THE IDEOLOGY OF GRUPPE 47, BETWEEN LITERARY POLITICS AND POLITICS OF LITERATURE. A TRANSATLANTIC STORY.
THE IDEOLOGY OF GRUPPE 47, BETWEEN LITERARY POLITICS AND POLITICS OF LITERATURE. A TRANSATLANTIC STORY.

Summary/Abstract: In the aftermath of World War II, the informal association of intellectuals known as Gruppe 47 found itself in a troublesome position in its attempt to rebuild a new political culture in postwar Germany. My analytical approach to the ideological controversies, paradoxes and inconsistencies of the group’s orientation will provide some relevant tools for explanation and put forward confrontational dilemmas for assessing the overall activities of Gruppe 47 members. This type of approach is risky and difficult for two main reasons: i) first, because the membership of the Group was non-permanent and circumstantial and ii) second, because the overall activity of the Group seemed to move indecisively between two main coordinates (i.e., an aesthetic and literary programme on the one hand, and a politics of culture / literature, on the other). Intuitively, I think that the study of literary culture in post-war Germany could function as a strong indicator of the status and transformations of political culture in this country and may be more successful than conventional historiography, political science or institutional theories in explaining what really happened in Germany in the period in question.

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