Frank Brunssen

Günter Grass and the Cold War

This study focuses on the question of the extent to which the Cold War has impacted on Günter Grasss writings. From the early 1960s through to the late 1980s Grasss position as a politically active writer is characterized by a persistently committed stand against the ideological-military East–West conflict that decisively shaped 20th century history after 1945. In the authors journalistic work especially, but also in important literary texts, a continuous line can be traced from his protest against the building of the Berlin Wall, through his support for the Prague Spring and his outstanding services to the new Ostpolitik, to his call for resistance to NATOs policy of arms build-up. Grasss concern is to promote a cross-border East–West dialogue beyond ideologies in order to overcome the confrontation between blocs and at the same time to work towards establishing an alternative, peaceable social order based on a synthesis of democracy and socialism.

A Moral Authority? Günter Grass as the Conscience of the German Nation

When it was revealed in 2006 that Günter Grass had been a member of the Waffen-SS towards the end of the World War II, critics stripped Germanys most famous contemporary writer and intellectual of his widely recognized position as “a self-designated and fearless conscience of the nation” (Fritz Stern). Against the historical background of moral authority figures in twentieth century Germany, this article examines Grass’ contributions as the nations conscience to his countrys political culture. For a start, the historical preconditions are analyzed that allowed Grass from the early 1960s onward to ascend to the public role of a moral authority figure. Second, this article then assesses to what extent this position must be regarded, on the one hand, as the result of external configurations and, on the other, as the outcome of Grass’ own aspirations to create a self-image as a moral leader. In the light of his former membership of the Waffen-SS; third, the question is addressed whether Grass’ confession has led to his “moral downfall,” as many critics have claimed, or whether he should still be regarded as a “moral compass,” as others believe. This article concludes by arguing that his recent dismissal from his position as the nations conscience does not merely reveal widespread disenchantment with Grass but indicates, at a much wider level, a new public understanding that no longer associates the role of the writer in the twenty-first century with moral leadership.

“Speak Out!”—Günter Grass as an International Intellectual

The political engagement of Günter Grass, Germanys most significant contemporary writer is by no means limited only to German affairs but has for decades also extended across a broad spectrum of international issues. This study thus centres on the question, hitherto only touched on in the research literature, of Grasss profile as an international intellectual. It primarily deals with his critical attitude towards the United States of America, Israel, and the project of European integration, where it emerges that Grasss public interventions are directed above all against the misuse of political power, as perpetrated for example by the USA during the Cold War or later in Iraq. At the same time, Grass has, at an international level, taken the part of those who have fallen victim to power-centred politics, those who are discriminated against, those who have been forgotten, such as the fatwa-threatened Salman Rushdie, the endangered Israeli population during the Six Day War and the first Gulf War, and the European ethnic group the Roma. 1 Article translated by Graham Frankland.