothing more than "Storfrieden— Landlaufer
und Erzknappen, Kuttentrager und Wiedertaufer . . . 20 Lumpen und Pracherflebben . . . Mordmotiven, ..." Very seldom does Grass become so sarcastic, m r does he
usually hurl such bitter invectives in his works. How
ever, as we shall see, he has good reasons to do so. Prinz Hubertus zu LSwenstein in his Basic History
18 Ibid.. p. 619. ^^The scarecrow is a symbol used by Grass as the denigration of a man into a war-loving animal.
20Grass, Hunde.jahre. p. 619.
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of Germany describes the Peasants' Revolt in the follow
ing manner;
Their leaders aimed at restoring a strong imperial power and . . . at creating a central parliament in which also the peasants were to be represented. . . . However, despite their strength in number, the peasants' army, ill-equipped and badly organ ized, proved unequal to the well-trained armies of the princes. . . . The Peasants' War laid waste large parts of Germany, Austria, Alsace, and Switzerland. Prom the Rhine to the Adriatic Sea, Germany was in flames. Some charred traces can still be seen today in the 'romantic' ruins of many a castle in Southern and Southwestern Germany.21
Here is the answer to Grass' anger. Little people tried
to set up an amazingly modern state in Germany. They,
being neither properly equipped nor well-organized,
succeeded only in setting Germany back in its develop ment. Grass wants also for modern youth to attempt to
make Germany better, but he decries the modern method of student revolt just as he scorns those same methods
used in 1525. Also— and this might well be the greater
reason for his ire— the German people look at the "roman tic ruins" of castles for their present romantic beauty
and refuse to look "hinter die Tribflne" and see that the castles are in ruins because of a blundering action
of would-be reformers. Again, the Germans pick up their
pi Prinz Hubertus zu LSwenstein, A Basic History of Germany (Bonn; Inter Nationes, 19657, p. 51.
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"rose-colored glasses" far too readily.
The next important event mentioned by Grass is
the conquest of Danzig in 1807 by Napoleon on his march to his downfall in Moscow at the close of the war. This
conquest lasted for a very short time and ended in a
siege. "Auf den Bastionen . . . husteten die Franzosen unter Rapp, spuckten die Polen mit ihrem Pdrsten Radzi-
vil, heiserte das Corps des einarmigen Capitaine de 22 Chambure." One-third of Napoleon's "Grand Army" con
sisted of Germans in their march against Russia. Napoleon's
downfall can be partly ascribed to the fact that the
Prussians, the Austrians, and the Confederation of the
Rhine deserted him and signed treaties of friendship and
neutrality with the Russians. Undermanned and almost
unmanned by this, Napoleon met his defeat.
It could be that Grass shows us here again the need for being organized and properly equipped for a
struggle, but also the need for remaining so throughout the strife. However, from his choice of scenes— the
final siege— and from his depiction of the men on both sides standing and spitting at each other, it would seem more likely that he wants us to perceive the futility
of over-reaching one's goals. He has said that the
22 Grass, Hunde .jahre, p. 11,
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German youth should attempt to better their country, but he does not want a total revolt, and he does not
want youth to try to do too much in too little time.
One might say he is advocating a kind of gradualism.
Later in his works we see mention of French-
Danzig involvement during the War of 1870. For this. Grass says he uses Keyser's Geschichte der Stadt Danzig:
"Wâhrend des Deutsch-FranzSsischen Krieges , . . liefen
. . . vier franzSsische Kriegsschiffe in die Danziger
Bucht ein . . . da gelang es wâhrend der folgenden Nacht
der Schrauberkorvette 'Nymphe’ . . . den im Putziger Wiek 2? ankemden Flottenband zum Rûckzug zu zwingen."
This passage again contains a two-fold message. Relying on the now famous "Ems Dispatch," Bismarck had
forced the French to begin the war of 1870. As Prince
zu LSwenstein again explains: "Relying upon an army
wrongly believed to be superior, anticipating . . . as sistance that failed to materialize, and hoping in vain
for inner German dissention, the French government de- 24 dared war on the North German Confederation. . . . " The French, deluded by the Germans into an early attack, had again tried and failed for the same reasons
^^Erich Keyser's Geschichte der Stadt Danzig as cited by Grass, Die Blechtrommel, p. È7&.
^^LSwenstein, p. 99.
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as before— lack of preparation and lack of manpower.
Again Grass emphasizes the need for strength and pre
paration. The second message of this passage is that strength and preparation are not the only grounds for
a successful "revolution.”
We see in the Zeyser passage that four French
battleships were forced into retreat by a mere screw corvette. We are not told how this was accomplished,
but one might assume that Captain Weickmann's belief in
his cause and the desire to defend his home led him to
his victory. More is therefore needed. Desire and be
lief in one's cause are necessary ingredients for a complete and lasting victory. Now Grass treats the Second World War and the
conditions surrounding it, about which he feels more
deeply than any other period. As a member of the liter
ary group. Die Gruppe 47. Grass, like most other post
war German authors, writes to a great extent about the
days of National Socialism and the Third Reich. He, himself, experienced the war at first hand and suffered from it. His novels Hunde .jahre. Katz und Maus. and Die
Blechtrommel are based on his own experiences during those years. His play Hochwasser proceeds from a rela
ted idea, and his volumes of poetry are filled with
references to this era of German history.
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As G-rass describes it, Poland, and therefore
Danzig, fell to the Germans in 1933: Oh, du irrsinnige Kavallerieî Mit lanzen, weil3~ rot bewimpelt. . . . Attaken aus Bilderbüchern .... Immer auf Abendrot war tend. Erst dann greift die Kavallerie an, wenn Vorder- und Hinter- grund prâchtig, denn malerisch ist die Schlaoht, der Tod ein Modell für die Maler. . . . ühlanen . . . sie wenden, wo Strohmieter stehen— auch das gibt ein Bild— i ^ e Pferde und sammeln sich hinter . . . Pan Kiehot25. , . der alien seinen Ulanen den HandkuB beibrachte zu Pferde, so daB sie nun immer wieder dem Tod— als war* der *ne Dame— die Hânde anstândig küssen, . . die deutschen Panzer von vome, die Hengste aus den G-estüten der Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, was Edleres ward nie geritten. Doch jener halb spanisch, halb pel- nisch, . . ruft er der Kavallerie zu; *Ihr edlen Polen zu Pferde, das sind keine stâhlemen Panzer, sind Windmühlen. . . .'26
The attempt of the Poles to defend themselves against
the armor of Germany was quixotic, since they lacked those essentials already prescribed by Grass— strength
and organization— although they had the desire and deter
mination. In his poem Polnische Fahne, using red and white
symbolism as in the Polish flag, G-rass shows how patrio
tic Poles became victims of Nazism: Die Tage schrumpfen, Ipfel auf dem Schrank,^ die Freiheit fror, jetzt brennt sie in den Ofen.'^'
^^The Polish Don Quixote. ^^Grass, Die Blechtrommel, pp. 295-296. ^^GOnter Grass, Die Yorzflge der Windhflhner (Berlin; Duchterhand, 1'5'56), p. 31.
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The apples and the fire are images which evoke the color
red; the refrigerator, the stove, and freezing call the
color white to the mind, thus reiterating the colors of
the Polish flag. The Poles burned in concentration camp
ovens, when freedom froze.
Grass begins at the onset of Nazi influence in
Danzig, treating this period in a very technical manner.
We are told that Hermann Rauschning, President of the
Danzig Senate 1933-1935 aided National Socialism to gain a toehold in Danzig and dissolved the Communist Party
there in 1934. He was succeeded by Arthur Greiser, him self a Nazi, when Rauschning became disillusioned and
fled into exile in 1935. Greiser made a treaty with the Nazis concerning the relations between Danzig and
Poland. He was responsible for dissolving the SPD in
1936 and the Central Party, the branch of the SPD, in 1937^28 gj,g time in office was, in turn, cut short by
Albert Forster, the "Gauleiter” of Danzig. Forster
annexed Danzig to the German Reich in 1939 and made himself Danzig's Administrator with the help of Wilhelm pQ Lobsack, his ghost writer. We are then told of the "R3hm Putsch," in which
pQ Grass, Hunde .jahre. p. 211.
29lbid.. p. 184.
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Ernst R3hm, former Chancellor von Schleicher, and Gregor
Strasser, among many others, were assassinated in 1934»
Grass paints a rustic picture of Hitler, Angela Rauhal,
Rudolf Hess, Porster, and August Wilhelm of Prussia
sitting in a cottage conversing about the deaths of
R3hm, von Schleicher, and Strasser. In the same breath
they discussed the works of Spengler and Count Gobineau, whose works, as Grass points out, influenced the racial
theories of Nazism. Also spoken of at this Obersalzberg
meeting were the Protocols of the learned Elders of
Zion.50 These beginnings of the rise of the Tausend.iahr-
iges Reiche are depicted by Grass in short, vague sketches for the reader. The extent of the time in which they
occurred was also of short duration, being a mere four
years; and the average German only vaguely perceived what
was happening. It is Grass' premise here that one should
learn to avoid placing too much power in the hands of
too few. (Rauschning found it only too easy to make binding contracts with the Nazis.) One should also not accept blindly the writings of authors, including Grass himself, Spengler and Gobineau, or of any purported docu ments, such as the Protocols. Grass, though attempting
5^Idem.
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to convince others, does not want his readers to accept
his precepts without question. He stresses reason, and
in this he does not differentiate between others and himself. Grass also uses the technique of pointing out
the easy manner— one might even call it carefree— in
which Hitler and his cohorts spoke of murdered men and the devices they could use to enslave the minds of men.
In the Blechtrommel, Grass often calls Hitler
"der Gasmann."^^ In his poem Die KrSnung. Grass calls
him the "King of the Gasmeters": Preitags kronten sie den K5nig. Von Geburt her blinde Nelken, mit dem Atem einer Krote, mit dem blauen Gasometer, Mittemacht und Mandelscheitel, Vorstadt um Jerusalem.52
The "King of the Gasmeters" (and we are not left in doubt about the nature of the gas), using cyanide gas,
kills those who worship Jerusalem. This religious intol
erance, to Grass, was one of the major reasons for the
foundation of National Socialism. Grass, himself, is a
member of no church, but is, and recommends that others
be, tolerant toward all members of all sects and of
those, like himself, who belong to none. We should therefore l e a m from historical events and attitudes.
^^Grass, Die Blechtrommel. p. 238,
^^Grass, Die VorzÛge. p. 27.
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so that we may avoid them now.
Historically, the average German avoided the un
pleasant sides of life, refusing to acknowledge facts
which were plainly visible. The era of the Third Reich
was no different. Grass brings us to a concentration
camp in Germany. Outside of it stands an anti-aircraft battery. In front of the camp is a whitish mound: Zwischen Berg und Pabrik endeten Eisenbahngleise .... Den Berg, sauber kegelig geschichtet, überragte knapp eine rostige Schüttelrutsche .... Nichts 1st rein. Und so war auch der Berg . . . bei aller Wei#e nicht rein, sondem ein Knochenberg. . , . Niemand sprach von dem Knochenberg. Aber alle sahen rochen schmeckten ihn. . . . 'Das issen Knochenberg,' sagte /Harrys Cousine Tull^. . . . 'Wetten, dafî das Knochen sind? Und zwar Menschenknochen, genau? Das weifi doch jeder.'5>
When Cousin Tulla attempts to bet it is bones, no one
responds; and all that she gets for her troubles is a
fist on her chin. It is only human to disregard facts
which are painful or repugnant to the senses. It has
always been so, but a total disregard or obliviscence to facts, painful though they may be, is what Grass would forbid us. This is one reason many people find Grass'
works intolerable. He omits nothing he finds useful in teaching his lessons and adds to this only the skeleton of what makes his works poetic and interesting.
^^Grass, Hunde.jahre. pp. 368-570.
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StSrtebeker, one of the soldiers, attempts to
hide behind phraseology and the philosophy of the ontol-
ogist Heidegger: "Wir mûssen das Zuhaufliegen in der
Offenheit des Seins, das Austragen der Sorge und das Ausdauem zum Tode als das voile Wesen der Existenz
denken. . . . Hier ist Sein in Unverborgenheit ange- 54 kommen." Unlike StSrtebeker, Grass does not hide himself, or his ideas, behind this phraseology of philo
sophies; rather, he uses it as a means of advancing his
ideas. Nothing is too small, nor can it be too large,
for Grass to utilize in pointing out the errors of the
past.
Grass also points out to us, in all three of his
early prose works, the foolishness inherent in believing
all we hear. In Katz und Maus. we see a guest lecturer
speaking of the beauties of war. In the Hunde .jahre. we hear of "SA-Mann Brand," Herbert Norkus and Horst
Wessel,^^ the former being a fictitious propaganda figure and the latter two being ruffians, street fight ers, and of dubious morals. Yet, they were highly
touted as martyrs and heroes by the Nazi regime. The
54ibid.. p. 370. ^^Grass, Katz und Maus « p. 10.
^^Grass, Hunde.jahre. p. 236.
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news media said they were heroes, and the readers be
lieved it to be true. In the Blechtrommel, we see
further evidence of the twisting of words and facts
for the purpose of persuasion. This phenomenon is
known as fictionality.^^
Grass uses this fictionality with great effica cy. However, he uses it to show how a common, everyday, acceptable idea, such as pious women handing out reli
gious tracts, can be extended to the blind worship of
another, more temporal god— National Socialism; Neben dem Stadttheater, standen religiSse Frauen und frierende hâfîliche Mâdchen, die fromme Hefte austeilten und ein Transparent zeigten, dessen Aufschrift den ersten Korintherbrief, dreizehntes Kapitel zitierte. *Glaube-Hoffnung-Liebe* konnte Oskar lesen und mit den drei WSrtchen umgehen wie ein Jongleur mit Flaschen: Leichtglâubig, Lieb- frauenmilch, Glaubigerversammlung. Glaubst du, dafi es morgen regnen wird? Ein ganzes leicht- glaubiges Volk glaubte an den Weihnachtsmann aber der Weihnachtsmann war in Wirklichkeit der Gas- mann. Er kommtî Er kommtl Wer kam den? Das Christkindchen, der Heiland? Oder kam der himm- lische Gasmann mit der Gasuhr unter dem Arm, die immer ticktick macht? Und er sagte: Ich bin der Heiland dieser Welt, ohne mich kSnnt ihr nicht ko Chen. Und er lie# mit sich reden, bot einen gûnstigen Tarif an, drehte die frischgeputzten Gashâhnchen auf und liefi ausstrSmen den Heiligen Geist. Und so glaubten sie an die alleinselig- machende Gasanstalt, die mit steigenden und fallenden Gasometern Schicksal versinnbildichte. Aber nachdem sich der Glaube an den Weihnachtsmann
For a more comprehensive study of this, see Everett, "Swift's Gulliver's Travels and Grass' Die Blechtrommel." pp.
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al8 Glaube an den Gasmami herausgestellt batte, versuchte man es, ohne auf die Reihenfolge des Korintherbriefes zu achten, mit der Liebe; Ich liebe dich. Liebst du dich auch? Liebst du mich? Ich liebe mich auch. Aber nachdem der Glaube an den Gasmann zur Staatsreligion erklârt worden war, blieb nach Glaube und vorweggenom- mener Liebe nur noch der dritte Ladenhüter des Korintherbriefes: die Eoffnung. So steht auch geschrieben: Solange der Mensch hofft, wird er immer wieder neu anfangen mit dem hoffnungsvollen Schlufîmachen.5° We see, at first, women selling pamphlets proclaiming the fact that faith, hope, and love exist. This is an
easily believable, real scene. However, while playing
with these three concepts, Oskar realizes that these
same people equated the Gasmann (Hitler) with the
Saviour and by so doing were able to watch him turn on the gas cocks that wreaked a savage slaughter.
In all of the above-cited passages Grass shows
us the error inherent in believing all of that which we
hear from the media, from politicians, or from those who
wish to color our ideas of past and present events.
Again he urges reason! Grass then takes us to the late fall of 1941, and we are told that special dispatches about the Eastern Front victories had ceased to be heard.The Conradinum Gymnasium boasted twenty-two fallen graduates, one of
^®Grass, Die Blechtrommel. pp. 236-238.
^^Grass, Hunde.jahre, p. 330.
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whom had won the Knight's Cross. Others who had won
the "Iron Cross" often came to lecture the students,
who were also determined to.have "Iron Crosses." How
ever, when asked details about the war, these men are
silent. When asked, "Was ihm durch den Kopf gegangen
sei, als er zum erstenmal einen toten Menschen, Freund Oder Feind, gesehen habe," the answer of the fighter pilot was vague; "Wir wollen etwas vom Kaukasus wissen,
doch er spricht unentwegt über das Wichts."^^ What Grass is saying here is that although the
records show speeches by Knight's Cross recipients— as
Grass calls them, "Ritterkreuztrager-HistSrchen"— these
same men were escaping into the comfort of philosophy, in this case Heidegger. Grass is totally against escap
ing into metaphysics to avoid the problems one faces.
If the soldiers and the totality of the German people had rationally faced the realities in 1932-1958, they
would not have needed escape from the realities of 1941,
and the Germans of today would not have to attempt escapes from the reality of those times. Again, to Grass, the answer to most problems is reason. We are told then of the unsuccessful attempt on
Hitler's life at the "Wolf's Lair," "WShrend die
^°Ibid.. p. 531.
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Schallplatte mit der GStterdSnmierung-Musik schon bereit
lag, ..." As Grass explains it, this attempt to do
something positive failed; "Weil er kein Attentâter
von Beruf war, imgelemt nicht aufs Ganze ging, sich
verdruckte, bevor die Bombe deutlich Ja gesagt hatte,
und sich aufsparen wollte fûr grofie Aufgaben nach ge- glÜcktem Attentat.It is not enough to attempt to
do something positive. It is also necessary to go the
whole way, to finish one step at a time, not to think of a later step until the first is completed. Also
one must be competent to achieve a maximum of success.
One must combine reason with gradualism to successfully
achieve his goal of bettering conditions. Indifference is, to Grass, the worst facet of past humanity. He decries not only man's indifference to suffering, but also man's indifference to that which
goes on about him. In parallel passages in the Blech
trommel and in his poem. Die Seeschlacht, we see that
even at the end of the war people were not concerned
with history— even the history of the day. While in Stockholm^^ a tailor sews buttons, and in Lima a
widow teaches her parrot to say "Caramba":
41lbid.. p. 395. ^^Grass, Die Blechtrommel. pp. 461-462.
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Ein amerikanischer Flugzeugtrâger imd eine gotische Katedrale versenkten sich mitten im Stillen Ozean gegenseitig.
Nun hangen Elugzeuge und Engel in der Luft und konnen nicht landen.45
People were actually able to live perfectly normal lives,
while, at the same time, men, ships, and religion were
being destroyed.
We are now shown the end of the Third Reich by
Grass, in a poetic and gripping account: "Darauf Welt- dammer, . , . Daraufhin spielen letzte Sender Gotter-
dammerung. . . . Daraufhin tritt im Regierungsviertel der Reichshaupstadt Punkstille ein. Die Platzganzheit,
die Nichtung, angstbereit und zusanunenstûckbar. Die Grofiheit. Die Gânze. Die Hergestelltheit Berlin. Die
Verendlichung. Das Ende. Aber der Himmel über der
Endstruktur verdunkelte sich daraufhin nicht.The
war which began near Danzig was ended near Danzig. The
twilight of the gods and the final total destruction of
the infinite totality of the "Thousand Year Reich" was
now complete. Although the Germans considered this to be the end of the world, nature was not visibly affected
^^Grass, Gleisdreieck. p. 39. This poem is also quoted in Die Blechtrommel. p. 462.
^^Grass, Hunde.jahre, pp. 422-423.
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and continued to exist.
As Grass has said, now that the Reich was over
and done with, the German mind should have then applied
itself to bettering Germany. Instead, Germans attempt
ed merely to forget. They thought that minds should
be occupied by pleasant memories and not by torment
ing thoughts. For this reason, men must have something in which they can believe— God, beauty, progress, human 45 goodness or an idea. Using the vocabulary of the theater and of Lessing, Grass tells us; " 'Es kann
nicht genûgen, dem Menschen die Katastrophe zu zeigen;
alle ErschÛtterung bleibt Selbstzweck, mündet sie nicht
in die Exegese, bis der Katharsis reinigende Wirkung dem Nihilismus den Kranz entreiBt und dem Chaos einen
Sinn gibt.' Rettung zwinkert human zwischen Zeilen.”^^
Grass has been showing us the catastrophies of
previous days and thereby has produced violent emotions
in us. This is not enough, he says. To bring meaning
to chaos, explanations of catastrophies must be so written as to remove the basis of Nihilism through catharsis. Through his literary passages about former history. Grass has been, in effect, writing an exegesis
45lbid.. pp. 556-557. 4Glbid.. p. 558.
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for us, showing us the right paths to shape the future ;
and from our previous definition of a preceptor, we can
easily see that his writing qualifies Gûnter Grass as
just that.
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PRECEPTS OP POLITICS
An investigation of the cataclysms of war, equated in the mind of Gûnter Grass with the concept
of history, brings about a discussion of politics, the
cause of most wars and the creator of history. Grass
himself says, "Wie immer, wenn Politik im Spiele ist,
kam es zu GewalttStigkeiten.Grass' preoccupation
with politics is becoming increasingly evident. The
question may arise as to why a literary critique con
cerns itself with the political ideas and teachings of
a man who is becoming more and more politically oriented
and less and less a literary figure.
Friedrich Heer speaks of poets as holding a 2 precarious position "zwischen dem Priester und Arzt."
This situation has always existed and exists today, as Grass himself knows. But he feels that the day of a
poet on a pedestal is gone. A poet, novelist, or
^Grass, Die Blechtrommel. p. 81. ^Friedrich Heer, EuronSlsche Geistesgeschichte. (Stuttgart; W. Kohlhammer Verlag, 1955^, p. 60Y.
49
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playwright has a position of leadership to fill.
Grass realizes the force inherent in writing,
especially in the political arena: "Sie wissen wie ich,
welche Kraft, welch politische Kraft dem lyrischen Wort •5 innewohnen kann. " Although this is simply a rewording
of the old truism that the pen is mightier than the sword, it is enlightening for us to hear it from Grass
himself. Professor Wilhelm Johannes Schwarz of Laval
University has compared Grass to Walter von der Vogel-
weide, saying, "Grass is the only great German writer
in 700 years to take such a direct part in politics, laying aside the pen in favor of straight participation.
The ideas Grass has propounded for German youth in his works show us the paths which led him to his pres
ent situation. His advice to the students of today is
salient, sound, and coincides with his intent to teach
young Germans what he believes to be the ideal manner
in which to better their country’s future. The first
step is to know the history of Germany, and no history of Germany would be complete without giving a great deal of attention to politics. For this reason and because Grass is such an important author, it would
^Grass, Ortlich betâubt. p. 220. Gras8 at the Roots," Time. XCIV, 10 (September 5, 1969), 24, 29.
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seem pertinent to investigate the precepts of politics
in his works.
Gûnter Grass is not a member of any political
party because he does not admit to the total rectitude of any one of them. In his poem Askese, he says: "Ihr
sollt Grau lieben lemen,"^ thus emphasizing his eclec
tic view that nothing is truly black or white but, in reality, a mixture of both. As René Wintzen has said:
Wenn er sein Miûtrauen gegenûber Westdeutschland nicht verbirgt, wenn er mit Vergnûgen eine Gesell- schaft karikiert, deren Heuchelei ihm die besten Waffen liefert, so bewundert er deswegen die Gegenseite noch lange nicht; sein Realismus, sein gesunder Menschenverstand setzen ihn der Kritik von alien Seiten aus. Keiner Partei gelingt es, ihn zu überzeugen; in seinen Büchem nimmt er alle nacheinander aufs Kom.°
However, Grass does campaign for the Social Democratic Party in Germany although not a member of it. We can determine the reasons for this from his works and from
his own life. The Social Democratic Party claims to represent just what its name implies, and Grass feels that a democratic government provides the best chances
for a successful future for Germany. As Botsford asks,
why on behalf of socialist democracy? "His own origins
^Grass, Gleisdreieck. pp. 56-57. ^René Wintzen, "Gûnter Grass, der Non-Konform- ist," Von Buch zu Buch. ed. Gert loschütz (Neuwied: Luchterkand, 1'9ïï5 ) , p. 104.
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are among workers and, to believe his novels, he spent
his childhood in the atmosphere of the prewar German 7 Socialist party." This is not merely a case of believ
ing his novels; it is true. Grass was twelve years old
when war came to Danzig.
Another reason for his choice of the SPD is that
the CDU® which had ruled Germany since the cessation of the war, was run by those very politicians who represent
all that Grass decries— Globke, Kiesinger, Lûbke, ^ al.
The CDU also represents an alliance of the Church, in
which Grass does not believe per se. and Big Business, which for reasons already given, is simply a return of
prewar powers. These two control the greater portion
of the present "democracy" in Germany. Grass says,
"Man schaut uns aulinerksam zu bei unserem Versuch, aus
Schuldemokraten erwachsene Demokraten zu werden,
Grass feels that the condition of democracy must be
learned and earned and that Germany is now only in the
process of becoming a democratic state.
In this, however. Grass does not take a negative
^Eeith Botsford, "Gûnter Grass is a Different Drummer," New York Times Magazine (May 8, 1966, p. 29. Q The Christian Democratic Party.
^Gûnter Grass, "Toleranz ist unsere Stârke," Die Zeit. No. 6 (February 11, 1969), p. 3.
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position toward G-erman government in his works. Golo
Mann says: Hier, meine ich, wirken die Lehren der Weimarer Repuhlik, die Grass bewufit gar nicht erlebte, deren Geschichte er aber mit Nutzen studiert hat. Er ist der 'linke Intellektuelle' der das tut, was die linken Intellektuellen der Weimarer Zeit nicht taten: er bejaht den Staat, so un- vollkommen der Staat ist. Er will ihn besser machen als er ist, aber, so meint er, das kann man heutzutage nur von innen, nicht als Gesamt- verneiner von auGerhalb.10
Grass has been on the inside of German politics in the
last few years. He has worked from within because it
is only there that changes can be made, and Grass wants
to make changes. Grass has propounded his ideas dealing with the
changes in the relationships between the two Germanies in detail in a speech delivered in Bonn: ”Es mdssen
die Konsequenzen aus zwei verlorenen Kriegen gezogen
werden. . . . Nicht als geballte Nation, sondem nur in Form friedlich wettstreitender Lânderbûnde kann Deutschland seinen Nachbam in Ost und West Sicherheit
bieten. . . . Einigkeit, europâische wie deutsche, setze nicht Einheit voraus."^^ He proposes a federation of
^^Golo Mann, "Hiergeblieben. Der Staat sind wir," ^a^furter Allgemeine Zeitung: Literaturblatt (May 18,
^^"Grass: Wiedervereinigung," Abendzeitung. München (May 30, 1967), p. 5.
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states, not only German states, but a European federa
tion, which would be more harmonious and beneficial than
the present Common Market which is mostly concerned with
economics and is only quasi-political. The changes which
Grass advocates are radically different from the histori
cal situation in Germany and also from the status quo in Germany today. His advice is different for two basic
reasons. Grass demands that Germans of today should face the realities of the present conditions in Germany
and work with them to better their state, not to attempt to return to the old days, because that is forbidden
them. Also, Grass feels that change must be complete
if it is to constitute a real change. We are shown several examples of this precept in
the works of Gûnter Grass. The best example is the ap
parent change in leadership in Germany after World War
11.^2 In the Potsdam Pact, Article 12, the Allies
seemed to set uniform economic and political principles
aimed at breaking up German industrial cartels, destroy
ing German ability to wage war, removing National Social ists from positions of influence, and assuring a democratic
German government. However, due to the currency reform that followed, the expeinsion brought new trusts. Axel
^^Grass, Hunde.lahre. pp. 496ff.
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Springer, Gard Bucerius, and Rudolf Augstein control
most of the German newspapers. Otto-Ernst Flick, son
of Friedrich Flick, has again built up his father's mines and is an executive at Daimler-Benz AG. The
"Michel group" has regained its power. I. G, Farben, under other names, is larger than ever. Bertold Beitz, once the mining director for the Nazis in Poland who
used slave labor, has directed the rebuilding of the
Krupp iron works, also done away with after the war. Thus, the "V/irtschaftswunder" was no "miracle" at all—
it was merely the rejuvenation of those who had been in
power during the Hitler-years and who had been, for a time, supressed. Grass names these names and more. The
"Economic Miracle" to which many Germans now point with
pride, was really a shameful example of how the past con
tinues to haunt the present in all aspects of politics.
This false "economic wonder," however, has been one of
the reasons for a lack of action on the part of the German citizenry. Keith Botsford, a political reporter and novelist, has said that the Germans of Grass* gene
ration have been silent, ". . .in part because of the enormous burden of the past to be overcome before look ing to the future, and in part because of its Angst, its generalized intellectual anxiety, has been mollified
and dissipated in the euphoria of German economic
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recovery.It may be noted that Botsford, himself,
avoids using the word "miracle” and substitutes "recov
ery" in its place. The recovery was, in fact, no mira cle, but rather a return to a previous status quo.
Another aspect of the permanence of the status
quo may be seen in Grass' Die Blechtrommel « We are told that in the 18th Century, Poland's national anthem
came about when Dçbrowski rode from Italy. The first
line says, "Jeszcze Polska nie zginela," or "Poland is
not yet lost." In a play on the words of this song.
Grass says: "War Polen noch nicht verloren, dann bald
verloren und schlieBlich, nach den berOhmten achtzehn
Tagen, war Polen verloren, wenn sich auch bald darauf herausstellte, dafi Polen immer noch nicht verloren war;
wie ja auch heute, schlesischen und Landsmannschaften
zum Trotz, Polen noch nicht verloren ist."^^ Is Poland lost? Has it ceased to be simply because of a lost war?
Grass says it has not. It remains an entity on the map,
and its inhabitants are still Poles, although the indivi
dual in Poland is now called "Comrade,"
In 1 9 5 9 , the process involved in changing Danzig
into a German possession involved changing the cities
^^Botsford, p. 28.
^^Grass, Die Blechtrommel. p. 295.
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of ïi(5dz;, Lublin, Iwdwek, Toruiî, Krakdw, and Czestochowa
into the cities of Lodz, Lublin, Lemberg, Thorn, Krakau,
and Tschenstochau. 15 As we are told, the older people
had been "eingedeutscht. Sie waren keine Polen mehr und traumten nur noch kaschubisch. Volksdeutsche nannte
man sie, Volksgruppe drei,"^^ But, as we later see, a formerly Kashubian goose, even though now a "Volks- 17 deitsche," "schmeckt dech jenau so wie vorm Kriechî"
Grass tells us here that altering superficiali ties does not truly constitute a genuine change. Calling
Czestochowa Tschenstochau did not make it a German city,
and making a goose into a "Volksdeitsche" goose did not
change its taste. The youthful revolutionaries must change the basic policies and precepts of their govern
ment to effect any true or lasting betterment of their
state. Merely saying that a government is democratic, instead of facist, communist, or Nazi, does not make it
democratic. The government of Germany under Heinrich
Lübke and under Kurt Georg Kiesinger could not be demo cratic, as opposed to Nazi, as long as former Nazis aided
^^Ibid.. p. 259. ^^Ibid.. p. 359.
^'^Ibid.. p. 360.
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in making policy decisions. We see in Ortlich betauht
further mention of what the effect is of having such
men in power: "Dieser Lûbke ist wirklich untragbar. .
1 8 . Grass* policy of naming Lûbke, Kiesinger, Globke,
and others as former Nazis could be called defamation in some quarters, or enlightenment elsewhere. However,
Grass often runs the risk of law suits in his novels,
poems, and speeches. He does this gladly because of his basic contention that those things which have been
hidden and twisted must be uncovered and straightened
out for the youth of Germany, so that they may be better
enabled to restructure their political situations.
In the Hunde.jahre we are told of the "... Zer-
stSrung des Gartens /Danzig? durch die Masse der Scheuchen bis zum Pas de deux. . . . zu preuQisch-traditioneller
Militârmusik. . . . To understand a great portion of
Grass' political precepts, one must be familiar with his 20 symbol, the scarecrow. We begin with V, der Vogel.
in which we see that birds are symbols of thoughts. In 21 Die Vogelscheuchen we see that scarecrows are basically
T Q #* Grass, Ortlich betaubt. p. 209. ^^Grass, Hunde.jahre. p. 552. 20 Grass, Die Vorzûge. pp. 56-57. 21 Grass, Gleisdreieck. pp. 34-35.
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those things which forbid free thoughts. This theme is
carried further in Hunde.lahre. where we are told that
Eddi Amsel, the Jew, makes scarecrows, "Er haut SA-
Manner, die mars chi er en und grûBen kSnnen, weil sie im 99 Bauch eine Mechanik haben. " Matem and Tulla look
for this mechanism in themselves, and Tulla has one. The scarecrow is an attempt by man to create something
in his own image. Since, in doing the same thing, God
created man, who was less than He, it follows that the scarecrow, created by man, must be sub-human, a fearful
travesty of what we hold a man to be. If these inhuman
scarecrows also forbid free thoughts, then we have a
perfect picture of those political figures who carried
out the Nazi principles.
The first political "scarecrow" mentioned by Grass in the Hunde.jahre is Gauleiter Forster of Dan
zig, a National Socialist, who handed the city of Dan
zig over to the Germans in 1939 and proclaimed at the same time that he would be Danzig*s administrator. Yet
Forster was an elected official! Grass wonders how such a thing could have come to pass— how the people
were content to let it happen with no attempts at
22 Grass, Hunde.jahre. p. 246,
25%bid.. pp. 180-181.
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intervention. The lecture contained here is self-evident.
The youth of today should not be content to let politi
cians be the sole guidera of politics. Historically,
only governmental leaders have had the reins in their
hands; and, historically, their politics have led to
wars. "Die Formel, der Krieg sei die Portsetzung der
Politik mit anderen Mitteln, lâôt sich dahin variieren: Der Krieg ist die ISsung eines Konfliktes mit anderen
Mitteln.Grass counsels that a conflict should be
carried to its conclusion in other ways than by wars. Intelligent minds can make wars as useless and antiqua
ted utensils for progress as the mill wheel and the
spear have now become. We are told in his new novel, Ortlich betâubt, of the way pain was once made "less."
During a tooth extraction, the patient was held by three
men. One held his arm; one wedged his knee into the
patient’s stomach; and one held the patient's hand over
a candle flame to divide the pain.^^ As Time Magazine
says: "Pew benefactors of humanity can more easily 26 prove relative progress . . . than dentists." In
^^Grass, "Toleranz ist unsere Starke," p. 3. ^^Grass, Ortlich betâubt. p. 91. ^^"The Dentist's Chair as an Allegory of Life," Time. XCV, 15 (April 3, 1970), 70.
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Germany today, past errors have been made "less" by means of a similarly painful process— one which actually
added to the injury of the "patient."
Grass considers an ignorance of facts in poli tics to be another mistake of middle-class Germany.
Danzig and Poland were lost, Grass tells us, through an ignorance which proved, as it always does, to be fatal.
The Poles were always kissing ladies' hands and did not
realize until too late that the lady's hand they were
kissing was death and that her fingers were "die Jung- frauen aus dem Geschlecht der Krupp." 2 7 Gunter Grass practices what he preaches. He
feels that all citizens must become actively engaged in the political treadmills in order that progress may be effected, and writers are especially suited for this
purpose. "1st ein Schimmel mehr Schimmel, wenn wir ihn
'weiH' nennen? Und ist ein Schriftsteller, der sich t 'engagiert' nennt, ein weifier Schimmel? Wir haben es erlebt: er . . . lâût sich 'engagierter' Schriftsteller
nennen, was mich immer— man verzeihe mir— an 'Hofkondi- 28 tor' Oder 'katholisoher Radfahrer' erinnert." A
Grass, Die Blechtrommel. pp. 272-273; this symbolism led J. 0. Bruce to false conclusions in "The Equivocating Narrator in Gûnter Grass' Katz und Maus." Monatshefte. 17III, 2 (Summer, 1966), l3^-15l. ^^Grass, Über das Selbstverstândliche. pp. 107-108,
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writer who calls himself a "partisan writer" is being
repetitive. One who writes is of necessity partisan;
for, otherwise, he would have nothing to put in writing.
Having once become "partisan" by virtue of his position
as a writer, the author cannot then put aside his poli
tical ideas when he ceases writing. Denn hier wird behauptet: Partisane sind nie zeitweilige Partisane, sondem sind immer und andauernd Partisane, die gestûrzte Regierungen in den Sattel heben, und gerade mit Hilfe der Partisane in den Sattel gehobene Regierungen stttrzen. Unverbesserliche, sich selbst unter- wandernde Partisane sind . . . unter alien der Politik verschriebenen Menschen die kûnstlerisch begabtesten, weil sie sofojt verwerfen, was sie gerade geschaffen haben. Ahnliches kann ich von mir behaupten.29
As Grass says, the partisan is an artist, and he hints that the reverse is also true. "Verschrieben" can mean
"ordered by" or also "used up in writing for," and in
this instance. Grass intends both meanings. Goethe,
himself, set Weimar's theater in flames, "Wie ja schon 50 Nero auch Shakespeare Brandstifter waren und Dichter." Grass has become a "Brandstifter" in a double sense. He set the youth of Germany on fire with his novels and has been a promoter ("Stifter") of Willy Brandt in the
political arena.
^^Grass, Die Blechtrommel. p. 510.
^^Grass, Gleisdreieck. p. 63.
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All citizens should become partisans. All should become actively engaged in politics. Grass says that in order to get rid of corruption, one should practice
"das grosse Mundaufmachen.In fact, he says, "Wer
also die Exposition einer sich anbahnenden und nur vom
Datum her neuen nationalen Tragodie mit all ihrer Schmieren-Theatralik begriffen hat, der vermag nicht zu schweigen, der darf nicht schweigen.Grass has
not been silent. He has not only voiced his opinions on past and present politics, but he has reviled those
who have neglected to do the same. His play. Die Ple- be.jer proben den Auf stand, is a good example of this. Grass has said^^ that Bertold Brecht was merely a model
for the role of "chef" in his play, and that the "chef" was to represent all writers, poets, and playwrights who remained just that in the face of a struggle which
cried out for leadership.
Leadership has always been sorely needed by the common folk. There have always been leaders but accor
ding to Grass, they have been of the wrong sort. Educa ted and artistic men should also take part in aiding
^^Ibid.. p. 83. ^^Mann, "Hiergeblieben." In conversation with the author at his home. April 29, 1967.
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those who are less gifted to see through the façade created by politicians. "Konsumwerbung und politische
Propaganda begnûgen sich mit solch praktikablen Halb-
wahrheiten und nutzen sie mit Erfolg, indem sie dem
Bediirfnis nach Verallgemeinerungen entgegenkommen ; aber Sie . . . sollten sich nicht so schnell zufrieden
geben. We are told of Sergeant Truczinski who, in both senses of the word, succumbed to "Pûhrer, Volk, und Va- terland."^^ Everyday man has always succumbed to slogans and has failed to look behind the rostrums of the politi
cal rallys. "Wer jemals eine Tribüne von hinten anschau-
te, . . wird . . . gegen jegliche Zauberei, die . . . auf Tribünen zelebriert wird, gefeit sein. Everyday
man is not only lured by slogans; he is also one who is
always ready to follow the lead of any group. Herr
Matzerath is a good example. He always had to wave when others waved, to laugh and clap when others laughed
and clapped. As Grass tells us, that explains why he
was an early member of the Nazi party, and it also ex plains why such easily misled people need the proper
^^Gras9 , Ortlich betâubt. p. 245. Grass, Die Blechtrommel. p. 425.
S^Ibid.. p. 136^
5?Ibid.. p. 175.
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leaders. That period of German political history known as
the Nazi era passed into history books. GÜnter Grass
tallies the results of the period as it pertains to middle-class man. Zurûck bleiben Knochenberge, Massengraber, Karteikasten, Fahnenhalter, Parteibücher, Liebes- briefe, Eigenheime, Kirchenstiihle und schwer zu transportierende Klaviere. Nicht bezahlt werden: fallige Steuern, Raten für Bausparkassen, Mietrückstânde, Rech- nungen, Schulden und Schuld. Neu beginnen wollen alle mit dem Leben, mit dem Sparen, mit dem Briefschreiben, auf Kirchenstühlen, vor Klavieren, in Karteikasten und Eigenheimen. Vergessen wollen alle die Knochenberge und Massengraber, die Eahnenhalter und Parteibücher, die Schulden und die Schuld.5°
Whatever was desirable is still desired, but those things which might cast a somber hue on the tapestry of politi
cal history are erased from the minds of the older citi
zens and are kept from the instruction of the youth. As
Grass says, ". . . d a das allés schon historisch geworden ist, zwar immer noch eifrig, aber als kaltes Eisen ge-
schmiedet wird, habe ich den rechten Abstand zu meiner
Trommelei. . , . His duty, he feels, lies in drumming up the truth, wherever it may be found. In his attempt to spread truth. Grass makes us
^®Grass, Hunde.jahre, p. 427. ^^Grass, Die Blechtrommel. p. 142.
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aware of other faults to be found in the German middle
class. We are shown modern Germans who remember Hitler
only as the bringer of vacuum cleaners^^ and as "der
Erbauer der Reichsautobahn"; they do not perceive his
real "achievements." Another of the many faults of middle-class Ger many is its inability to perceive, or accept the true,
present status of Germany, Many modem West Germans
still nurture the myth of a possible reunification of the two Germanies. Grass believes this to be merely
another example of the inability of the average German
to face the facts. Grass has said: Unification of the two Germanies will never come. We started this war /World War Il7; we lost this war. We are divided, but we can live together, not against each other. No one really wants unification— the United States, Russia, France, Denmark, Belgium! No one wants to see another big power in Germany again.42
That Grass is not merely expressing a personal
opinion but rather following the party line of the
SPD and Chancellor Willy Brandt was borne out by Chan cellor Brandt in his television interview on "Meet the
40lbid.. p. 202.
^^Grass, Hunde.jahre, p. 589.
^^"Interview with Gûnter Grass," The Today Show, NBC Television Network (March 17, 1970),
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Press.
Modern Germans are also too eager to shirk their
responsibilities politically in an attempt to avoid the
guilt preceding from their involvement with the Nazi
party and its members. We see this symbolically when Oskar Matzerath and his father hand the Nazi party badge back and forth in an attempt to avoid having it found A A on their persons. Certainly, those having been born after 1942 can share no guilt, even by association; but they have been
guilty of omission; that is, they have done nothing to
aid in avoiding the errors of politics which are not
only preserved in history but which even now exist. Grass does not hesitate to bring these facts into the open. In Hunde.jahre Konrad Adenauer is called an incom petent mayor^^ and his chief assistant, Hans Globke, is
mentioned in that respect. In his speech to the Israelis,
Rede von der Gewohnung, Grass reminds us of how ridi
culous it was for the first chancellor of post-Nazi
government to choose for his chief advisor the man who
Interview with Willy Brandt,'T Meet the Press, NBC Television Network (April 12, 1970). ^^Grass, Die Blechtrommel, pp. 473-474.
Grass, Hunde.jahre, p. 504. ^^Grass, "Rede von der GewÔhnung."
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had explicated the Ntirnherg racial laws. The post-war
Germans, perhaps because they were tired of fighting,
became accustomed to Globke. Grass decries this with
his loudest voice. Such actions are symptomatic of the
"mindless mob," the mobile vulgus. and it is the duty of today's youth, who has had the opportunity to learn better, to join the intellectuals who are trying to
abolish such political inconsistencies. The nature of the middle class which allowed it
to forget past horrors is pure greed and selfishness.
In order to feel better, in order to cast from itself all accusatory evidence, the middle-class man pays no
attention to those who yet suffer from the days of the
Third Reich. Grass has written a scathingly satiric
passage in the Blechtrommel about this very aspect of
the middle class. Oskar's father is killed in his cel
lar by Russian soldiers. He falls across an "ant high
way"— a line of ants who in no way were affected by the
Russians' coming. Die hatten nur Kartoffeln und Zucker im Sinn, wahrend jene mit den Maschinenpistolen vorerst andere Eroberungen anstrebten. . . . Die Ameisen fanden eine verânderte Situation vor, scheuten aber den Umweg nicht, bauten ihre Heer- straûe urn den gekrümmten Matzerath herum; denn jener aus dem gaplatzen Sack rieselnde Zucker hatte wahrend der Besetzung der Stadt Danzig durch die Armee Marschall Rokossowskis nichts von seiner SÛÛe verieren.
4?Grass, Die Blechtrommel. pp. 471-474.
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Only caring about what they, personally, would receive,
middle class Germans have allowed the problems of others
to be neglected. Instead of "Vernunft" and "Erinnerung,"
they have made themselves victims of "Gewohnung," which
is, to Grass, the very worst aspect of middle-class Ger
many today, especially in politics. Grass has written yet another biting satire about the lackadaisical postwar German. He has Oskar describe
a neighbor, "Egon MÜnzer né Klepp," pointing out his
political ignorance: Damais . . . fand ioh Klepp in den Uberresten eines Bettes. Er faults bei bester Laune, hielt sich in Reichweite einen altmodischen, recht Ba- rok anmutenden Spirituskocher, . . Tomatenmark in Tuben, Flaschenbier, das, wie sich herausstel- len sollte, lauwarm war. . . . Obgleich er Wasser im Zimmer hatte, . . war er zu faul oder besser gesagt, zu sehr durch sich selbst am Aufstehen verhindert, als daB er sein mit soviel Mühe ein- gelegnes Bett hâtte verlassen, in seinem Spa- ghettitopf frisches Wasser hâtte holen kdnnen. . . . Er . . . hob seinen Oberkorper um einige Grad, nannte sich Egon Mûnzer, Jazzmusiker, bat mich aber, ihn Klepp zu nennen, da schon sein Vater MÜnzer heifie. . . . Plaudernd berûhrten wir leichteste Themen: ich wollte wissen ob er unser Schicksal fûr unabSnderlich halte. Er hielt es fûr unabânderlich. Ob er der Meinung sei, alle Menschen mûûten sterben, wollte Oskar wissen. Auch den endlichen Tod aller Menschen hielt er für gewiû, war aber nicht sicher, ob aller Mensch en geboren werden müssen, sprach von sich selbst als von einer irrtümlichen Geburt. . . . Als wir auf die Politik zu sprechen kamen, wurde er fast leidenschaftlich, nannte mir über dreihundert deutsche Pûrstenhâuser, die Gegend um Hannover sprach er dem britischen Empire zu. Als ich ihn nach dem Schicksal der ehemals freien Stadt Danzig fragte, wuBte er leider nicht, wo das lag, schlug aber unbekümmert einen Grafen aus dem Bergischen,
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4-8 der, wie er sagte, von Jan Wellam in ziemlich direkter Linie abstamme, als Fürst für das ihm leider imbekannte Stâdtchen v o r . 49
What Grass is saying here, although he may be
stretching a point, is that the average postwar German was content to lie in his soiled bed (which he had made
for himself) using what he had at hand, and not endea voring to obtain for himself something better: content to wallow in his self-pity, with no spirit of enterprise,
too busy with himself to get up and clean up his country.
The average man was ashamed of his father— not because
of a definite sin, but because his father was the best
scapegoat for the guilt with which Klepp chastizes him self. Yet, with this self-pity, guilt, and laziness, the German found it easy to discuss frivolous topics:
he believed in predestination, that all men were doomed
to die, but that they did not have to be born. Escapism
it might be called today! Talk of the Metaphysical, as is to be found in the Dark Ages, has never improved the
political shambles in which a country may find itself.
The war over, Klepp wished to return Germany to the hands of the noblemen, just as Germany had been centuries
4^"Jan Wellem": Popular name for the Elector Palatine, Johann Wilhelm (1679-1716),
^^Grass, Die Blechtrommel, pp. 605-607.
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before, Heinrich Lühke and Kurt Georg Kiesinger were made
the heads of state in Germany in recent years. At the
time, all literate Germans were aware of their former roles as Nazi leaders. They were, however, content to
allow the return to power of these men. One might think that in a voting democracy such a thing would he impossi ble. On the contrary, Germans historically have had an
ingrained characteristic of submission to authority and
tradition. Half Dahx’endorf-has said; "The German father is . . . a combination of judge and state attorney: pre
siding over his family, relentlessly prosecuting every
sign of deviance, and settling all disputes by his su
preme authority.And Heinrich von Treitschke has said: "Auch in der Pamilie befindet sich der Staats- 52 grundsatz der Unterwilrfigkeit. " This fact of submission is the greatest enemy of
the citizen, according to Grass. "People leave too much
to the parties. . . . What we need in this country is
See Everett, "Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and Grass’ Die Blechtrommel." for a more comprehensive dis cus sion"^o7 this subject. ^^Dahrendorf, Society and Democracy in Germany. p. 139. ^^Heinrich von Treitschke, Politik (Leipzig, 1918), p. 26.
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a more active citizenship.”^^ "Wâhlerinitiativ” is a
byword for Gûnter Grass. Democracy is the theory that government is by the people, and if the people do not
actively participate in the government, they have made
a farce of democracy. The youth of Germany has already
thrown off the yoke of submission to parental authority and mores, and it could be a step in the right direc
tion if they would also avoid the trap of unthinking
submission to political authority. The demonstrations which they have already made
have been ineffective. Grass feels that he has a remedy;
Soweit ich auf der Buchmesse Augenzeuge von Demonstrationen geworden bin, ist mir aufgefalien, wie schlecht sie vorbereitet gewesen sind, in welchem Mafie es den Demonstranten an Argumenten fehlte und wie einige von ihnen fehlende Argumente durch Gewaltaktionen zu ersetzen suchten, wobei diese Gewaltaktionen dem modischen Trend folgten und in einem mafiig lustigen Happening verstandeten. Ich kann nur hoffen, da/3 diese Demonstrant en, die sich wahrscheinlich fÛr sehr links halten, sich nicht bewuBt sind, wie traditionell rechts ihre Methoden sind. Als erstes wünsche ich den Studenten, daB sie sich mehr und intensiver mit der politischen Wirklichkeit der Bundesrepublik vertraut machen. Die Krise der Demokratie in diesem deutschen Teil- staat wird nur mit Hilfe der Studenten zu beheben sein. Sie kSnnten verlangen, daB der nâchste Bundesprasident nicht abermals durch unfreiwillige Lacherlichkeit das Ansehen des Staates schadigt. ich habe bis heute nicht begreifen kSnnen, warum sich die Studenten so rasch mit der Kanzlerschaft eines Mannes abgefunden haben, der von 1935 bis
55”Gras8 at the Roots,” p. 29.
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1945 Parteimitglied gewesen 1st. Ich kann nicht verstehen, warum die Studenten keinen Anstoû daran nehmen, daû der CSU-Bundestagsabgeordnete Zimmerman, der selber vor einen Untersuchungs- ausschufi gehSrte, Vorsitzender des Starfighter- Untersuchungsausschusses ist. . . . Erst wenn wir die Kraft und die Ausdauer haben, in unserem eigenen Land die parlamentarische Demokratie wiederherzustellen, werden wir auch die Kraft und die Ausdauer haben, den Staaten der Dritten Welt zu helfen, ohne sie in neue Abhângigkeiten zu bringen.54
The students lacked argumentative knowledge.
They had too little knowledge of historical politics and
of current events. Por this reason, they turned to the
traditional methods— "Gewalttâtigkeiten. ” Grass advises them first to make themselves more familiar with politi
cal reality as it exists today in Germany— to learn how
things today actually are. Only then will they be able to make changes, and Grass believes that these changes
will be for the better. Grass advises the youth to join
together in order to make their step-by-step revolution effective. He quotes what he calls "Marxengels" in
saying; Es raangelte Bartholdy an der NOchtemheit des Revolutionârs. Zwar konnte der Junge nicht wissen, was selbst ein Marx erst relativ spât erkannte^ daB namlich nur mit Hilfe einer Klasse, die nichts zu verlieren, aber allés zu gewinnen hat, . . Ihre geplante Tat, . . nur dann wir- kungsvoll sein kann, wenn weite Kreise der
54pieter E. Zimmer, "Politik interressiert zur Zeit mehr," Die Zeit, No. 43 (October 27, 1967), p. 17.
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Gesellschaft— icii vermeide bev;u6t den Begriff Klasse— Ihre Tat als auslSsendes Zeichen zu he- greifen bereit sind...... Sie haben erlebt, welch blofi spektakularen SensationswerJ Veros Kreundinnen Ihrem Vorhaben beimessen,55
Later he stresses this point in an interview; Ich gehe davon aus, daJ3 wir mit der Revolution von 1848 und der von 1918 noch nicht einmal fertig geworden sind, geschweige denn mit dem miûglûckten Arbeiteraufstand vom 16, und 17, Juni 1953. Alle drei Versuche scheiterten, well sie immer nur von einem Teil der Bev31k- erung getragen wurden und dieser Teil noch nicht einmal eine geschlossene Klasse war, Nach Marx und Lenin bedarf es aber einer Klasse, um eine Revolution planen und durohfOhren zu k 8 n n e n , 5 6
A unified body, large enough to have some power, is necessary for the students to achieve their changes.
And Grass believes the students to be the last chance
Germany has to better itself. To make changes in a society one does not neces
sarily need to first tear it apart. This is one of the
main errors of the youth of today, who seem bent on des troying Germany, morally and physically, because they do not agree with its present form. These are exactly the
"Gewalttâtigkeiten" about which Grass has spoken and which he wants to avoid at all costs. In Ortlich betâubt he says: "Ich kann nur zur MâBigkeit raten, die Schâden,
falls es nicht zu spât ist, !'oheben unu vor Verallgemein-
^^Grass, Ortlich betâubt. p, 275. ^^Zimmor, p, 17.
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erxmgen warnen, die groGe Bewegimg vortâuschen, aber—
am Ende— den Stillstand berbeifOliren. *57 Again, in the same work, he sums up what the youth of today should do to better himself and his world: "Also EleiB, Zweifel,
Vernunft, Dazulernen, Z5gem, mehrmaliger Neubeginn,
kaum merkliohe Verbesserungen, einkalkulierte Pehlent- wicklungen. Evolution Schritt fÜr Schritt: die Spring-
profession ,.58 Grass is at his oratorical best when he speaks
to youth. In a speech to the young voters who might
have felt inclined to vote for the in Munich, he
said: "Aus Kenntnis meiner eigenen Vergangenheit und der Anfâlligkeit der Jugend in diesem Land fÛr absolute und selbstzerstôrerische Porderungen, bin ich dagegen,
pauschal in jedem Jungwâhler, der seine ziellose V/ut in
die NPD hineinretten will, einen Neonazi zu wittern. He comprehends the "Sturm und Drang" inclinations of
youth, because he is not so old that he cannot remember
his own days of youthful overexhuberance. He can also understand that their anger, like Oskar's and like
^^Grass, Ortlich betâubt. p. 246.
SGlbid.. p. 195. ^%ationalistische Partei Deutschlands— the Neo- Nazi Party. Grass, Uber das SelbstverstSndliche. p. 113.
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Matern's is not aimed at any single basis, but is rather
a general anger, aimed at everything their parents have either accepted or deadened with platitudes, Günter
Grass, in his works and in his private life, has been searching for a better world of politics and has been
attempting to propagate his ideas to the youth of Ger many. He feels at the present that the only possibi lity of change is on a political level, but he is not
restricting himself to that arena.
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GUNTER GRASS' BELIEFS: THEIR SOURCE AND EFFECT
It is of supreme importance to an understanding of Günter Grass' ideas atout history, politics, and
man's basic nature that we investigate what might be
called his "Glaube." Whether we define it as philoso
phy, metaphysical belief, or religion depends on our
own points of view. If we mean by religion the organ-•
ized church of any confession, then this term could not be used in any way to define the beliefs of the agnostic
Günter Grass. If, however, we apply the looser meaning, "any object of conscientious regard and pursuit,"^ then
we might as well include politics, history, or cooking,
as far as Grass is concerned. Philosophy, the study
of thought and search for wisdom, is likewise too gen
eral a term for use as a definition of Grass' "Glaube."
Metaphysics is a term which coulc best be applied.
Metaphysics, as it will be used here, is that "branch of philosophy that deals with first principles and seeks
^"Religion," Webster's New World Dictionary, p. 1229. 77
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to explain the nature of being or reality (ontology)
and of the origin and structure of the world" around
us (cosmology). As Grass is basically interested in the fields
of creating precepts of being and reality and explain
ing the origins of our present world, the term metaphy
sics is well-suited for use in defining what we have called Grass' "Glaube." Since his beliefs in this re
spect underlie the totality of his thinking as expressed
in this paper, and since they are so integral a part of
his works, it is imperative that a study of these ideas
and their sources be made. Grass is not the first, but
rather a new addition to a long line of men who have thought alike. However, Grass is no mere follower of
another man's creed. He has attempted to reconcile earlier ideas with today's world. In this chapter, his
formulation of ideas as well as the effect of Günter
Grass' metaphysical credo on his life and works will be
discussed. In each of his novels. Grass makes a point of
including a list of his source materials in some fashion. In Katz und Maus. for example, he has his storyteller, Pilenz, say; "Ich, Pilenz . . . lese Bloy, die Gnostiker,
^"Metaphysics," Ibid., p. 925.
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Boll, Friedrich Heer, und oft . . . in des . . . Augus- 5 tinus Bekenntnissen." In Grass' studio is to be found
Friedrich Beer's book, Europaische Geistesgeschichte,
which was first published by the W. Kohlharuner Verlag
in Stuttgart in 1953. This was the year Grass began
work on Die Blechtrommel. In Beer's book we find on three consecutive pages all of the names mentioned above
by Grass, except for Boll and Beer himself; Die Schau
Augustins vom 'unwandelbaren Gott'. . . . Die groBen
Opfer, von . . . Schriftstellern . . . bringen ihre
Friichte ein: in einer Erneuerung des Ordenslebens, in
der liturgischen Bewegung, in der Geistigkeit des re
nouveau catholique in Frankreich zwischen Bello, Bloy . . . und Bernanos. . . . Der Neuthomismus . . . wider
die Modernismen der Zeit . . . Gnostizismus. . . .
(Emphasis mine) K 6 Also, both Beer and Grass speak of the goddess
Niobe in like manner. Beer says that Novalis spoke of
green-eyed Nothingness when thinking about God and good
and evil. At the same time. Beer speaks of those who
% Grass, Katz und Maus. pp. 100-101. ^Beer, Europaische Geistesgeschichte. pp. 652- 655. ^Ibid., p. 608.
^Grass, Die Blechtrommel. pp. 215-219.
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see salvation in man, not God. In Thomas Bulfinch's
The Afie of Fable, we are told that Niobe thought her
children to be greater than the gods. "What folly," she said, "is this!— to prefer beings whom you never 7 saw to those who stand before your eyes!" Grass
speaks of the green-eyed Niobe, a wooden "goddess" who
was pure evil, and then he speaks of Novalis in the same breath. The foregoing could possibly be coincidence,
but this writer’s opinion is that it is one of many
positive proofs that Grass relies heavily on Heer’s phi
losophy of history and religion. We can see from the preceding examples that Grass
has read and has been influenced by Heer’s work. Because
Heer’s ideas were so important in the formulation of
Grass' metaphysics, we will, in this chapter, use out
lines of portions of his work as aids in our attempt to
interpret Grass’ beliefs. Whether Heer’s descriptions,
theories, or conclusions are valid and whether Heer’s philosophy agrees with the accepted thoughts of scholars is not of importance to this study. What is important
is that Heer’s ideas are a major source of Grass’ be
liefs, and that is sufficient argument for using them
^Thomas Bulfinch, The Age of Fable (Garden City, New York: International CollectorsLibrary, 1968), p. 116.
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here. In the first comparable instance, Heer describes
the varied attempts by German authors to define their
own ideas of the unio mystica, from the earliest days
Q of mysticism to the present. Among the authors listed
by Heer are Angelas Silesius, G. E. Lessing, J. C. Edel- mann, J. G. Hamann, J. G. Herder, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich
Nietzsche, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. In Angelas
Silesius’ Cherubinischer Wandersmann, Heer tells us, is
the line, "Ich bin wie Gott / und Gott wie ich. ..."
an attempt of Silesius to define the unio mystica. Heer
also states that Lessing once proclaimed himself to be
the Supreme Being and that Johann Christoph Edelmann followed the Gnostic formula, "Theos en ho Logos" or "God is reason," dressing himself as Christ, the son of
reason. We are further told that J. G. Hamann equated
God with himself, that Herder wrote in Die Schopfung,
"Ich wie Gott," and that Kant spoke of the God which
exists in oneself. Heer says that Nietzsche behaved as
a competitor of Christ and called himself "ein froher Botschafter" and that Marx and Engels formulated a
society in which the new man was both the all-giving
father (God) and the all-demanding son (Christ).
®Heer, pp. 535-631.
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With such a long line of famous and important
writers delineated by Heer before him, it is no wonder
that Grass, the intellectual, although born a Catholic,
has seen reason to question formal religion, allowing
such ideas as those given above to be in his own works!
There are other reasons for his questioning of formal religion— reasons so important to him that he has
left the Catholic church. In the Blechtrommel. we see Oskar’s adulterous mother in church: Mama wurde fromm. Was machte sie fromm? Der Umgang mit Jan Bronski, das gestohlene Collier, die süfie Mühsal eines ehebrecherischen Frauen- lebens machten sie fromm und lustern nach Sak- ramenten. Wie gut sich die Sünde einrichten lafit. . . . Genau wie Hochwürden Wiehnke hielten hundert andere Hochwürden am Soimabend nach Biiro- und Geschâftsschluû das haarige Priesterohr im Beichtstuhl sitzend gegen ein blankes, schwarz- liches Gitter, und die Gemeinde versuchte, durch die Drahtmaschen hindurch jene Sûndenschnur dem Priesterohr einzufadeln, an welcher sich Perle um Perle sündhaft billiger Schmuck reihte. Wahrend Mama durch Hochwürden Wiehnkes Gehor- kanal den hochsten Instanzen der alleinselig- machenden Kirche, dem Beichtspiegel folgend, mitteilte, was sie getan und unterlassen hatte, was da geschehen war in Gedanken, Wort en und Werken, verlieB ich, der ich nichts zu beichten hatte, das mir allzu geglattete Kirchenholz und stellte mich auf die Pliesen.9
It is obvious that as a youth Grass observed acquaintan ces attending church and going through all of the rituals of religion and then returning to their sinful ways for
^Grass, Die Blechtrommel. pp. 155-158.
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the rest of the week. For this reason, Grass has con
cluded that the church as it stands today is useless,
that it performs no true function, and that confession is a strange way to rid oneself of sins. Grass, however,
cannot totally reject religion, "da ich weder im Sakralen
noch im Profanen beheimatet bin, dafûr etwas abseits. . . . He would seem to be on the fringes of both.
Grass feels that the belief in something, anything, can
be good; if misguided, it can lead to catastrophe, but
man must believe in a higher power. For this reason,
religion has its place. Grass therefore recognizes the
good to be found in religion, but he rejects the church as it stands today. He has scratched the roseate col
ors of the church as it is usually seen, "welches unter
der Farbe den Gips deutlich macht."^^ Another reason
for his rejection of the church is that its priests,
such as His Reverence Wiehnke, sit idly listening to
confessions of sins, yet they do nothing about them:
"Lernen wir von den Katholiken und halten wir unser Ohr
hin. . . . /Irmgard Seiferts/ Austritt aus der luther- ischen Landeskirche /Wrde genann^ eine spontané Antwort
^^Ibid., p. 168.
l^Ibid.. p. 165.
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12 auf das Ja ihrer Kirche zur Bundeswehr. ..." Adding
to Grass' disenchantment with the church is the fact
that there are, "Zuviele einander aufhebende Heilslehr- 13 en und zuwenig praktischer Nutzen. . . . " l'or these reasons, Grass could not associate himself with the
church; and so he left it. Events in his later life have also contributed
to his desertion of the church. The God of the organized
church did not save Grass from being driven from his
home, nor did He save many of Grass' former schoolmates
from being killed and maimed. When Grass speaks of the
rostrum which can deceive one politically, he also says,
"Ahnliches kann man von den Hinteransichten kirchlicher
Altare sagen. . . . In the same work, in the chapter called "Die Nachfolge Christi," he has Oskar say that he equals and even surpasses "... Gottvater, den ein-
geborenen Sohn, und, was noch wichtiger ist, den Geist 15 hochstpersonlich mit einem einzigen Daumenspring. . . ."
Again he says, "Die Nachfolge Christi trat ich an.
^^Grass, Ortlich betaubt. p. 178.
l^Ibid.. p. 136. ^^Grass, Die Blechtrommel, p. 136.
l^Ibid.. p. 420.
^^Ibid.. p. 456.
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Taken to court for his part in a black mass, Oskar
called it the second trial of Christ, "der mit meinem 17 und so auch mit Jesu Freispruch endete." In these
ideas, Oskar follows a long and eminent line of prede
cessors. In Katz und Maus, the character Mahlke is described
as "der ErlSser Mahlke" and is portrayed as having his hair parted in the middle, a triangular face, raised “I Q eyebrows, and a halo. This is the usual portrayal of
Christ. As far as physical similarities are concerned,
we find allusions to them also in the Blechtrommel.
The Baby Jesus is said to have Oskar Matzerath’s sta- 20 ture, his blue eyes, and his gestures, a fact which
irritates Oskar. These attempts to humanize religious figures
find expression again and again in the Blechtrommel.
Seeing a statue of Jesus in a church, Oskar is astound
ed at his build; "Was hatte der Mann für Muskeln.' . . .
^^Ibid., p. 458. 1 Q Grass, Katz und Maus. p. 45. ^^Por a more detailed description of this subject, see Karl H. Ruhleder, "A Pattern of Messianic Thought in Günter Grass’ Cat and Mouse," The German Quarterly, KXXIX, 4 (Pall, 1966)739^1?: ------90 Grass, Die Blechtrommel, p. 162.
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Mein süfier Vorturner . . . Sportier aller Sportier. . . .
/ Ë ÿ versuchte Worte wie gehenedeit oder schinerzensreich
in Verhindung mit Jesse Owens und Rudolf Harbig . . . zu 21 verbinden. ..." Grass even humanizes God, when he says, "Der liebe Gott, der uns als fleifiiger Amateur
jeden Sonntag von oben herab, also schrecklich verkurzt 22 fotografiert. . . ." Mary is also seen in a painting, flesh-colored and wringing her hands. 25 This humanizing
of Mary leads Grass to imitate Herder, who, we are told,
"biologisiert das Gott-Erlebnis.This is a revitali
zation of the medieval unio mystica and the ancient
Mariendichtung, but only to a certain extent. Grass
takes this concept, as he does with many others, to a grotesque degree. In the Hunde.jahre, the Virgin Mary
appears to Walter Matern. 25 He is trying to decide what
to do with himself, and Mary gives him no aid at all, only platitudes. This becomes grotesque when he later
claims to have had intercourse with her.He is
^^Ibid.. p. 160. ^^Ibid., p. 50.
^^Ibid., p. 46.
^^Heer, p. 566.
Grass, Hunde.jahre, pp. 285ff.
^^Ibid., pp. 591-592.
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answered that, "den fiktiven Verkehr mit der Jungfrau
Maria kann jeder glaubige Katholik bei sich nachvoll-
ziehen; zudem ist jedem sogennanten Unglaubigen dieser 27 Nachvollzug zumindest freigestellt,"
Now that the chief religious figures have been
humanized, in what can man now trust? Heer tells us that Christian Wolff advocated putting one's trust
in Reason; that Edelmann, the Gnostic, said God is reason; that Hamann proclaimed reason as that which
makes man divine; and that Kant equated conscience with 28 reason.
Man has been taught that the church has always
been against the society advocated by Marx and Engels,
but we are told by Heer that Marx's idea of society
is basically patterned after Romans 12:2 in the Bible: "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye trans
formed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is good, and acceptable, and perfect. ..." This duality of thought causes Grass some discomfort. He is
left thinking of God as he thinks of himself— that is to say, as a duality: "Aber der liebe Gott, . . war Rasputin
2?Idem.
Z^Heer, pp. 546-572.
29%bid., p. 627.
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. . . war der DichterfÜrst Goethe. . . . God was
both the faith-healer, the madman and extremist, and
also the rational and orderly being. Because of this duality, which causes Grass' orderly mind to reject the
God of the church. Grass must find something else in
which to believe. In Hunde.jahre. we can see the strug gle in his mind in his attempt to find a solution.
Speaking through Walter Matern, he twice rejects God as we know Him. He says first and simply that he believes “51 not in God but in the Nothing.^ later, being questioned
in more detail about his belief in God, he answers :
M a t e m : An Gott? Matem: I hr meint, ob ich an Gott? Matern: An Gott da oben? Diskutant: Nicht nur oben, Überall tiberhaupt. Matern: Also an irgend etwas da oben und sonst- WO • • • • Diskutant: Wir meinen nicht irgend etwas sondern klipp und klar: Gotti . . . Matern: Jeder Mensch, ob er will oder nicht, jeder Mensch, ganz gleich, welche Er- ziehung er genossen hat, welcher Haut- farbe er ist, welcher Idee er anhangt, jeder Mensch, sag ich, der denkt fûhlt, Nahrung zu sich nimmt, atmet, handelt, also lebt. . . . Diskussionsleiter: . . . glauben Sie an Gott? Matern: Ich glaube an das Nichts. . . . Diskutant: Ein uns gelâufiges Heideggerzitat. Matern: Doch manchmal vermag ich selbst an das
^^Grass, Die Blechtrommel, pp. 495-496.
^^Grass, Hunde.jahre, p. 375.
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Nichts nicht zu glauben; dann wieder glaube ich, ich konnte an Gott glauben, wenn ich. . . . Diskutant; . . . Ja oder Nein? Matern: Also— (Pause)— In dreigottesnamen: Nein.52
Questioned about his belief in God— without any qualifi
cation, by abstracts— M a t e m (Grass) attempts first to
qualify this abstraction. He is not allowed to do so.
Therefore he attempts to sidestep the issue through philosophy and alleged quotations from Heidegger. This
also is not allowed him. He therefore begins to formu
late his own thoughts, to attempt through reason to discover for himself whether he believes in their God
or if, in fact, he could. This is also denied him, and
he must, therefore, declare that he does not believe in
God. It is true that Grass does not believe in the
usual picture, or concept, of God, as disseminated by
the church. However, he does believe in a power, a
"prime mover," which rules us all. This power is firm
ly related to reason. The beginning of the Gospel of
John, "Theos en ho Logos," which is usually translated
"the Word was God," was translated by the Gnostics as "God is Reason.Grass seems to have assimilated this idea into his own thoughts. Grass is, as we have
52lbid.. pp. 581-582.
^%eer, p. 562.
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seen, not the first to have a distrust of orthodox reli gions, keeping at the same time a metaphysical belief
in a higher power. Grass’ distrust of the orthodoxies of the church
could also originate from his knowledge of the history
of the church. We are told that in the early days of
the nineteenth century; Die grofîen Kirchen liefîen weithin die Massen und die Materie unbetreut, verloren dergestalt jeden formenden Einfluû auf sie, weil sie im tragischen Konflikt mit der Zeit unterlagen und ihre Botschaft deshalb nicht mehr in einer glaubwurdigen Sprache vortragen konnten. Das . . . 'christliche’ Ge- rede im 19. Jhdt., letztlich nur mehr ’verwendet’ als Festtagsaufputz . . . hat unendlich mehr Schaden im Geiste angerichtet als alle ’anti- christlichen'. . . .54
Heer tells us that Justus Moser, an early historian
(1720-1794) who stimulated the German people into an interest in their own past, has said that religion at
that time was a useful and indispensible fraud. 35 Like
wise, Grass has commented that the passage from Genesis,
"Let there be light," would be better suited to an ad
vertisement for Osram light bulbs.This failure of
the church to be relevant and to take part in the strug
gle for bettering mankind is a failure which rankles in
^"^Ibid.. p. 645. ^^Ibid.. p. 578. ^^Grass, Die Blechtrommel. p. 47.
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Günter Grass' soul.
There are other failures of the church today
which to Grass are totally irredeemable. Heer enumer
ates them for us;
1. Ein katholischer Konformismus, der nahezu alle Phânomene der Zeit 'katholisch' begreift; der also etwa Rilkes 'franziskanische Seele,' Heideggers 'katholische' Seinslehre, und Hilters Reich bevmndert . . . ist ungemein weit verbreitet, gerade auch in jenen Kreisen, die eine vomehme ZurÜckhaltung gegenüber den brennenden Existenzfragen zur Schau tragen. 2. Zahlreiche Versuche, das Geistesgut des Katholizismus als Material auszubeuten, um mehr oder minder verschleierte Ideologien fûr stândische Positioner, politische Ansprûche, wirtschlaftliche Konzepte zu gewinnen. 5. Pie Bemühungen, auf katholischer Grund- lage einen neuen Nationalismus . . . anzubauen. ^4. Die tiefste Versuchung ... . Rom als ein Uber-Moskau constituieren zu wo11en. . . .^ '
The Catholic conformists in Germany, who admired Hei degger and Hitler's Reich, and the Protestants who did the same, are hated by GÛnter Grass due to the very
nature of the objects of their admiration. Again and
again we see priests and "good Catholics" in the Blech trommel . Katz und Maus, and Hunde.jahre who profess
Christianity on the one hand and allow persecutions, assaults, and murder on the other hand. That these same people refuse to become involved today is the basic rea son for their disfavor in the eyes of Grass. "Bürger-
^^Heer, pp. 656-657.
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pflicht” and "Wahlerinitiativ” are the two guidelines
of Grass' philosophy, and if organized religion is to
he a hinderance to that goal, he will have nothing to
do with it. The exploitation of Catholicism as a defense for
the privileged classes is repugnant to Grass' socialist
ic bent, and as a defense of political claims is hated
by Grass for the very reason that he decries the CDU—
i.e. because it is an alliance between the church and
"Big Business." The nationalism in the church is, to Grass, just
the same as the nationalism of the Third Reich, and just
as evil due to its tendencies to create friction and
often war. Grass often equates the church and National-
Socialistic Germany. In the Blechtrommel, he speaks many times of the "Schwarze K5chin," who symbolizes the fear of death, in connection with the days of the Third
Reich. At the end of the work, he adds; "Auch hinterm Hochaltar— was ware der Katholizismus ohne die Kochin,
die alle Beichtstûhle schwarzt?"^®
The idea of creating a "super-Moscow" in Rome
is especially abhorrent to Grass, and understandably so— one Moscow under the present circumstances is too
^®Grass, Die Blechtrommel. p. 711.
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much and, when added to a Washington and a Peking, has
already done irreparable damage to Germany and to the German "Bürger."
Again Heer tells us that the members of society
as seen by Marx and Engels were called on to take over 5 0 the government,just as Grass now calls for "Bürger- pflicht" and "Wahlerinitiativ." Heer then describes
the man of that time as both an all-giving father and
an all-demanding son, just as Oskar Matzerath was an
all-giving father to his son Kurt and at the same time
an all-demanding son to both of his presumptive fathers—
the Polish Jan Bronski and the German Matzerath. This
bi-polarity within one man is also reminiscent of Goethe's "Zwei Seelen wohnen, achi in meiner Brust."^^
Such a "schizophrenia" may be observed in all of the authors and philosophers to whom Grass gives credence—
all of whom, like Grass, came from the East to the West—
Herder, Hamann, Leibnitz, Kant, Nietzsche, and Wolff,
among many others. Heer claims that this "schizophrenia" arises from
a daring similar to that of Paust and from the antipodes
of barbaric-primitive drives and highly civilized.
^^Heer, p. 628. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Werke, III (Frank furt am Main; Insel Verlag, 1966), p. 37.
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controlled spheres.Grass calls this the combination of Apollonian and Dionysian philosophies; and he charac terizes these by Goethe, the man of the Enlightenment,
symbolizing order and the West, and Rasputin, the bar barian, symbolizing chaos and the East.^^ He continues: Wahrend mir der Gott des besinnungslosen Rausches riet, entweder ûberhaupt keinen Lesestoff und wenn doch, dann nur einen Stapel Rasputin mit- zunehraen, wollte mir der Ûberschlaue und allzu vernûnftige Apollo die Reise nach Frankreich ganz und gar ausreden, bestand jedoch, als er merkte, dafi Oskar zur Reise entschlossen war, auf einem lückenlosen Reisegepack: jedes wohl- anstandige Gâhnen, das Goethe vor Jahrhunderten von sich gegeben hatte, mufite ich mitnehmen, nahm aber aus Trotz, auch well ich wuBte, daB die 'Wahlverwandtschaften* nicht alle Problème geschlechtlicher Art zu Ibsen vermochten, auch Rasputin und seine nackte, dennoch schwarz be- strumpfte Frauenwelt an mich. Wenn Apollo die Harmonie, Dionysos Rausch und Chaos anstrebte, war Oskar ein kleiner, das Chaos harmonisierender, die Vernunft in Rauschzustande versetzender Halb- gott, der alien seit Zeiten festgelegten Vbll- gbttern auBer seiner Sterblichkeit eines voraus hatte: Oskar durfte lesen, was ihm Spafl machte; die Gbtter jedoch zensieren sich selbst.43
Rasputin, the Slav, and Goethe, the German; Bronski, the
Pole, and Matzerath, the German, each represents one side of the Polish-German Grass; and because of this duality. Grass is faced with the same dilemma which was
felt by Kant, who, we are told, wanted to be Prometheus,
41lbid.. p. 631. ^^Grass, Die Blechtrommel. p. 101. 45lbid.. pp. 385-386.
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stealing the spirit of the gods, and Faust, drawing
strength from the "Mothers," in order to change the face of the earth.Oskar once again speaks for Grass; Welch weiteres GlÜck, dafi Gretchen Scheffler, womSglich auf mein Drângen hin, mir ein KostOm zuschnitt, nâhte, schliefilich verpafite, das biedermeierlich und wahlverwandt genug, heute noch in meinem Fotoalbum den Geist Goethes heschwort, von meinen zwei Seelen zeugt, mich also mit einer einzigen Trommel in Petersburg und Weimar gleichzeitig zu den Mûttern hinab- steigen, mit Damen Orgien feiern lâfit.4-5
Just as all of the previous East-West writers, Grass
wants to unite East and West, and this derives completely
from his metaphysical view of life, history, and society.
This same metaphysical credo causes Grass, as well
as his precursors, to more closely investigate the rela
tionship of men to objects, those things which have been
considered inferior to man, just as men have always inves tigated the relations between the higher order of gods and man. We are told that Herder thought the origin of
a thing to be its being and essence and that a seed con
tained the entire later being; that Kant made himself, the subject, into the object; and that Marx considered in detail the relationship between men and objects.46
44Heer, p. 573. ^^Grass, Die Blechtrommel. p. 106.
4^Heer, pp. 624-650.
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In line with this tradition, Grass has also made a
thorough, if quizzical study of this subject. In his
poem, Diana, Oder die GegenstSnde. Grass maintains
that visible, palpable objects are more important to
the artist than ideas— he calls them, respectively, "Schattenwerfende K3rper” and "Schattenlose Ideen." These bodies, be they objects in nature or artificial
man-made objects, are more closely bound together with
the artist than are intangible ideas. However, Grass is of the opinion that man-made objects can also include
those "haftbare" ideas from which objects can be made.
In his poems, Lamento bei Glatteis. Aus dem Alltag der Puppe Nana, and GeSffneter Schrank,^^ we are shown
how absurd things can be when abstract ideas take the place of objects, how, indeed, objectivity is thereby
lost. We can see from this how the destruction of trans
parent, invisible glass by Oskar Matzerath's voice is
merely a metaphoric expression of Günter Grass' will to destroy those intangible, invisible things which have
done us no good, but rather which have caused us only strife since the beginning of time. Faith is a good
Grass, Gleisdreieck, pp. 75-74.
48lbid., p. 44. ^^Grass, Die Vorzfige der Windhfihner, p. 10,
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thing, as long as one places his faith in things which
can be seen, or felt, or heard— things which are capable
of change and which can be held responsible for their
actions and their qualities. As Kant made himself,
the subject, into the object to be changed and said that
man was both judge and the judged. Grass does the same. Using the metaphor of doctor and patient, he propounds
much the same idea both in his drama, Davor. and in his
novel, Ortlich betâubt. As the dentist in the drama
says: "Wie Sie den Unterschied zwischen Lehrenden und Lernenden aufheben wollen, so werden wir den Unterschied
zwischen Arzt und Patient endgdltig abbauen— und zwar Ç0 systematisch." One might extend this metaphor and say, "Physician, heal thyself" first, and the rest will
fall into place. We are also told by Heer that the Industrial
Revolution and the increasing power of the church caused
a lessening of contact between man and his earthly en
vironment. This alienation also brought about an ex-
tinction of political responsibility.^5 1 This is perhaps another reason for Grass* dislike of the organized
church, since he is so much involved in promoting the
^^Gdnter Grass, Davor (Berlin: Kiepenheuer, 1969), p. 3. 5^Heer, pp. 654-655.
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political responsibility of the individual. We also
know, as Time magazine has so aptly pointed out, that:
"Whatever puts him at one remove from the physical,
Grass hates, including the automobile (he refuses to
learn to drive) and the telephone (he used to hide his C p in a cupboard and beg his friends not to call),'.' Contributing to Grass' metaphysical ideas is
what one might call the expressionistic trend of today's
young society. As we have often seen, whenever we find
a majority of outspoken youth, there is a tendency to
ward action instead of thought and toward the new instead
of the old ways. Heer tells us that in the nineteenth
century men were "die vatermordende," believing them
selves to be the new bringers of salvation; and that the Germans sought the "salvation-bringer" who was to 5"5 join Heaven and Earth. Heer says that there was a
will on the part of the people to tear down old politi
cal systems and religious orthodoxies, and this is said 54 to have sprung from the union of East and West, In the Blechtrommel. Grass discusses this search for the
^^"The Dentist's Chair as an Allegory of Life," Time. XCV, 15 (April 13, 1970), 70-73.
^^Heer, p. 591. ^^Idem.
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bringer of salvation in great detail.
In making a travesty of the book of Corinthians
and in showing the falsity of considering Hitler as a bringer of salvation, Grass seems to expose the error
in earlier German thought. Gas can bring ease to man,
but when it is misused, it can bring death and suffer
ing. Man should have regarded himself, not a specific
leader, as the "saviour." He should have put his trust
in his own ability to reason. Granting that Grass thinks he has seen through
the façade of modern religion due to his experiences
with it, and granting the long line of eminent writers
before him with whom he feels a kindred spirit, there
can be no doubt as to why Grass feels as he does about
religion and its effect, or lack of effect. And it is this feeling, this belief, this metaphysical credo, which causes Grass to perceive history, politics, and
the future of man as he has done. It is also for this
reason that he has taken it upon himself to attempt to be a minor "salvation-bringer" to the youth of Germany,
in whose hands Germany's future rests. To them he ad
vocates reason, self-reliance, initiative, moderation, and unity. His "Glaube" has caused him to feel this
55gee pages 42 and 43 above.
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way; his own history has strengthened this feeling, and
he has faith in himself to bring about a new age— call
it the Age of Aquarius, the age of the fish, or merely
a new and hopeful future, full of beginnings. This is
his self-appointed task, which he pursues with vigor, in the hope that he, too, may make a meaningful contri
bution to society.
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THE NATURE OF MAN
Having investigated history, politics, and reli
gion in the works of Günter Grass, we find that all of
these concepts are based upon the nature of man, who
makes history, engages in politics, and practices reli-
tion. Günter Grass gives us some idea in his novels of
what this man is like, but he is an artist first and a
seeker of truth after that. A favorite conception of art today is that it
can only be judged for its direct moral and political
effect. Those who adopt this philosophy in our time
demand that the writer be "involved”— by which they mean
that he must take sides in the current political and
philosophical disputes. Most generalized concepts
about human nature found in literature prove on close
inspection to be related to social and political change.
This is also true of the works of Günter Grass. Grass
is, of course, involved in human life; and, as a citi
zen, he engages in the party politics of his time; but his vision comes from his experiences and not from his 101
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political or religious beliefs. As a man, Grass has
cultivated his mind through the study of philosophy,
theology, and history. Like other men, he has accepted certain political and metaphysical ideas through belief
in them. All that he has learned and all that he be lieves has its effect upon his mind and his sensibility. But his poetic vision is ultimately derived from his
own efforts to find his way in the puzzling world we
all know, i.e., from one’s own experience. Experience,
in this sense, is not a matter of literal observation
and report; it accumulates slowly within us at some
deep level on the very edge of awareness. We can hear
its voice only when we are free from the immediate pres sures of the environment. Grass, having left Danzig as
a child, has been able to effectively use this city as
an example in his teachings because of the objectivity
gained by his freedom from the environmental restrictions.
We have already seen that he depicts three dis
tinct groups or classes of man. These are the leader figures, the revolutionary youth, and the "Bürger.” We
have examined the leaders of Germany in the chapters on
history, politics, and religion. At the same time, we have looked at Grass’ concept of today's revolutionary
students and at how he would advise them to proceed in
the future. We have only paid slight attention to the
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third group— that of the "Bürger,” the citizen, the man
of the middle class. This is the class from which the
author himself comes, and he can speak more intelligibly
about such a familieir group. We also see more about
this class in Grass' works because the "Bürger" makes
up the majority of the citizenry of Germany and thus
has it within his power to bring more pressure to bear
in changing the present conditions in Germany.
In Ortlich betâubt, he defines this "Bürger,"
"als eine anfâllige fehlerhafte Konstruktion, die der
lenkenden PÜrsorge bedarf. . . ."^ But Grass says that he himself is someone who wants more, who demands that,
"... der Mensch über sich hinauswachse, sich seiner
Ausbeutung bewuBt werde, wer vom Menschen erwartet, dafi er zur Verânderung der Welt und ihrer etablierten Ver
bal tnisse bereit sei, wer, wie mein Schüler, nur dumpfe
Sattheit sieht. . . ."^ Grass has an innate and basic love for the lower
middle class, and he not only regrets what has become
of them, but he also has great faith in their ability
to overcome their hardships, for the most part, through
their children.
^Grass, Ortlich betâubt. p. 245.
^Idem.
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Grass, even though speaking of a class of people
in its entirety, refuses to lump them together as a
mere faceless mass. He rejects the idea that indivi
duality is a thing of the past because, as he says, all
men are heroes, and "bei aller Preundschaft und Einsam- % keit, noch immer keine namen- und heldenlose Masse."
Although it is no "faceless mass," we shall consider it,
for the sake of clarity, as a group— one whose members
share like foibles as well as like virtues.
Grass, grappling with the ever-changing problems
of man's adaptation to society, has become increasingly
preoccupied with man's integrity and more and more aware
of the forces which threaten it. The greatest sins attri
buted by Grass to man are his complacency, forgetfulness,
and lack of consideration for his fellow.
Grass feels very strongly about the complacency
of today's German and has said that the time has now come in which "unser heute in BlÛte stehendes Bieder-
meier"^ must be eradicated. In the Blechtrommel we see
a lyrical passage in which Grass castigates the apothe osis of bourgeois comfort;
^Grass, Die Blechtrommel. p. 12.
^Ibid.. p. 412.
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AM ATLANTIKWALL Noch waffenstarrend, mit getarnten Zahnen, Beton einstampfend, Rommelspargel, schon unterwegs ins Land Pantoff el, wo jeden Sonntag Salzkartoffel und freitags Pisch, auch Spiegeleier: wir nâhern uns dem Biedermeierî
Noch schlafen wir in Drahtverhauen, verhuddeln in latrinen Minen und trâumen drauf von Gartenlauhen, von Kegelhrüdern, Turteltauben, vom Kühlschrank, formschon Wasserspeier; wir nâhern uns dem Biedermeierî
Muû mancher auch ins Gras noch heiSen, muB manch ein Mutterherz noch reifien, trâgt auch der Tod noch Pallschirmseide, knûpft er doch Rûschlein seinem Kleide, zupft Pedem sich vom Pfau und Reiher: wir nâhern uns dem Biedermeierî5
War came to the Germans, yet like a Pantoffel-figure^
they continued to dream of food, soft and snug rooms, and garden bowers. The thought of comfort was like a
drug to them which eradicated any thoughts of coming
evil. They did not use their innate powers of reason,
but rather they blindly followed in the paths chosen
for them by their leaders. The middle class man is
indeed a follower by nature. He is trained in this
role from family life, where the father rules, from
^Ibid.. pp. 405-406. ^Pantoffel (Pr. Pantoufle; It. Pantofola) a stock character in drama which came to Germany through Prance from the Italian commedia dell* arte— a figure symbolizing one * s withdrawal from ike real world for his own sake.
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school days where the teacher is in oonmand, and from
the church, where the priest, the Pope, and God are
omnipotent. After home, school, and church, it is
little wonder that middle class man follows the first
voice of authority that he hears. He also is unable to
determine for himself what is to be believed and what is not. He can merely follow others, as Matzerath did—
waving when others did and joining the Nazi Party for
the same reason.
After the war, this complacency was still to be found. Klepp is the best example. He is ashamed of
what happened but is ready to let it happen again. He
has forgotten why and how the Third Reich had come about and, like other modern-day Germans, thinks it best to
even hide what happened from his children. He wants
to protect them from feelings of guilt and shame; but,
according to Grass, this is absolutely the worst that
can happen to youth. Youth has already led such a shel
tered life that it cannot argue its ideas knowledgeably,
and therefore simply riots. The lack of consideration for the youth of today which is shown by the "Bürger”
is extended to such a lack toward all fellow men, as 7 is exemplified by the Zeidler family in the Blechtrommel.
^Grass, Die Blechtrommel. pp. 570ff.
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While others are hungry, the Zeidlers throw expensive
goblets into their fireplace and have rug piled upon
rug on their floors.
Thus, we are shown in the artistic creations of
the mind of Günter Grass how innate and, in their effects
far-reaching, man's faults are. Man, according to Grass, has his good side too. Grass delights in portraying the
"Danziger Platt" dialect and the old customs of north
eastern Germany in his works. He does not advocate throwing away the entirety of man's past in order to
prepare a better future for him; rather, through reason able selectivity, he wants to eradicate whatever was
bad, retaining the good. As examples, Grass portrays
many instances of goodness in his characters. Oskar's
stepmother Maria, protected Oskar from his father and from doctors who wanted to place him in an asylum. Mat
zerath married the pregnant Maria, whose child he had
fathered. Matern protected Amsel, while a child, from
other children. Oskar protected his son Kurt by des
troying his own father. He had good intentions, even
though his means were somewhat deplorable. Oskar, like wise, attempted to protect the dwarf, Roswitha, although in the end, she was destroyed by his neglect. Starusch
was well-meaning in his attempts to save Scherbaum from
grief and pain, but he ended as a failure. All of these
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examples suffice to show us that there are, indeed, good
qualities in man. Upon closer inspection, we see that
these qualities are those which are inborn in man— love,
protectiveness, and group consciousness. These things often become subdued or covered as one grows older. We
see that, for the most part, these qualities are shown in Grass' works by children or toward children. These
children are still too young to have been affected to
any large degree by society and its pressures.
We need love, protection, and an awareness of
belonging from childhood. We often do not receive as much as we need, and sometimes we get none of it. Much
of literature exists in the tension between what man naturally needs and what he gets; modern writers reflect it in countless ways. Man has an instinctive need for
an overall order, and how he channels this need is of
utmost importance to Günter Grass. Grass asks the mod
ern German man to see himself as irrevocably involved
in a social order, whether he subjects himself to it or
revolts against it in the name of a different order. Middle class man depends on others to lead him,
and even to call forth his own emotions. In the chapter Q "Im Zwiebelkeller" in the Blechtrommel Schmuh (the owner
^Ibid.. pp. 626ff.
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of the Onion Cellar and the leader of onion-caused or
gies) had only to produce onions and shout, "Begin,"
and the people would peel onions and cry. Although
they had full hearts and evil memories, they could not cry. The Onion Cellar did what the world and the sorrows
of the world could not do: it brought forth involvement,
even if only caused by onions. Grass shows quite defi
nitely the influence exerted by a leader and how the
average German blindly follows him. Any sheep who so
unquestioningly follows his bellwether or Judas goat
deserves to be slaughtered, and this has occurred over
and over again in German history. On the other hand,
youth of today knows no leader, acknowledges no author
ity, and recognizes nothing but rapid and total change. Grass finds himself t o m between the two views.
As usual, Oskar speaks for him in the Blechtrommel :
Dieser Boppelgriff sollte mein leben . . . fest- legen und beeinflussen.9 . . . denn allzubald wurde mir klar, daB auf dieser Welt jedem Rasputin ein Goethe gegen- ûbersteht, daB Rasputin Goethe oder der Goethe ein Rasputin nach sich zieht, sogar erschafft, wenn es sein muB, um ihn hinterher verurteilen zu kSnnen.lO
Oskar /war? ein kleiner, das Chaos harmonisier-
Sjbid.. p. 101.
lOlbid.. p. 104.
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ender, die Vernunft in Rauschzust&nde veraetzen- der Halbgott. . .
Grass can see the good in both sides, but he can
also see the bad. For this reason, he advocates moder
ation, a point somewhere between the two poles. With that accomplished, there would be no "generation gap,"
and a successful dialogue could be carried out between
the two sides, eliminating strife. This is the main
idea behind the novel, Ortlich betâubt. As Grass said
in an interview: "I started the book in 1967. It takes
place in the present in Germany— in Berlin and in the
world. I have tried to show the helplessness of the 12 older generation to cope with youth." Starusch, the
dentist, and Irmgard Seifert, on the one hand, cannot converse with Scherbaum or his friend, Vero Lewand. For
this reason the gap between them widens, and nothing
is accomplished. With a successful dialogue, some good
might have come of Scherbaum's protest. That would at
least do away with one paradox in the nature of man.
Man is full of such paradoxes. While reviling the days
of Hitler on one side of his mouth, the average German still reveres the "Iron Cross." In his book Katz und
Maus. and in the movie of the same name. Grass allows
^Ibid.. p. 586.
"Interview with Günter Grass," Today Show.
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the main character, Mahlke, to wear the Iron Cross in
such a way that it dangles between his legs. The furor
v/hich arose in Germany following the release of both
works was astounding. One such example is an article
appearing in Das Ritterkreuz. We are told:
Wie sich der 'groBe’ Dieb den Orden beim Baden vor jenen Korperteil hSlt, der von der Badehose bedeckt wird . . . wo sich die Handlung unmittel- bar um das Ritterkreuz bewegt, das ftlr ihn-wort- lich zitiert-’unaussprechlich' ist. Darum wahlt er dafür auch die respektlosesten Ausdrûcke: Er spricht vom 'besonderen Artikel,' vom *verdamm- ten Bonbon,’ vom 'Dingslamdei, ' vom ’Ding Ding Ding’ und besudelt den Orden mit Umschreibungen wie ’Gegenteil einer Zwiebel,' ’galvanisierter Vierklee,’ ’des alten Schinkel Ausgeburt,’ 'das Unaussprechliche’ u.a.m. Es ist widerlich, solchen AusfluB krankhafter Phantasie lesen zu mûssen.l3
Desecration it was called, and this happened at a time
when Germans were still trying ex-Nazis for war crimes.
Such a paradox, along the same lines, is the
fact that during these trials, Germany elected two rank
ing Nazis to powerful positions in the government— Lübke
and Kiesinger— and defeated Willy Brandt who fought
against Nazism from the very beginning.
The paradoxes occur because man is basically an animal. He has been civilized by setting up social
^"Nur mit der Zange anzufassen!" Das Ritter kreuz. Wiesbaden, April, 1962, as cited by (ïert loschûtz, Ÿon Auch zu Buch (Neuwied: Luchterhand, 1968), pp. 48- w :
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precepts which are contrary to his animal instincts.
The further social pressure brought to bear by the
church and by the Industrial Revolution has caused in
estimable damage to many. For this reason, in his
works, Grass allows his characters to emerge as losers
in their personal and social encounters. The institu
tions and facades of public life become incompatible with their individual needs, and this conflict destroys
them. In the Blechtrommel. Oskar Matzerath*s mother
has a physical need for Jan Bronski. She, however,
being married to Matzerath, is compelled by social de
mands to remain loyal and moral. This conflict causes
her to destroy herself. Jan Bronski is faced with the
decision of either remaining a loyal Pole or facing the
fact that the Poles could never stop the Blitzkrieg of the advancing German army. Because of his indecision,
he is shot by a firing squad. Greff, the greengrocer,
commits suicide due to the conflict between his love for
his wife and his homosexual tendencies. Meyn, the trum- peteer, also commits suicide because he cannot face the
decision of chosing Bismarck’s Germany or Hitler's. Oskar, himself, wants to remain a three-year-old to avoid becoming a foolish adult; yet nature is not to be
stopped— he grows despite his efforts to the contrary.
His way out is to be committed to an asylum, but his
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lies are found out, and he must return to the world of
man— a fact which destroys him through fear.
In Katz und Maus. Mahlke wants an Iron Cross,
but he does not want to kill or otherwise wage war. He
wins his Iron Gross, and in despair over what he has
done, he drowns himself to keep from having to kill any
more. He is portrayed as being like Christ in appear
ance, and, like Christ, he allows himself to die for the
sake of others.
In Hunde.iahre. Amsel is t o m between being the
Jew that he is and the German that he wants to be. In
the Germany of that day, the two existences were not
compatible; so he disappeared "underground"— figurative
ly at first and then literally. Walter Matem was torn between love of his friend Amsel and hatred of Amsel's Jewish heritage. Succumbing to pressure from his peers,
he beats Amsel and later spends the rest of his life
wandering and searching for the friend he had destroyed.
Jenny Brunies* father was caught in a conflict between addiction and the society-prescribed role of a teacher,
and he was imprisoned. Jenny, herself, in love with Matem, but feeling duty-bound to follow her benefactor, Amsel, found that her art was not sufficient for her.
It was, however, too late for her to retrace her steps. In Ortlich betâubt. Scherbaum is t o m between
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sacrificing his dog for a cause or abandoning his cause
for love of his dog. In the end, he does nothing. His
teacher, Starusch, loves Irmgard Seifert, but his inac
tion causes her rejection of him shortly after he re
jects a girl who loves him.
The problem Grass sets before his readers is
whether the pain and anxiety caused by these conflicts
are necessary elements of human destiny— whether they
are mainly a consequence of social conditions, or whether
they are self-caused afflictions. There is something to
be said for each of these possibilities.
Oskar's mother, Jan Bronski, Greff, Mahlke,
Amsel, Matem, Herr Brunies, and Scherbaum— each in his
own way loses due to unjust, criminal, or unremitting
social conditions. Grass shows us in his works that it is simply the nature of man to merely accept these in
justices, especially where the individual is not spe
cifically concerned. The author seems to feel that such afflictions can be legislatively countermanded through
a unified protest and a constant pressure which is to
be brought to bear on those in power. Oskar, his father, Meyn, Jenny, Starusch, and, to a certain extent, Matern and Scherbaum, cause their
own problems due to indecision on the one hand and a lack of reason on the other. Had each of these paused
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in his flight through life to reflect in a reasonable
manner and then decide on the right course for him, his
problems would have at least been alleviated and could
possibly have disappeared completely.
As to pain and anxiety being necessary elements
of human destiny, Grass is less clear. In each of his
works, he includes one catalytic agitator, who by his
or her very nature causes pain and anxiety for others.
In the Blechtrommel. it is Lucy Rennwand. She causes
the "Dusters" gang to confess in court by her constant
mockery. In Kats und Maus. it is Tulla Pokriefke, who
constantly causes the friends Mahlke and Pilenz to do
things which later cause them to come to grief. Pilenz,
himself, is a contributory factor, in that he sets the whole tragedy of Mahlke in motion by constantly deriding
him— playing "Cat and Mouse" with him, as it were.
In Hunde.jahre, Tulla reappears as M a t e m ' s cousin
and playmate. It is she who causes Jenny Brunies to
leave home and Matem. She causes Jenny’s father to be
jailed. She stirs up dissent against Amsel and causes Matem grief and anxiety in countless little ways. Vero
Lewand fulfills this role in Ortlich betâubt. both in
the case of Scherbaum and that of Starusch.
These "Storfrieden" seem to be innately evil— evil for evil’s sake seems to be their motto. Since catharsis
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is one means of purifying the soul, these grief-bringers
may be serving in a necessary capacity in the destiny of
mankind. What Grass' answer is to the problem of whether
pain and anxiety are necessary to further human destiny—
whether they arise due to prevailing social conditions or whether they are self-caused— we are not told. It is
probable that Grass leans toward the theory that they
are self-caused. If they were necessary to man's des
tiny, Grass would not address himself to the minds of
his readers. If they are social conditions, then man
can change them. The fact that he has not changed them
leads one to believe that they are self-caused due to
omission. Self-caused problems arise through a lack of
utilization of reason and can be removed through its use. Whatever the viewpoint of Grass toward the cause
of these pains, the last sentence of his latest novel,
Ortlich betâubt, leaves us little doubt as to their
future: "Nichts halt vor. Immer neue Schmerzen.
Grass has said that he wants to guide the "vul
nerable faulty construction" which is man. He has out lined what he wants to see in man in the future. Man
should "surpass himself"— not to become a Nietzschean
^^Grass, Ortlich betâubt. p. 558.
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"Übermensch," but to utilize all of his capabilities
and powers to the best of his ability. Grass is con
stantly making man aware of the way he is being exploit ed, as a first step in requiring reason of man. Seeing
nothing around him now but dullness— both physical and
mental dullness— Grass feels man to be capable of chang ing the world and its established conditions for the
better.
This has been the main goal of the artist, GOnter
Grass. His poems, his plays, his novels, and his poli tical activities have had but this one aim. It is Grass’
thesis that change takes time if it is to be effective,
and for that reason he does not expect to see the results of his mission in his lifetime. But it is likely that
results will come. Whether the results will be in the
form of submission to the precepts which Grass has for mulated or whether they will be in the form of a revolt
against these ideas. Grass does not pretend to know— 1*5 "I'm not a prophet. . . . I’m a writer,’’ he has said.
A writer, who by pointing out the failures of man, both past and present, in the realms of history, politics,
religion, and of human nature, who attempts to better
man’s estate thereby. Grass has indeed proven through
15iiQihe Dentist’s Chair as an Allegory of Life," p. 79.
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his precepts that man needs only direction, not a crystal
ball to make his future.
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Gûnter Grass writes novels, plays, poetry, and short stories and associates himself intimately with
politics because of his intention to instruct the youth
of today's Germany as to the rules of action and con
duct which seem to him to have the most efficacy in
providing for a better future. Grass admits to being
a preceptor of youth. He teaches for the simple reason
that he himself was not able to avoid the horrors of
war and the sadness of the exile, and he wishes to help
youth to avoid these problems. Grass has great faith in the youth of Germany to change things for the better. He realizes that com
promise has no place in this world if this world is to
be changed. Again andagain in his works we see this idea propounded by the use of such characters as Egon
Münzer, Oskar Matzerath, Tulla Pokriefke, Starusch, and
Scherbaum. Grass has seen the causes of war and its realities; he wishes therefore to eliminate the possi bility of war by drawing it in the starkest of images
in his works. He knows the impact of circumstances and
human fallibility in shaping the course of history, and
119
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he attempts through his works to minimize the effects
of circumstance and to reduce the fallibility of man
through the use of reason in place of habituation to
the problems extant around us.
Grass feels that the facts of life must be faced, not avoided, and the German student of today has been
"protected" from these facts. The tensions, the con
flicts, the pressures, and the factual ambivalence which
make up a great part of the works of Gûnter Grass arise
from his attempts to drive home the truths of past and
present in his role as preceptor. With the knowledge that Gûnter Grass does indeed
wish to teach, it remains for us to decipher what is
taught. We find that pure history and its applications
are of the utmost importance to Grass. He writes about history more than about any other subject, and he has
repeatedly stated that a knowledge of history is indis
pensable to one who is trying to make a better future for himself and for his country. Grass feels that his
tory has proven to be only a bellicose succession of
hostilities in the past. Today’s youth does not realize
this because, first, he has not thought about it and, second, the details of history have been kept from him.
He has only learned the dates and places of major wars,
and he has forgotten these!
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In appropriate positions within his texts, Grass
mentions many historical events, their results, and how
they affected Danzig and Germany. He allows the reader
to draw parallels between those events and events of
the present. Many of these events were attempts at
making reforms, just as today's youth try to change the world. Past attempts have failed, according to Grass,
because of inadequate preparation and insufficient know
ledge on the part of the reformers. Grass advocates gradualism, unity, organization, reason, and the facing
of reality. Quixotic patriotism, the placing of too
much power in the hands of too few, and negligent se lection of those few in power have been the reasons for
most of history's "dog years."
The ease with which modern Germans forget the
past's unpleasantries appalls Gunter Grass as does the
easy credibility evinced by Germans during the Third
Reich years. If these same people had used reason,
the results might well have been otherwise. The exe
gesis to be found in the works of Grass could be help
ful in the future to the youth of Germany. In the same manner as he is a student and teacher of history, Grass is deeply involved in politics, both
as a writer and as an active participant in the politi cal arena. A member of no party, he actively supports
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the SPD and its goals. Grass feels artists, as well
as the average man should engage themselves actively
in politics to avoid past mistakes.
To avoid the mistakes of the past, the changes to be made must be complete, not only superficial modi
fications. To change a country's name does not neces sarily change the status of its citizens; the change
must be all-pervading. This true change has not been well-reflected by the re-election of former Nazis to
positions of power in German politics. People have been credulous in regard to what
they are told by and about politics and politicians,
and, according to Grass, this should not be so. Man
should be free to exercise his own free will and his
ability to reason. Given this freedom, man should make
use of these faculties. Knowing the truth, a citizen
has the duty to pursue a course of action designed to allow him an important voice in the decisions of his
leaders. War, considered by Grass to be the antiquated
answer to all conflicts, should be replaced by intelli gent, reasoning exchanges between parties and countries.
The lack of reason exhibited in the past by indi
viduals, and by nations collectively, is the result of the innate laziness and lackadaisical carelessness of
the average man in civilized society. This must.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 125
according to G-rass, be overcome. Man must look behind
the false fronts of parties and nations and, exercising
reason, decide upon what he should believe. Once ob
serving that a past decision is in error, man must re
member it and thus be able to avoid it at a later time. Man's propensity for forgetting past mistakes is, at
the same time, both ludicrous and horrible and has led
to repetition after repetition of errors in judgement.
This, Grass says, must be avoided at all costs.
The easy, careless submission to any authority
is closely related to this lack of reason. The so-
called Herdentrieb of the Germans has long been called
to our attention by philosophers and psychologists, but Grass is the first spokesman for the common people to
advocate the destruction of this Herdentrieb by the
"herd" itself. Grass suggests that the remedy to this situation lies in the hands of the youtl. who have al
ready ceased to submit blindly to peirental authority.
If they first gain argumentative knowledge of their
goals; if they possess an adequate knowledge of histori cal politics and of current events, they will be able to use reason in the making of changes. The students
must have an inner unity among themselves to effect
change. They must reasonably decide what is to be des troyed and what is to be retained in the re-creation of
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 124
a new way of life. This should be the new politics of
Germany and of the world in its entirety in the mind of Grass,
The metaphysical or religious beliefs of Gikiter
Grass are the driving force behind all of his thoughts about history, politics, and man. Grass has studied the great thinkers of the world from Saint Augustine to
Marcuse, and the result of this is that he has drawn
what he considers the best from each of them. He re
jects formal religion as it is practiced today for many
reasons. He feels that the church has de-emphasized
self-reliance and reason in man. • He feels that blind
submission to authority is foolish. Grass equates God, reason, and man's reliance on his own powers. He does
not believe God to be the anthropomorphic characteriza tion in Sunday School booklets. Whether it is called
God, reason, or self-reliance makes no difference to
Grass. What is important is a belief in something
greater than one's self. For that reason, to Grass,
the church has its place in today's world; although, as it stands today, he rejects it because of its bla
tant faults. The greater authority to which Grass submits is
reason. In this, he follows such men as Wolff, Edelmann,
Hamann, and (surprisingly enough on the surface of it)
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 125
Marx and Engels. The church has condoned or blinded
itself to so many evils throughout its history while simultaneously preaching love and goodness and peace,
that Grass feels, although it has a place for many in
today's society, it should be changed or it should be
replaced by reliance in self, in reason, and in ini tiative in the affairs of today. That which is tangi ble is preferred by Grass to that which is intangible
and without a shadow or consequence. The physical is
to be preferred to the spiritual; action to inaction;
reasoning to habituation. For this reason. Grass seeks
salvation in himself and in people who, like him, use
reason and action to achieve their goals. These beliefs have caused Grass to perceive his
tory, politics, and the future of man as he has done
and have also led him to actively attempt to make changes himself and to convince man (especially youth) to do
the same.
Grass' ideas concerning history, politics, and
religion are all based on his concept of the nature of man. His picture of man has been drawn not only from
his studies of history and philosophy but also from
direct observation. Grass feels that man is vulnerable,
a faulty construction at best, needing care and guidance
but supremely capable of bettering himself and his world.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 126
Those good traits found in Grass* characters are those
of the natural, primordial being; love, protectiveness, and group consciousness. These are qualities which
Grass feels have been eradicated or at least reduced to a great degree by society and its pressures. Civi
lization, the church, and man himself have all led to a withdrawal from nature. Man has thus lost his inner
integrity and has become complacent, forgetful and in
considerate of his fellow man. Seeking his own comfort,
man abnegates his heritage and renounces all rights due
a reasonable, progressive, and natural being.
Man, however, is innately capable of regaining
his integrity, his memory, and his consideration. The more youthful groups of today are farther from the nat ural state than are the older generations. Torn between
the conservatism of the old and the blatant radicalism
of the young. Grass can see the good in both camps,
but also the bad. He advocates moderation— not hedging
or fence-straddling, but a combination of the good as
pects of both and the elimination of the bad. The contradictory nature of man, the animal, is
understandable. It is due to the social precepts which
man has set up and according to which he has attempted
to live. It is also due to the pressures of the church and the industrial revolution. The institutions of
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 127
public life are incompatible with human needs. These
institutions are too often merely façades set up to
accord with society's precepts, and man has failed to
perceive what lies behind the superficial, attempting instead to follow the course demanded by these insti
tutions. He is faltering under the yoke of a self-made
regimen. This in itself produces tensions. Coupled
with the conflicts brought on by these tensions, man's
lack of reason causes the wars, the hatred, and even
the inconsequential, petty strifes of daily life. Rea
son, memory, self-reliance, self-involvement, natural
actions, love, group consciousness, and individualism—
in short, the human faculties as opposed to the social— are prescribed by G-rass as universal antidotes to the
problems of today. Gûnter Grass strips away the façades
of society and of institutions in his novels and in his
everyday life. Having peeled away the bark of the tree,
he has exposed termites and dry rot diseasing the na
tural life forces of the tree. The author Gûnter Grass,
has succinctly pointed out these problems and has thus fulfilled his goals as a writer and artist. It is up
to the tree itself to cast out its own corruptions.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. BIBLIOGRAPHY
WORKS CONSULTED
Primary Materials
Grass, GUnter, "Adornos Zunge," Akzente, No. 4 (1965), p. 289. ______. Ausgefragt. Neuwied; Luchterhand, 1967.
. Die Ballerina. Berlin: Priedenauer Presse, i9ïï5T
"Beritten Hin und Zurûck," Akzente, No. 5 TT958), pp. 599ff. . Die Ble ch. trommel : Sonderausgahe. Neuwied: Luchterhand, March, 1^66. Die Bosen K8che. Berlin: Kiepenheuer, ------
. "Die B5sen KSohe," Modernes deutsches Thea ter. ed. Paul PSrtner. Neuwied: Luchterhand, l§6l, pp. 5-72. . Davor. Berlin: Kiepenheuer, 1969.
"Die Erstgehurt," Akzente, No. 5 (I960), p. 435. . "Potogen," Akzente. No. 5 (1961), p. 450. . Gleisdreieck. Neuwied: Luchterhand, I960.
"Grass Speaks," Atlas (April, 1966), p. "23Ô. . "Harras macht Geschichte," Das Atelier. "Frankfurt a/M: Fischer Bûcherei, 1962, pp. 41-54. 128
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 129
"Hochwaaser: Erste Fassimg,” Akzente, No. T T 1 9 6 Ü ) , pp. 498ff.
Hochwasser. Frankfurt a/M: Suhrkamp Ver- T â g , i w r . ------
Hunde.jahre. Neuwied: Luchterhand, 1965.
"Im Tunnel," Nationalzeitung, Basel (Jan uary 9, I960). "Der Inhalt als Widerstand," Akzente, No. TT1957), pp. 229-235. . Katz und Maus. Neuwied: luchterhand.
"Kürzestgeschichten aus Berlin," Akzente, HÔ7 6 (1955), pp. 517ff. "Lilien aus Schlaf," Akzente, No. 3 (1955), pp. 259ff. "Die Linkshânder," Neue Deutsche Hefte, V, TT1958/1959), 38-42. Noch zehn Minuten bis Buffalo. Berlin: TTÏÏpenüêûêrTT^ST:------. "Offener Brief an Antonin Novotny," Die ~^eTt, No. 36 (September 5, 1967). . "Ohrenbeichte: Brief an ein unbeschrie- tieries Blatt," Sprache im technischen Zeitalter, 2 (February, 1962), pp. l70fi. Ôrtlich betaubt. Neuwied: Luchterhand, T 5 Ï Ï 9 . ------. Onkel, Onkel. Berlin: Wagenbach, 1965.
. 0 Susanna: Ein Jazz-Bilderbuch. K31n: kiepenEeuer & Witsch, T5EÏÏ. Die Plebe.jer proben den Aufstand. Neuwied: luchterhand, 19 d 6.
. "Poum Oder die Vergangenheit fliegt mit," ber Monat (June, 1965), p. 21.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 130
. "Rede von der GewShimng," Frankfurter All- gemeine Zeitung, literaturblatt (March 20, 1%1). . "Sollte dieser Preis zurûckgewiesen werden?" #i'e Zeit. No. 7 (February 16, 1962), p. 6.
. "Stier Oder Liebe," Deutsche Zeitung, K31n (October 9, I960). . Pheaterspiele. Neuwied: Luchterhand, 1970.
"Toleranz 1st unsere Stârke," Die Zeit. ÏÏ6.' 6 (February 11, 1969), p. 3. . Tiber das Selbstverstandliche. Neuwied: tiuchterhand, I960).
. "Tiber Ja und Nein," Die Zeit. No. 52 (De- cember 24, 1968), p. 9. "Tiber meinen Lehrer D3blin," Akzente, No. TT"(1968), pp. 290-309. fiber meinen Lehrer DBblin und andere Vor- TÏÏ7&:trËge. Ëerlin: Literarisches Colloquium Berlin, . "Und was kSnnen Schriftsteller tun?, " Die %eit. No. 33 (August 15, 1961), p. 28. . "Ton drauBen nach drinnen," Der Spiegel. T3T7 47 (November 14, 1966), 56. . Die Vorzûge der WindhOhner. Berlin; Luch- terhand, 1^56. . Was ist des deutschen Taterland. Loblied auf Willy,"lis sieht zur V a ^ . Ich kj^ge an. Des Fiais ers neue Kleider: Wahlreden. Meuwie3: Luchterhand, 1965. . 32 Zahne. Berlin: Kiepenheuer, 1958.
Grass, Gûnter and Wolfdietrich Schnurre. "Offener Brief an den Deutschen Schriftstellerverband," Die Zeit, No. 33 (August 15, 1961), p. 14.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 131
Secondary Materials
Books
Albrecht, Gûnter, Kurt BSttcher, et al. •'Gûnter Grass,” Deutsches SchriftstellerlexTkon yon den Anfangen bis zurlzegenwart. ieipzig, 1^64,pp. 215-215.
Barrett, William. Irrational Man. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and 6o., Inc., 1962. Bettex, Albert. Deutsche Piteraturgeschichte in Grund- zugen. Vol. III. ed. Èruno Boesch. MÎCîclien, T957T p. 474. Büscher, Heiko. "Gûnter Grass," Deutsche Literatur seit 1945. ed. Dietrich Weber, ^tuiigari, 1968, pp. 4$5-483. Bulfinch, ’Thomas. The Age of Fable. Garden City, New York: International“7?ollectors Library, 1968.
Cunliffe, W. Gordon. Gûnter Grass. Twayne’s World Authors Series. New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1969. Dahrendorf, Half. Society and Democracy in G e r m ^ y . Garden City, New Ÿork: Doubleday S”Co., 1^57.
Fricke-Klotz, W, "Gûnter Grass," Geschichte der deutsch en Dichtung. Hamburg, 1966, pp. 455-4^4.' Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. Werke. III. Frankfurt a/M: Insel Verlag, 19651
Die Gruppe 47: Ein Handbuch. ed. Reinhard Lettau. Neuwied: Luchterhand, 1967.
Handbuch der deutschen Gegenwartsliteratur. ed. Hermann Èunisch. München: NÜrhberger Verlagshandlung, 1965, pp. 216-217. Heer, Friedrich. BuropSische Geistesgeschichte. Stutt gart: W. Kohlhammer Verlag, 195^. . The Intellectual History of Europe. Vol. TTT trans. by Jonathan Steinberg. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Co., 1968.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 132
Horst, Karl August. Kritischer Ft^er lurch die dentsche Literatur der (je'genwari'. MÜncKen: Üympkenberger Verlagshandlung, 1^62. Kurz, S. J., Paul Konrad. On Modern German Literature. Vol. I. trans. by sTster Mary Frances McCarthy. University, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press, 1970. Lowenstein, Prinz Hubertus zu. A Basic History of Ger many. Bonn: Inter Nationes, T$6S. Martini, Fritz. Deutsche Literaturgeschichte von den AnfSngen bis zur Segenwart. Stuttgart: 'Alfred ' ' VerTâg7T9ÏÏI7^-- Pongs, Hermann. Dichtung im gespaltenen Deutschland. Stuttgart : Union verlag, 1966, Reich-Ranicki, Marcel. "Gûnter Grass, unser grimmiger Idylliker," Deutsche Literatur in West und Ost. München: R. i’iper Verlag, i%3, pp. 2l6-230.
Roberts, David E. Existentialism and Religious Belief. Hew York: Oxford University feess, 1955. Schwarz, Wilhelm Johannes. Der Erzahler Gûnter Grass. Bern: A. Franke Verlag, 19^9. Tank, Kurt Lothar. "Gûnter Grass," Kopfe des XX. Jahr- hunderts. Vol. XXXVIII. ed. Otto ÏÏ. Hess. Berlin: Colloquium Verlag, 1965. Treitschke, Heinrich von. Politlk. 4th ed. Leipzig, 1918. Verleihung des Georg Büchner Preises 1965 an Gunter Grass: IFesirede und Laudatio. Meui^ed: tuch- terhand, 1955. Von Buch zu Buch: Gûnter Grass in der Kritik. ed. Gert loschûfz. Neuwied: LuchTerhahd, I960.
Webster's New World Dictionary: College Edition. New York; World Publishing Company, I960. Wieser, Theodor. "Gûnter Grass," Portrat und Poesie. Neuwied: Luchterhand, 1968.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 133
Periodicals
Arnold, Heinz Ludwig. "G-rass-Kritiker,” Text und Kritik. I, 1 (1963), 32-36.
"Lie unpadagogische Provinz des Gûnter Srâss," Text und Kritik. I, 1 (1963), 13-15. Baier, Lothar. "Zur Lyrik von Gûnter Grass," Text und Kritik. I, 1 (1963), 9-12.
Bauke, J. P. "A Talk with Gûnter Grass," New York Times Book Review. LXIX, 22 (May 31, 1964), 16. "To be different in Lanzig," Saturday Re- view, XL7I, 31 (August 10, 1963), 2?: Baumgart, Reinhard. "Mustermesse deutsohe Prosa," Sûddeutsche Zeitung (July 6, 1963), p. 5. Becker, Rolf. "Massig mit Malzbonbons," Der Spiegel. XXIII, 33 (August 11, 1969), 86-1037" BlScker, Gûnter. "Im Zeichen des Hundes," Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Literaturblatt (September l4, l^feT).------^ Blomster, Wesley V. "The Documentation of a Novel," Monatshefte. LXI, 2 (Summer, 1969), 122-138. Botsford, Keith. "Gûnter Grass is a Different Drummer," New York Times Magazine (May 8, 1966), pp. 28ff.
Bruce, James C. "Equivocating Narrator in Katz und Maus," Monatshefte. LVIII, 2 (Summer, 1§66),
Brûgge, Peter. "Wahlerdiskussion mit Gûnter Grass," Der Spiegel. XX, 48 (November 21, 1966), 41.
"Bûcher: demnâchst in Deutschland," Der Spiegel. XXIII, 5 (January 27, 1969), 114-117. Buèges, Jean. "Telégrammes-Livres," Paris Match. No. 864 (October 30, 1965). Cunliffe, W. Gordon. "Grass and the Denial of Drama," Dimension. Ill, Special Issue (1970), 64-74.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 134
"The Dentist's Chair as an Allegory of Life," Time, XCV, 15 (April 13, 1970), 68-79. Drath, Viola Herms. "Der Stille Intellektuelle," Madame (March, 1967), p. 6.
Eichholz, Armin, "Dabeisein oder nicht dabeisein," Mflnchner Merkur (January 17, 1966).
Enright, D. J. "Casting out Demons: Dog Years." New York Review of Books, IV, 9 (June 3. 1965). 3=101 Enzensberger, Hans Magnus. "Gûnter Grass? Hunde.jahre." Der Spiegel. XVII, 36 (September 2, 1963), 42. Esser, Josef. "Grass tâuscht sich in SPD und Demokra- tie," Die Zeit. No. 8 (February 25, 1969), p. 2 0 . Fischer, Heinz. "Sprachliche Tendenzen bei H. Boll und G. Grass." The German Quarterly. XL. 3 (May. 1967), 372-383.------Freedman, Ralph. "The Poet's Dilemma: The Narrative Worlds of Gûnter Grass," Dimension. Ill, Special Issue (1970), 50-63. Fried, Erich. "Protestgedichte gegen Protestgedichte," Die Zeit. No. 33 (August 15, 1967), p. 20. Friedrichsmeyer, Erhard M. "Aspects of Myth, Parody, and Obscenity in Grass' Die Blechtrommel and Katz und Maus." The Germanic Review. Xl. 3 TH^,"Tïï65Tr240=3?9l------. "The Dogmatism of Pain: local Anaesthetic." Dimension. Ill, Special Issue (1970), 36-4-5. Gilman, Richard. "Spoiling the Broth," Newsweek. LXIX, 6 (February 6, 1967), 106. Gittleman, Sol. "Gûnter Grass: Notes on the Theology of the Absurd," The Crane Review (Tufts Univer sity) , VIII (1963T7 32-3 5. "Grass at the Roots," Time. XCIV, 10 (September 5, 1969), 24 & 29.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 135
"Grass contra Springer," Die Zeit. No. 40 (October 5, 1967), pp. 9-10. "Grass, Gunter, Walter HSllerer, and Walter Hasencle- ver, Writers in Berlin," Atlantic, CCXII, 6 (December, 1963), 110-113. "Grass: Wiedervereinigung," Abendzeitung. München (May 30, 1967), p. 5. "Grass wirbt fûr die FDP," Abendzeitung. München (Feb ruary 28, 1967), p. n "Grass: Zunge heraus," Der Spiegel. XVII, 36 (Septem ber 2, 1963), 64-^72^787" Grunenberg, Nina. "Gûnter Grass an der SPD-Front," Die Zeit. No. 13 (April 1, 1969), p. 9. "Gûnter Grass," Stern. XXII, 41 (October 12, 1969), 9. "Gûnter Grass Preis." The German Quarterly. XLIII. 2 (March, 1970j, Hamburger, Michael. "Moralist and Jester; The Poetry of Gûnter Grass," Dimension. Ill, Special Issue (1970), 75-90. Hamm, Peter. "Grass und seine Kritiker," Der Spiegel. XXII, 50 (December 2, 1968), 190-1937"
"Hans Mayer, Felix Krull und Oskar Matzerath," Sûd deutsche Zeitung. München (October 14, 1967), p. 2. Hassner, Pierre. "Wie viele Deutschlands," Die Zeit. No. 5.(February 4, 1969), p. 9. Hewes, Henry. "Grass on Brecht," Saturday Review, LI, 37 (September 14, 1968), ll7% Hohoff, Curt. "Die Welt der Vogelscheuchen," Rhein- ischer Merkur. K31n, No, 44 (November 15, 1963). Horst, Karl August. "Die Blechtrommel: Fabulierer und Moralist." Merkur. XIÏÏ. 1É (December, 1959), 1188-1191: " F e m e Trommelschlage," Merkur, XV, 12 (December, 1961), 1197-1198.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 136
"Heirasuche,” Merkur, XIII, 12 (December, WS), 1191-1195. "Die Vogelscheuchen des Gûnter Grass," Rêrkur, XVII, 10 (October, 1963), 1003-1008.
Jahnke, Jürgen. "Gûnter Grass als Stûckeschreiber," Text und Kritik. I, 1 (1963), 14-16. Jappe, Georg. "Zwischen alien Stûhlen," Die Zeit. No. 50 (December 15, 1970), p. 9. Kahl, Kurt. "Die Plebejer proben den Aufstand," Theater Heute, XVII, 7 (1966), 35-37. Kaiser, Joachim. "Der Gelassene Grass," Sûddeutsche Zeitung (April 27, 1967). . "Grass ûberfSrdert seinen Hamlet," Sûd- Aeutsche Zeitung (April 27, 1967). "Wie einst die Gruppe 47," Die Zeit, No. 2ü“ (May 20, 1969), p. 13. . "Zehn Jahre Gruppe 47," Frankfurter Allge- mieine Zeitung (October 2, 1957). Karasek, Hellmuth. "Ôrtlich anders Betâubt," Die Zeit, No. 22 (June 2, 1970), p. 9. ______. "Wozu das viele Theater?," Die Zeit, No. 7 (February 18, 1969), p. 9. . "Zahn gezogen," Die Zeit, No. 36 (Septem ber 9, 1969), p. 12. Karasek, Hellmuth, et al. "Drei Ansichten Ûber Davor." Die Zeit, No. 8“TPebruary 25, 1969), p. iT! Krüger, Horst. "Des Kanzlers Klage," Die Zeit. No. 12 (March 25, 1969), p. 11. ______. "Kein Geschmack fûr Ort und Augenblick," M e Zeit. No. 34 (August 26, 1969), p. 12. "Ohne Macht und Mandat," Die Zeit. No. 27 (ïïûly 7, 1970), p. 8. "Das Wappentier der Republik," Die Zeit, ■ÏÏÔ7 17 (April 29, 1969), p. 11.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 137
Lawrence, David. "Read your History," U. S. News and World Report. LXIII, 2 (January l2, 19V0 ),
"Leaves of Grass," Time. LXXX7III, 13 (April 1, 1966), 103-104. Leonhardt, Rudolf Walter. "Die Sorgen des PEN," Die Zeit. No. 18 (May 6, 1969), p. 13. Mann, Golo. "Hiergeblieben. Der Staat sind wir," Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (May 18, 1968), p. ÊÔ. Mayer, Hans. "Dürrenmatts Meteor und Grass' Die Ple- be.ler." Theater Heute. Vlï. 3 (1966), ^^-26.
Metzger-Hirt, Erika. "GOnter Grass: 'Askese'," Monats hefte. LVII, 2 (Summer, 1965), 285-290. McGovern, Hugh. "The Tin Drum," America. CVIII, 10 (March 9, 1963), 344. Pfûtze, Rudolf. "Grass und die deutsohe Illusion," Sûddeutsche Zeitung, München (July 1/2, 1967), p. bé). Piontek, Heinz. "Ein Gedicht und sein Autor," Sûd deutsche Zeitung. München (December 7, 1%7).
"Plans for Deutsche Oper Ballet Ensemble," The German Tribune. XX, 438 (September 3, 1970), 7 . Plard, Henri. "Verteidigung der Blechtrommel," Text und Kritik. I, 1 (1963), 1-8. Popkin, Henry. "Mr. Brecht over a Barrel," Life. LX, 7 (February 18, I966), 17. Postillion, Janice. "Third Reich, Legacies Set Lite rary Theme," The Chronicle. U.S. Army Command, Munich, Germany, )dcï, 30 (March 10, 1967), 2. Raymont, Henry. "Frankfurti Buffoons and Tragedians," American-German Review. XXXV. 2 (New Year Issue, 1 9 6 '9' T :- I 3= T T : ------Reich-Ranicki, Marcel. "Einhundertvierzig deutsohe Dichter," Die Zeit. No. 12 (March 24, 1970), p. 9.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 138
. "Eine MÛdeheldenaoûe,*' Die Zeit. No. 35 (September 2, 1969), p. 14. •'Neue Gedichte von Gûnter Grass," Die Telt. No. 20 (May 16, 1967).
"Report Card for Postwar Germany," Baton Rouge Morning Advocate (February 3, 1969), p. 3-A.
Rischbieter, Henning. "Grass probt den Aufstand," Theater Heute. VII, 2 (February, 1966). Roloff, Michael. "Books and Men: GOnter Grass," At lantic . CCXV, 6 (June, 1965), 94-97. Ruhleder, Karl H. "A Pattern of Messianic Thought in GOnter Grass' Cat and Mouse," The German Quar- te riY . x m x , — Scherman, David E. "Green Years for GOnter Grass," Life. LVIII, 22 (June 4, 1965), 51-56.
Schumann, Willy. "Wiederkehr der Schelme," ^blication of the Modern Language Association. LXXiï. 7 rCecèmber; T96'6') r 4 § 7 - 4 7 T:------Schwab-Felisch, Hans. "GOnter Grass und der 17. Juni," Merkur. XX, 3 (March, 1966), 291-294. . "Zweimal Zeitgeschichte in Düsseldorf," sûddeutsche Zeitung. MOnchen (January 25, 1967), p. 15. Spaethling, Robert H. "GOnter Grass: Cat and Mouse." Monatshefte. CXII, 2 (Summer, 1970), 14l-15^.
Steiner, George. "The Nerve of GOnter Grass," Commen tary. XXXVIII, 5 (May, 1964), 77-80. Triesch, Manfred. "GOnter Grass: Die Plebener proben den Aufstand." Books Abroad. XL. 3 (Summer, Tgïï6 ) 7 " T 5 3 "r? 8 7 .------Wendt, Ernst. "Sein grosses Ja bildet Satze mit kleinem Nein," Theater Heute. VIII, 4 (April 4, 1967), 6-11. "West German People Rated by Novelist," Baton Rouge Morning Advocate (February 3, 1969), p. 3-A.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 159
Wieser, Theodor. "Die Blechtrommel; Fabulierer und Moralist," Merkur. XÎÎÎ. 15 (December, 1959), 1188-1191. Willson, A. Leslie. "The Grotesque Everyman in Die Blechtrommel," Monatshefte, LVIII, 2 (Summer,
. "Perspective: The Dance of Art," Dimen- 8ion. Ill, Special Issue (1970), 7-21. Wirth, Andrzej. "Gûnter Grass and the Dilemma of Docu mentary Drama," Dimension. Ill, Special Issue (1970), 22-55. Zimmer, Dieter. "Politik interessiert zur Zeit mehr," Die Zeit, No. 45 (October 24, 1967), p. 17. . "Ein Verlag der Autoren," Die Zeit. No. 9 (ï^arch 4, 1969)» p. 9. Zundel, Rolf. "Mit der Macht auf du und du," Die Zeit, No. 17 (April 29, 1969), p. 4. "Die SPD ist verstBrt," Die Zeit, No. 20 [Ely 20, 1969), p. 4. Zwerenz, Gerhard. "Die Plebejer proben den Aufstand," Theater Heute. VII, 5 (Msirch, 1966), 24.
Unpublished Material
Everett, George Alexander, Jr. Interview with Gûnter Grass, April 29, 1967, at his home, Niedstrafle 15, Berlin, West Germany. Swift * s "Gulliver * s Travels" and Grass ' l^Me Blechtrommel. " M.A. TKesis, Louisiana state llniversiiy. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 1966. "Interview with Gûnter Grass," NET Television Network, Channel 8 TV, New Orleans, Louisiana (October, 1967). "Interview with Gûnter Grass," The Today Show. NBC Television Network (MarcETT?, 1^70).
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 140
"Interview with Willy Brandt," Meet the Press. NBC Television Network (April 1 ^, T5'70 ).
Read, Ralph R. " 'Kann man den Shakespeare ândern?’ In Defense of Grass' Die Plebener proben den Aufst^d." Paper given at the 27pli Annual Reet- ing of the South Central Modern language Asso ciation, Memphis, Tennessee, October 29-31, 1970.
OTHER PERTINENT WORKS
Books
Ahl, Herbert. "Gûnter Grass," Literarische Portrâts. München: langen/Mûller, 196È, pp. ^8-35. Bieneck, Horst. "Gûnter Grass," Werkstattgesprache mit Schriftstellem. München: tangen/Mtlller, 1 ^ 2 : ------
Blocker, Gûnter. Krltisches Lesebuch. Hamburg: Leib niz Verlag, pp. 208-^15. . Literatur als Teilhabe. Berlin: Collo- quium Verlag, l9&6, pp. ^4-29. Bobrowski, Johannes. Das Buch von drüben. foreward by Johannes Bobrowski. fierlin, 1$57. Dahrendorf, Ralf. Gesellschaft und Demokratie in Deutschland. München: R. îiper Ÿerlag,“T965.
Emmel, Hildegard. Das Gericht in der deutschen Litera- tur des 20. Jahrhunderts. München : i*ranke Ver- TEg,-Tg6TTpp. TÔ'5-TZÔT Enright, D. J. "Dog Years," Conspirators and Poets. London, 1966, pp. 201-207. ______. "Three New Germans," Conspiratorsuonsprr and T^o'ets. London, 1966, pp. 19Ô-2ÔÔ. Enzensberger, Hans Magnus. Einzelheiten. Frankfurt : Suhrkamp Verlag, 1962, pp. 227-233.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 141
Esslin, Martin. "Gûnter Grass," Sinn oder Unsinn? Das Groteske im modernen Drama. Basel, 1962, pp. ------
. "Gûnter Grass," Le Theatre de 1 'Absiirde, Paris, 1963, pp. 262-2ÜT. Fehse, Willi. Von Goethe bis Grass; BiograpMsche Portrâts zur Literatur. ËielefelA; Gieseking Verlag, 1963, pp. 2É7-231. Forster, Leonard. "Kirschen," Doppelinterpretationen. Frankfurt: Athenâum, 1966, pp. 27Ô-280.
Gaus, Gûnter. "Manche Freundschaft zerbrach am Ruhm," Zur Person; Portrâts in Frage und Antwort. II. Mîlnolien, l 9 66, pp. 1 1 0 ^ 2 A. The Grass Speeches. Princeton: Princeton University ------Press, 1%5". Hatfield, Henry. "The Artist as Satirist," The Contem porary Hovel in German, ed. Robert Heiiner. Austin and ï,on3on, 1^67, pp. 115-134. Horst, Karl August. Structures et Fluctuations de la Littérature Allemande du Vingtième Siècle. Mtinchen: ïïymphenberger Verlagshandlung, 1965. Kesting, Marianne. "Gûnter Grass," Panorama des zeit- enossischen Theaters. München: R. Piper Ver- fag, l$62,'"pp. 2;^:'PF5. Lennartz, Franz. "Gûnter Grass," Deutsche Dichter mid Schriftsteller unserer Zeit" Stuttgart : Jlfred Kroner Verlag, 1^63, pp.Â%l-233. Die Mauer oder der 13. August, ed. Hans Werner Richter. ------RëinFêE,-T96T:------"Schulklassengesprâch mit Gûnter Grass am 10.12.1963 in der Albert-Schweitzer-Oberschule in Berlin- NeukBlln," Wie stehen Sie dazu? Jugend fragt Pr eminent e. eds. Manfred and Bar tiara G-rxuiert. l^ïbichen, 1967, pp. 74-86. Subiotto, Arrigo. "Gûnter Grass," Essays on Contem- orary German Literature, ed. Brian Keith-Smith. german Men of Letters Series, Vol. IV. Phila delphia: Dufour, 1966, pp. 215- 235.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 142
Thomas, R, Hinton and Wilfried van der Will. "Günter Grass,” The Germ^ Novel and the Affluent Society. Toronto : Victoria Ôollege tress, iÿêS , pp. 6S- 85. Van der Will, Wilfried. "Die Blechtrommel," Pikaro heute. Stuttgart: Alfred KrSner Verlag, 1967, pp. é3“69. Wagenbach, Klaus. "GOnter Grass," Schriftsteller der Gegenwart. ed. Klaus Nonnemann. Freiburg im Breisgau: Walter Verlag, 1963, pp. 118-126. Yates, Norris W. Günter Grass : A Critical Essay. Grand Rapids, Michig'anT William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1967.
Periodicals
Arnold, Fritz. "Aus der Zwergperspektive," Augsburger Allgemeine (December 5/6, 1959).
Augstein, Rudolf. "William Shakespeare, Bert Brecht, Günter Grass— Die Plebejer proben den Aufstand," Der Spiegel, XX, 5 (January 24, 1966), 83-87. B., W. "Grass spielt Katz und Maus," NÜrnberger Nach- richten (November 17, 1961). Baecker, Sigurd. "Vier Akte Zaudern,” Vorwarts (Febru ary 16, 1966).
Bânziger, Hans. "Zwergengetrommel zwischen Ost und West," Die Tat (January 9, I960). Baiè, Bernhard. "Trommelei auf Blech," Recklinghausen Zeitung (February 6, I960). Bance, A. F. "The Enigma of Oskar in Grass’ Blech trommel ." Seminar; A Journal of Germanic 3 W l 'ës: lTrrT 3 pring,TWr T? 7^ T 5ïï:---- Baranowski, W, "Das Holz aus dem man Helden schnitzt," Das andere Deutschland (January, 1962), p. 2. Batt, Kurt, "Groteske und Parabel," Neue Deutsche Literatur. XII, 7, 57-66.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. U 3
Baumgart, Reinhard. "GOnter Grass; Katz und Maus," Neue Deutsche Hefte (1962),
. "Kleinbürgertum und Realismus,” Neue Rund- schau. LXXT, 4 (November, 1966), 650.
"Plebejer-Spâtlese," Neue Rundschau, OTVII, 2 (May, 1966), 355. Beer, K. W. "Grass und die Polgen," Die Politische Meinung. X, 108 (1965), 8-11. Berger, Friedrich. "Es lohnt doch mit Grass den Auf stand zu proben," KSlner Stadtanzeiger (January 16, 1967), p. 1 0 . "Bestseller auf VorschuB," Konkret (September, 1963), p. 30. "Bild eines Bestsellerautors," Bonner Generalanzeiger (October 18, 1963), p. 7. Blaha, Paul. "Glanz und Elend des Intellektuellen," Der Kurier. Wien (May 16, 1966), p. 12. "Der Blick von der Irrenanstalt," Neophilologus. LI, 1 (January, 1967), 42. BlScker, Günter. "Rückkehr zur Nabelschnur," Frank furter Allgemeine Zeitung, Literaturblati (lüo- T ^ S Ï Ï ê r ------Bourée, Manfred. "Das Okular des Günter Grass," Echo der Zeit (November 18, 1962). Braem, Helmut M. "Narr mit dem Janusgesicht," Stutt- garter Zeitung (October 24, 1959). Brandell, Gunnar. "Gunter Grass," Svenska Dagbladet (January 20, 1964). Brinkmann, Hennig. "Der komplexe Satz im deutschen Schrifttum der Gegenwart," Sprachkunst als Welt- gestaltung: Festschrift, ed. Herbert àeidler ( 1966;, pp. I 2- 26T Brunelli, Vittorio. "Autopsy of an Insurrection," Atlas (April, 1966), pp. 249-250.
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Budzinski, Klaus, "Der Poet in der Menge,” Abendzeit- ung. München (July 21, 1965). Busch, Günter. "Spektakel und Desillusionierung," Panorama (April, I960), , "Spektakel und Desillusionierung," Wort lîTder Zeit. VI, 2 (I960), 58ff. Oarlsson, Anni, "Der Roman als Anschauungsform der Epochs, Bemerkungen zu Thomas Mann und Günter Grass," Neue ZÛrcher Zeitung, No. 321, (November 21, 1 9 6 4 7 7p . ------Carpelan, Bo, "Günter Grass," Hufstudstadsbladet. Helsinki (December 28, 1^6Éj, "Conversation with Simonov, with Günter Grass and Uwe Johnson," Encounter (January, 1965), pp. 86-91. Cook, Bruce, "Young Germans Rant at Sins of the Ba thers," The National Observer. IX, 42 (October 19, 19707T"2F: Cunliffe, W, Gordon. "Aspects of the Absurd in Günter Grass," Wisconsin Studies in Contemporary Ditera- ture. Vll. 9 (1§56).’"”311-377.------Cysarz, Herbert. "Verdient unsere Zeit diesen Bestsel ler?," Deutsche National-Zeitung und Soldaten- zeitung (November lit 1^63). Dahne, Gerhard. "Wer ist Katz und wer ist Maus?," Neue Deutsche Literatur (November, 1965). Delmas, Eugene. "Ein deutsches Trauerspiel um Bertold Brecht," Frankfurter Neue Presse (January 18, 1966), "Dog Years," London Times Literary Supplement (Septem ber 27, "1^65)7 "Dog Years," London Times Literary Supplement (Septem ber 2 8 7 1 3 3 3------): ^ ----- Domheim, Alfredo, "Ernst Kreuder y Günter Grass," Boletfn de Estudios Germânicos, VI (September, T5377ri3-nr:------
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"Drum of Neutrality." London Times Literary Supplement (October 5, 1962;, p* 776? E., K. "Onkel. Onkel," Stuttgarter Zeitung (March 16, 1966).
Edschmid, Kasimir. "Rede auf den Preistrager," Deutsche Akademie fûr Sprache und Dichtung. Darmstadt, jaLrHtii T O 6 '5 5 ; pp.' ^ ------Elmers, Enno W, "Ein Schelmenroman unsere Tage~voll innerer Gesichte," Der Kurier, Berlin (November 28, 1959). "Ein Staat ist noch kein Vaterland," Christ und Welt, No. 6 (1966), pp. 19-20. Enzensberger, Hans Magnus. "Trommelt welter," Frank furter Hefte (December, 1961).
Eysen, Jürgen. "Günter Grass; Katz und Maus," Bücherei und Bildung. II (February, 1962), 75. F. "M3rder und sein Publikum," GSttinger Presse (June 1 , 1961). F., K. "Dreht euch nicht umi Der Knirscher geht um," Schwâbische Donauzeitung, Ulm (August 21, 1965).
"Der Grofie Mahlke und das Dingslamdei, " Schwâbische Donauzeitung, Ulm (October 5, 1961).
Fiedler, Werner. "Der Rest ein dunkles SôBchen," Der Tag, Berlin (February 18, 1961).
Fink, Humbert. "Dennoch mehr als ein Abfallprodukt," Die Presse, Wien (November 19, 1961). . "Ein Zwerg haut auf die Trommel," Heute, Wien (December 12, 1959). Fischer, Gerd. "Vom Dingslamdei," Neue Rhein-Zeitung, Essen (October 7, 1961). Fischer, Heinz. "Excercismo de la lengua alemana," Filologia Moderns, VI (1966), 29-42. Forster, Leonard. "GOnter Grass," University of Toronto Quarterly, XXXVIII, 1 (October i, I96S), 1=151
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Fried. Erich. "1st AusaefraKt fragwürdis?. Konkret (July, 1967).------Frisch, Max. "Grass als Redner," Die Zeit. No. 38 (September 21, 1965), p. 16. G., E. "Ein Zauberer trommelt ein MSrchen," Arbeiter- zeitung. Wien (January 6, I960).
Garrott, Thomas J. "Oskars Empfang in England," Die Zeit. No. 43 (October 23, 1962), p. 15. Geerdts, Hans Jürgen, Peter Gugisch, Gerhard Kasper, Rudolf Schmidt. "Zur Problematik der kritisch- oppositionellen Literatur in Westdeutschland," Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift der Ernst-Moritz- Àmdi-Universiiâi Greifswald. T3T 4/5 11^54/ ------"Gipfel des Grass-Ruhms," Unsere Zeitung. Bremen (May, 1970), p. 2. Grack, Günter. "Fünf Gânge, die nicht sattigen," Der Tagesspiegel. Berlin (February 18, 1961).
"Grass-Aufstand der Plebejer," Der Spiegel. XIX, 51 (December 13, 1965), 127-128. "Grass-Dingslamdei," Der Spiegel. XV, 42 (October 9, 1961), 88-91. "Grass-Kritik: Wallerands Weh," Der Spiegel. XVI, 9 (February 19, 1962), 68-69. "Grass Premier--Die BBsen KBche." Der Spiegel. XIV. 10 (February“^ , “T^)7TT78. -----
GrSniger, Wolfgang. "Zeichen an der Wand," Hochland. (December, 1959). Grunfeld, Fred. "Drums along the Vistula," Reporter. XXVIII, 6 (March 14, 1963), 54-57. "Günter Grass." Eckart Jahrbuch. ed. Kurt Lothar Tank, IT , 4 (i9'(S7/I354). 293-304. "Günter Grass," Kultura. Warsaw (June 26, 1966).
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"Günter Grass: Katz und Maus," Studies in Short Fiction (Newberry College, Èouth Oarolina%"lïï (1966), 174-185. "The Guilt of the Lambs," Time, LXXXI, 1 (January 4, 1963), 69-71. Gy orgy, Walko. "Günter Grass és a botrâhkozok, " ;^TGünter Grass is a Scandalmonger!!/, Nagyvilâg. VI, 6 (September 10, 1967), 825-827. Habernoll, Kurt. "Unpolitisches Theater in politischer Kaschierung," Vorwârts (February 16, 1966), pp. 23-24. Hartling, Peter. "Gedichte zu Gelegenheiten," Per Spie gel. XXI, 29 (July 9, 1967), 37. . "Von Langfuhr in die Scheuchengrube," Per Monat. Berlin (September, 1963).
Haussermann, Bernhard. "Ein Buch, in dem es pâsert und funkert," Hannoversche Allgemeine (Septem ber 7, 1963). Hahnl, Hans Heinz. "Auf dem Weg zur Zeitkritik unserer Misere," Arbeiterzeitung. Wien (May 17, 1966). . "Per Neue Grass," Pie Zukunft. Wien (Sep- tember, 1963). Hamm, Peter. "Allés SchSne ist schief," Twen. K31n (July, 1967), p. 22. . "Pie Plebejer proben den Aufstand," Frank furter Hefte. Ill (March, 1966), 206-208.
. "Verrûckte Lehr- und Wanderjahre," Pu, Zürich, No. 12 (Pecember, 1959), pp. 132-T56, Hanson, William P. "Oskar, Rasputin, and Goethe," Canadian Modern Language Review. XX, 1 (1963). ------
Hartlaub, Geno. "Wir, die wir ûbriggeblieben sind," Sonntagsblatt. Hamburg (January 1, 1967).
Hartmann, Rainer. "Ein Trauerspiel vom deutschen Trauerspiel," Frankfurter Neue Presse (July 11, 1966), p. 10.
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Hartung, Rudolf. ”Hundeiahre," Neue Rundschau. LXXIV, 4 (November, 1965), 652.
"PortrSt eines Kriegshelden," Der Tages- spiegel. Berlin. (November 26, 1961).
Heise, Hans-Jürgen. "Zwischen Politik und Literatur," Die Tat, Zürich (July 15, 1967). Heissenbüttel, Helmut. "Und es kam Uwe Johnson," Deutsche Zeitung. K51n (November 10, I960). Hensel, Georg. "Nicht nur von der Maus gefressen," Darmstâdter Echo (November 18, 1961).
Herchenroder, Jan. "Das schlimme Gleichnis von den Hunde.lahren." Abendpost. Prankfurt a/M (August 17, 1963). . "Ein Trommelfeuer von Einfâllen," Die Andere Zeitung (March, I960).
Herms, Uwe. "Heute back ich, morgen brau ich, über- morgen. ..." Stuttgarter Zeitung (April 8, 1967), p. 19. Herrmann, Walter M. "SchiSdbewuBt klage ich euch an! " Hamburger Abendblatt (January 5, 1968).
Hildebrandt, Dieter. "Die Plebejer proben den Aufstand," Fra^furter Allgemeine Zeitung (January 17,
Hochmann, Sandra. "The Tin Drum," The Village Voice. New York (March 14, 1963). Holler, Franz. "Das Kraftgenie aus Danzig," Ost-West- Kurier. Frankfurt a/M (October, 1961).
Hollerer, Walter. "Roman im Kreuzfeuer," Berliner Tagesspiegel (December 20, 1959).
Hoffman, Jens. "Grass und der Georg-Bûchner Preis," Christ und Welt. No. 42 (1965), p. 25. Holthusen, Hans Egon. "GOnter Grass als politischer Autor." Der Monat. XVIII. 216 (September. 1966). 66-81.
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Hornung, Peter. "Die Gruppe, die keine Gruppe ist," Tages-Anzeiger. Regensburg (May, 1955), p. 8.
. "Oskar Matzerath— Trommler und Gottes- lasterer," Deutsche Tagespost, Würzburg (Novem ber 23, 1959), p. 3. ______"Was man erlebt, wenn man zu jungen Dichtern fâkrt," Neue Presse. Passau (November 16, 1956).
Hubner, Paul. "Grass kratzt am Brecht-Mythos." Rhein- ische Post. Duisburg (January 17, 1966). Humm/Loetsoher, G. "Gepfiffen und getrommelt," Die Weltwoche. Zürich (January 22, I960).
Husson, Albert. "Zweimal verhinderter Mord," Theater Rundschau (April, 1958).
Ignée, Wolfgang. "Die Wahrheit ist konkret," Christ und Welt■(January 21, 1966).
Ihlenfeld, Kurt. "Raritât und Realitât," Eckart Jahr buch (1961), pp. 278-280. "In der Sackgasse des Antikommunismus," Der Morgen. Berlin (January 21, 1966). "Interview mit GOnter Grass," Frankfurter Neue Presse (November 14, 1959), p. Jenny, Urs. "Grass probt den Aufstand," SOddeutsche Zeitung (January 17, 1966). . "Ein Hundetorso aus Kartoffelschalen," M e Weltwoche. Zürich (October 4, 1963), p. 16. "Im Vakuum heiter bleiben," Die Weltwoche (May 19, 1967), p. 26. . "Die Plebejer proben den Aufstand," Sttd- deutsche Zeitung." München (January 17, 1966)".
Jens, Walter. "Das Pandamonium des Günter Grass," Die Zeit. No. 56 (September 6, 1963), p. 17. Jensen, Jurgen Bonde. "Kunstner og engagement," Vind- rosen. Copenhagen, XIII, 5 (1966), 44-58.
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Jerde, G. D. "A Corridor of Pathos: Notes on the Fiction of GOnter Grass," Minnesota Review, IV (1964), 558-560. Joppe, Jaap. "GOnter Grass," Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad (November 21, 1964). K, "Die Blechtrommel," Unser Danzig (May 20, I960), p.
K,, A. "Sprachmâchtige Flucht aus der Verantwortung," Neues Winterthurer Tageblatt (December 5, 1959).
K., F. ^"Ein Prosit der Geschmacklosigkeit," Neues Ssterreich, Wien (October 20, 1962).
Kabel, Rainer. "Grotesk ist zugleich auch moralisch," Vorwarts (October 2, 1965). Kafka, Vladimir. "Psi roky GOntera Grasse a Nemeka," /j"Dog Years of GOnter Grass and Detractors^/, Kaizui kultura, Prague, I, 2 (1964), 66ff. Kaiser, Carl Christian. "GOnter Grass gibt zu denken," Stuttgarter Zeitung. No. 122 (May 31, 1967). Kaiser, Joachim. "Bose Kinder bleiben siegreich," SOddeutsche Zeitung (February 14, 1962).
"Die Gruppe 47 lebt auf," SOddeutsche Zeitung (November 5, 1958).
. "Noch zehn Minuten bis Buffalo," SOddeutsche Zeitung. No. 46 (February 23, I960). . "Oskars getrommelte Bekenntnisse," SOd- Deutsche Zeitung, No. 261 (October 30, 19557. . "Die Unbefangenheit des Raubtiers," SOd deutsche Zeitung, No. 238 (October 7, 1961). . "Walter Materns Hundejahre," SOddeutsche Èeltung, No. 227 (September 21/22, 1963). Kant, Hermann. "Ein Solo in Blech," Neue Deutsche Literatur (May, I960). Karasek, Hellmuth. "Der Knorpel am Hals," Stuttgarter Zeitung (November 11, 1969).
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Kaufraann, Harald. "Htmdejahre und satirischer Welt- untergang,” Neue Zeit. Graz (November 9» 1963). Kayser, Beate. "Grass ûberwuchert die Stadt Danzig," Merkur. MOnchen (October 21, 1961).
"Keeping off the Grass," London Times Literary Supple ment (September 30, 19&5). Kersten, Hans Ulrich. "Grass versus Brecht," Basler Nachrichten (January 19, 1966). Kienzl, Florian. "Aufstand gegen die Brecht-Legende," Die Presse. Wien (January 18, 1966).
Kirn, Richard. "Sein Zwerg haut auf die Trommel," Frankfurter Neue Presse (November 14, 1959).
Klein, Otto. "Die grâûlichen Hundejahre," Das Deutsche Wort. Koln (October IS, 1963). Klotz, Volker. "Ein deutsches Trauerspiel," Frankfurt er Rundschau (January 17, 1966),
Kluger, Richard. "Tumultuous Indictment of Man," H^per^s Magazine. CCXXX, 1381 (June, 1965),
Klunker, Heinz. "Unpathetisches Denkmal für Mahlke,” Europaische Begegnung (June, 1962).
Korn, Karl. "Epitaph für Mahlke," Frankfurter Allge meine Zeitung (October 7, 196i;, p. 2Ï.
Kotschenreuther, Hellmut. "Der Intellektuelle in der Diktatur," Mannlieimer Morgen (January 17, 1966).
Kozarynowa, Zofia. "Günter Grass," Wiadomski. London (July 21, 1963). Kraft, Peter. "Vergleiche und ahnliche Alleskleber," OberSsterreichische Nachrichten. Linz (June 22, T w r r . ------Kramberg, Karl Heinz. "Das kommende Buch," Das SchSnste, München (February, I960). Kraus, Wolfgang. "Zweispâltiger Eindruck eines Über durchschnittlichen Romans," National-Zeitung. Basel (December 19, 1959).
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Krauschner, Helga, "Wohin mit der Wut?,” Die Furche. Wien (April 8, 1967).
Krolow, Karl. •'Alias Sch5ne ist schief" Hannoversche Allgemeine (April 15, 1967). "Gleisdreieck," Sûdwestfimk, Baden-Baden (ïïârch 29, 1961). . "1st es nur ein Schelmenroman?," Neckar- Eolio, Heilhronn (November 21/22, 1959). Kuhn, Heinrich. "Tagwache auf der Blechtrommel gerûhrt," National-Zeitung. Basel (July 18, 1965).
Kunkel, Francis L. "Clowns and Saviors; !Pwo Contem porary Novels," Renascence, XVIII (1965), 40-44. Kurz, Paul Konrad. "Hunde,jahre. Beobachtungen zu einem zeitkritischen Roman," Stimmen der Zeit. LXXXIX, 1 (1965/1964), 101-1251 "Die Lyrik von Günter Grass," Stimmen der %elt, XCII, 9 (September, 1965), 167-181. Langfelder, Paul. "Günter Grass," Viata Rom^nesca, Bukarest (November, 1964). Lattmann, Dieter. "Geborgte Vergangenheit— verspatete Gegenwart. Wie jung sind gunge deutsche Auto- ren?.” Welt der Literatur (December 25, 1965), pp. 751=75?. Leber, Hugo. "Der kaschubische Trommler," lagesanzeiger für Stadt und Kanton Zürich (September 25, I960).
Leiser, Erwin. "Brecht, Grass, und der 17. Juni 1955," Die Weltwoche, Zürich (February 11, 1966). . "Gesprach über Deutschland," Die Weltwoche, 2Ürich (December 25, 1966). Lentz, Michael. "Gedichte in Moll," Westdeutsche All gemeine , Essen (June 5, 1967). Lorinc, Peter. "Günter Grass," Magyar Szd. Budapest (January, 1964). Loetscher, Hugo. "Günter Grass," Du, Zürich, CCXXXII (June, I960), 15-20.
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Luft, Friedrich. "Die bSsen KSche— UraufgefÛhrtDie Welt. No. 55 (B^bruary 1961).
. "Hier macht die logik frShlich Handstand," ï)ie Welt (February 18, 1961), p. 17. . "Die Plebejer proben den Aufstand," Die Welt. No. 13 (January 17, 1966), p. 9.
"Ein Wallenstein der Revolution," Die Welt T3une 17, 1966), p.9. Luyken, Sonja. "Onkel, Onkel," Mannheimer Morgen (March 6, 1958). Maier, Hansgeorg. "Powerteh der angestrengten Anstbûig- keit," Frankfurter Rundschau (February 27, I960), p. 5. Maier, Wolfgang. "Moderne Novelle," Sprache im teoh- nischen Zeitalter, Stuttgart, Ï (October, 1^61),
. "Die Unruhe um der Ruhe willen," Berliner iTorgenpoat (July 21, 1967). Masini, Ferruccio. "Günter Grass," L*Unità. Rome (Sep tember 17, 1966), Matsuda, Nobuo. "Die Komik in Grass’ Roman Die Blech trommel," Doitsu Bungaki. Tokyo (October, 1^6$), pp. 1-11. Mayer, Hans. "Felix Krull und Oskar Matzerath," Süd- deutsche Zeitung (October 14/15, 1967), p.~14.
______. "Das lyrische Tagebuch des Günter Grass," Jër Tagesspiegel. Berlin (July 25, 1967), p. 5. Meckel, Eberhard. "Hundejahre," Badische Zeitung. Freiburg (December 30, 196%;.
Michaelis, Rolf. "HÔllenfalirt mit Günter Grass," Stuttgarter Zeitung (September 7, 1965).
Mieg, Peter. "Die Blechtrommel," Badener Tagblatt. (February 12, I960), Migner, Karl. "Der getrommelte Protest gegen unsere Welt," Welt und Wort. XV, 7 (July, I960), 205- 207.
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Mletschina, Irina. “Grass' Wrong Turn," (Translated from Li teratnmaya Gaze ta. Moscow), Atlas, XII (December, 1966),4&-50. . "Tertium non datur," (Translated by Rita Sraun), Sinn und Form. XVIII, 4 (1965), 1258- 1262. Morlock, Martin. "Die Schmutzigen Ringer," Der Spiegel. XIX, 14 (March 29, 1965), 145. Müller, André. "Ein Anti-Grass-Stü.ck," Nachrichten- brief 35. Arbeitskreis Bertold Brecht, kbln TT 5^ ) . ------"Realistisch im Detail, unrealistisch im Cranzen," Die Tat. Frankfurt a/M (December 7, 1963). Muller-Eckhard, P. "Die Blechtrommel," Kolnische Rund schau (December 13, 1959), p. 23. Nagel, Ivan. "Günter Grass' Hunde.iahre." Die Zeit. No. 5 (January 29, 1963), p. 27. Neveux, J. B. "GOnter Grass le vistulien," Études Germaniques. XXI, 4 (1966), 527-550. Ni. "Grass: Hochwasser." Generalanzeiger der Stadt Wuppertal (]^ebrûâry 8, l96d). Niehoff, Karena. "Die bSsen EGche," SOddeutsche Zeit ung. München (February 18, 1961). Nohbauer, Hans P. "Die groSe Danziger Hunde-Saga," Abendzeitung. München (August 10, 1963).
______. "Joachim Mahlkes Vierklee," Abendzeitung. München (October 25, 1961). Nolte, Jost. "Baltisch, tuckisch, stubenwarm," Die Welt (April 13, 1967). "Ich schreibe, denn das mufi weg," Die WeTt (October 19, 1961).
______. "Menschen gequâlt von dieser Welt," Die Welt (December 2, I960).
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. "Oskar, der Trommler, kennt kein Tabu," '51 e Welt (October 17, 1959). . "Die Plebejer proben den Aufstand," Die Welt (January 6, 1968).
, "Der Zeit in den schmutzigen Rachen ge- griffen," Die Welt (September 7, 1963).
"Nur mit der Zange anzufassenî," Das Ritterkreuz, Wies baden (April, 1962). Oliver, Edith. "Bravo pour le Clown!" New Yorker. XLII, 50 (February 4, 1967), 93f7T Orzechowski, Lothar. "Kein Aufstand in der Ruine," Hessische Allgemeine. Kassel (July 11, 1966).
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Unpublished Material
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Ferguson, Lore Schefter. "Die Blechtrommel" von Günter Grass ; Versuch einer Interpretation. ÏÜ'sser- tation Abstract, 20:lo74-A, OÜiio dtate University, 1968. "Die Hundejahre des Günter Grass," Berliner Welle (Novem ber 27, 1963). Uhlig, Helmut. "Realitaten, Humor und feine Ironie," Sender Freies Berlin (August 2, 1956).
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ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS
Grass, Günter. Cat and Mouse. trans. by Ralph Manheim. London: Seeker & Warburg, 1963. . Cat and Mouse, trans. by Ralph Manheim. Kew York: lïarcourt, Brace^ and World, 1963. , Dog Years, trans. by Ralph Manheim. Lon- don: Seeker & Warburg, 1965.
Dog Years, trans. by Ralph Manheim. New York: Karcoiirt, Brace, and World, 1965. . Four Flays. trans. by Ralph Manheim and A. Leslie Willson. London: Seeker & Warburg, 1968. . Four Plays. trans. by Ralph Manheim and A. Leslie Willson. New York: Harcourt, Brace, and World, 1967.
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. Local Anaesthetic. trans, by Ralph Man- keim. ijondon: decker & Warburg, 1970.
. Local Anaesthetic, trans. by Ralph Man- heim. itew York: Harcourt, Brace, and World, 1970. . New Poems. trans. by Michael Hamburger. New York; Harcourt, Brace, and World, 1968.
. The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising, trans, by Ralph Manheim.London: Seeker & Warburg, 1968. . The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising, trans, by Ralph Manheim. New Ÿork: Harcourt, Brace, and World, 1966. . "The Salt Lake Line," trans. and adapted by Christopher Holme, G e m ^ Writing Today, ed. Christopher Middleton. Middlesex, England : Penguin Books Ltd., 1967, pp. 61-78. . Selected Poems, trans. by Michael Hambur ger and Christopher Middleton. London: Seeker & Warburg, 1966. . Selected Poems, trans. by Michael Hambur ger and Ühristopker Middleton. New York: Har court, Brace, and World, 1967. . Speak Out! trans. by Ralph Manheim. New "York: Harcourt, Brace, and World, 1967. . The Tin Brum, trans. by Ralph Manheim. London: Seeker & Warburg, 1961.
. The Tin Brum, trans. by Ralph Manheim. New York: Harcourt, Brace, and World, 1961. Uptight, Scenes 1, 3, 5, 6. trans. by A. Leslie willson, Bimenaion. Ill, Special Issue (1970), 91-123.
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George Alexander Everett, Jr. was born in
Washington, D, C., on October 11, 1942. He graduated from Greenwood High School in Greenwood, Mississippi
in I960. He received the Bachelor of Arts degree from
the University of Mississippi in 1964. During his studies there, he also attended the Salzburg Summer
School in Salzburg, Austria in 1962. He received the
Master of Arts degree from Louisiana State University
in 1966, while a graduate teaching assistant there. During the academic year 1965-1966, he was also a
Visiting Instructor of German at the University of
Southern Louisiana in Baton Rouge. On August 20, 1966,
he was married to the former Rena Terry Noel of Jackson,
Mississippi, In August, 1966, he began a year of study
at Ludwig-Maximilians Universitât in Munich, Germany as
a Dankstipendiat of the Federal Republic of Germany.
At present, he is an Assistant Professor of Modern
Languages (German) at the University of Mississippi in
Oxford, Mississippi, while serving as the Secretary-
Treasurer of the Mississippi chapter of the American
Association of Teachers of German.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. EXAMINATION AND THESIS REPORT
Candidate: George Alexander Everett, Jr.
Major Field: German
Title of Thesis; Preceptive Intent in the Works of Günter Grass: An Investigation and Assessment with Extensive Bibliography
Approved:
Z_ ajor Professor and Chairm;
Dean of the Graduate School
EXAMINING COMMITTEE:
Date of Examination:
March 15. 1971
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