The Second World War and its historical categorization remains a disputed topic within the German society. Still, the way of how Germans are rethinking their history is in a state of flux. While the question of collective and individual German guilt has attracted increased scientific and popular attention since the late 1960s, more precisely after the Eichmann and Auschwitz trials, German intellectuals and the German media have in recent years turned their attention, again, towards German suffering during the war. This can be seen as a recourse within a new framework. Already in the immediate postwar period, Germans depicted themselves as victims of the war and its settlement. The preferred self-image was that of being first a victim of Hitler’s and then of enemies hands. Once again, though very late, Germans today consider their own countrymen as victims. In movies and books, they depict themselves and their ancestors not only as villains, but also as people who endured air bombing, starvation, and expulsion.
This revived way of storytelling began around the new millennium and focused espe-cially on Germany’s civilian population. An important stimulus for Germany’s coming to terms with its past, or Vergangenheitsbewältigung, was once again triggered by Günter Grass, born in 1927 in Danzig, one of the country’s most popular and successful authors. Already as a member of the famous Group 47, he had – inter alia – initiated a new concept to rejuvenate German literature, particularly with his book The Tin Drum. He also contested a denial of civic responsibility and guilt in past and present, which he saw occurring in the consumerist-driven Bonn Republic. His first two books written in the new millennium, the novel Crab-walk, published in 2002, and his autobiographic work Peeling the Onion, released in 2006, were widely analyzed and sparked off a heated debate on both German guilt and German suffering. By using both books as a case study, this essay examines the main issues that were addressed by Grass and points out today’s situation of German Vergangenheitsbewältigung.
Table of Contents
1. German “Victimhood” During World War Two
2. Crabwalk – Struggle backwards to move forward
3. Peeling the Onion – Or How to Learn to Ask Questions Again
4. German responsibility that arises from its past
Objectives and Themes
This essay explores how German society is currently renegotiating its historical narrative regarding the Second World War, specifically focusing on the shifting discourse between collective guilt and the recognition of German suffering. Using Günter Grass's novels "Crabwalk" and "Peeling the Onion" as primary case studies, the author examines how literature serves as a medium to bridge the gap between acknowledging past atrocities and addressing the historical trauma of the German civilian population.
- The revival of discourse surrounding German victimhood in the new millennium.
- The role of Günter Grass’s literary works in stimulating "Vergangenheitsbewältigung".
- The influence of internet culture and Neo-Nazi ideology on younger generations.
- The necessity of acknowledging both perpetration and suffering to foster historical responsibility.
- The intersection of personal autobiography and collective national memory.
Excerpt from the Book
Crabwalk – Struggle backwards to move forward
Grass’s novel Crabwalk deals with the question of how the Nazi past still influences Germany’s present and its younger generations due to the alleged suppression of memories and the taboo status for stories about German suffering. He uses the history of the ship Wilhelm Gustloff, the infamous Kraft durch Freude cruiser, which sunk on January 30, 1945 in the Baltic Sea and tragically engulfed about 9,000 mostly young people in the abyss, to illustrate on the basis of a family story how Nazi propaganda has survived over time. His main protagonist and narrator is Paul Pokriefe, the son of Tulla Pokriefe, who was born fatherless some minutes after his mother had been rescued from the sunken ship. Decades later, while exploring the incident on the internet, Paul discovers that his son Konny is a webmaster of a Nazi webpage called blutzeuge.de, which commemorates the eponym of the ship and its later victims. In the end, Konny kills his main rhetoric adversary of the webpage’s chat room, who pretended to be a Jew with the fictitious name David and who constantly revealed Konny’s lies about the ship and German history in general. His father desperately tries to save his son from Nazi propaganda but ultimately fails to do so.
The whole novel is divided into different subplots, which mix the fictional family story of the Pokriefes and the history of the ship, i.e. its construction and later use as a Nazi cruiser. Furthermore, it unfolds the stories of its eponym and latter’s assassin as well as the Soviet submarine captain who attacked the Gustloff. The book’s title Crabwalk stands for the way Grass narrates, as he travels back and forth in distant times and places. Additionally, he uses the crabwalk as a symbolism of how he considers German history to be evaluated and reflected. He describes it as a process of “walking diagonally towards scent marks and other secretions of history”. Only by allowing oneself to struggle backwards, one could move forward.
Summary of Chapters
1. German “Victimhood” During World War Two: This introductory section outlines the shifting perception of German history since the postwar period and introduces the central role of Günter Grass in challenging the prevailing taboos regarding German suffering.
2. Crabwalk – Struggle backwards to move forward: This chapter analyzes how Grass utilizes the fictionalized history of the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff to discuss the dangers of historical revisionism and the susceptibility of the younger generation to extremist propaganda.
3. Peeling the Onion – Or How to Learn to Ask Questions Again: This section examines Grass’s autobiographical reflections on his own involvement in the Nazi era and the Waffen-SS, framing his confession as a personal model for "Vergangenheitsbewältigung".
4. German responsibility that arises from its past: The concluding chapter synthesizes the findings, arguing that acknowledging German suffering does not preclude the acceptance of national guilt and that self-critical analysis remains essential for Germany’s future.
Keywords
Vergangenheitsbewältigung, Günter Grass, Crabwalk, Peeling the Onion, World War Two, German Victimhood, Nazi Past, Collective Memory, Historical Revisionism, Wilhelm Gustloff, Waffen-SS, Neo-Nazism, German Identity, Guilt, Collective Responsibility
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this research paper?
The paper examines the discourse of "German victimhood" within the context of World War Two and investigates how the perception of Germany's Nazi past is evolving in the 21st century.
What are the primary thematic areas addressed in the work?
The core themes include the intersection of literature and politics, the danger of historical revisionism, the impact of internet propaganda on youth, and the balancing act between acknowledging personal/national guilt and documenting civilian suffering.
What is the main research objective?
The goal is to analyze how Günter Grass’s literary works, specifically "Crabwalk" and "Peeling the Onion," contribute to a more nuanced debate about Germany's history by identifying Germans as both perpetrators and victims without minimizing the responsibility for war crimes.
Which scientific methodology does the author employ?
The author uses a qualitative literary analysis, treating the selected novels as case studies to explore broader societal debates and historical memory, supported by scholarly discourse and contemporary criticism.
What topics are discussed in the main body?
The main body focuses on the analysis of specific narrative elements in Grass's books, such as the symbolism of the "crabwalk," the role of the internet in spreading extremist ideologies, and the personal, often painful, process of "peeling" away one's own suppressed past.
What are the key terms that define this work?
Essential keywords include Vergangenheitsbewältigung, historical revisionism, collective memory, German victimhood, and personal accountability.
How does Günter Grass portray the "crabwalk" as a historical metaphor?
Grass uses the term to describe a non-linear, diagonal movement through time and memory, suggesting that one must confront the past by looking backward to be able to move forward properly.
What role does the internet play in the context of the analyzed novels?
The internet is portrayed as a dual-edged tool: it acts as a platform for free debate but also facilitates the rapid spread of Neo-Nazi rhetoric and the construction of revisionist legends among isolated or disillusioned individuals.
Why is Günter Grass's personal confession in "Peeling the Onion" considered significant?
It is significant because it provides an honest, self-critical reflection of his youth, effectively stripping away the "third-person perspective" of guilt and serving as a model for how a nation can confront its own difficult history.
- Citation du texte
- Master of Arts Christopher Reichow (Auteur), 2013, German "Victimhood" During World War Two: A New Chapter in Germany’s Coming to Terms with Its Past?, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/273249
