Das Schweigen des Trommlers oder Günter Grass und sein Schaffen in den posthumen Reaktionen der polnischen und deutschen Presse (DE)
The silence of a drummer - Günter Grass and his literary output as posthumously evaluated in the Polish and German press (EN)
https://doi.org/10.16926/trs.2016.01.04
The article analyses reactions of both Polish and German media observable after the death of Günter Grass - one of the most accomplished German writers, the Nobel Prize laureate connected with the city of Gdańsk. The death of the controversial writer became another occasion for interpretation and evaluation of his numerous works, but also for a return to his turbulent biography and the discussion over his unspoken of and kept secret service in the SS. An analysis of the earliest pieces of information about the author's death included in German and Polish electronic sources indicates that there is a significant difference between the evaluation of the deceased writer in his homeland and in Poland. All of articles analysed refer to the basic facts from Grass' biography, call him one of the greatest contemporary authors and a great German, while The Tin Drum is perceived as the novel of the century. In both countries his social involvement, his political activity within SPD, and his support for Polish-German reconciliation are appreciated. However, the German press stresses more frequently the controversies surrounding Grass, the critical discussions after the publication of Too Far Afield, doubts surrounding Grass' reception of the Nobel Prize in Literature, or the global outrage after Grass' confession of having served in Waffen-SS. "Die Zeit" and "Der Spiegel" remind the readers of the negative commentaries after the 2012 publication of the poem "What must be said". Politicians and artists expressing their opinion recall Grass as an extraordinary figure, a merciless moraliser, a critic and provoker, and at the same time an unrivalled model for numerous writers, their authority and inspiration. Although many articles stress linguistic mastery and the rhythmic quality of Grass' prose, as well as the significance and the message of his most famous works, it is the writer's political activity that over-shadows the literary one from the perspective of his countrymen. In comparison, the evaluation of the life and work of the writer presented immediately after his death in the Polish press appears to be much different. People quoted concentrate on Grass' connections with Gdańsk, on his ongoing efforts to improve the Polish-German relations, which could be seen both during his visits to Poland and in his prose. Although the controversial subjects, such as the long-kept-in-silence cooperation with Waffen-SS or violation of national myths, are signalled, but they are overshadowed by Grass' literary achievements and activity, at least in the view of the authors of the articles analysed and the writers quoted by them. In the Polish press - unlike in the German one - the deceased Nobel Prize laureate from Lubeck remains, first of all, an accomplished writer, not a controversial politician.
(PL)Der folgende Beitrag setzt sich zum Ziel, die Reaktionen der polnischen und deutschen Presse auf den Tod von Günter Grass zu analysieren, der als einer der berühmtesten deutschsprachigen Schriftsteller angesehen und für sein Schaffen mit dem Literaturnobelpreis ausgezeichnet wurde. Der Tod des kontroversen Autors, der seit seiner Geburt mit Danzig verbunden war, stellte den Anlass dazu dar, seine zahlreichen Werke erneut zu interpretieren, sowie seine turbulente Biografie und verschwiegene SS-Episode nochmals zur Sprache zu bringen. Die Analyse der ersten Informationen zum Tod des Schriftstellers, die in den Internet-Ausgaben der führenden Zeitungen und Zeitschriften veröffentlicht wurden, erlaubt die Schlussfolgerung, dass man das Leben und das Schaffen des verstorbenen Nobelpreisträgers doch unterschiedlich in Deutschland und Polen einschätzt. In beiden Ländern werden die wichtigsten biografischen Fakten dargestellt, Grass als einer der wichtigsten gegenwärtigen Autoren und Bürger Deutschlands angesehen und Die Blechtrommel als ein Jahrhundertwerk bezeichnet. Sowohl in Deutschland als auch in Polen schätzt man das soziale Engagement des Autors, seine Tätigkeit für die SPD und seine Bemühungen um die deutsch-polnische Versöhnung. In der deutschen Presse werden aber viel öfter die Kontroversen um Grass unterstrichen. Es wird also an kritische Stimmen nach der Herausgabe des Romans Ein weites Feld, an die Zweifel nach der Zuerkennung des Literaturnobelpreises und die weltweite Empörung wegen des verschwiegenen Dienstes in der Waffen-SS erinnert. In den Aussagen der Vertreter der Politik und Kultur, die in der Presse zitiert werden, bleibt Grass ein rücksichtsloser Moralapostel, Kritiker und Provocateur, der aber für viele als Vorbild und Inspiration galt. Obwohl man in vielen Pressereaktionen die sprachliche Virtuosität und den unvergleichbaren Rhythmus seiner Prosa, sowie die Bedeutung seiner wichtigsten Romane hervorhebt, so scheint sein literarisches Schaffen für seine Landsleute im Schatten seiner politischen Tätigkeit zu stehen. Ganz anders fällt das Bild des Schriftstellers und seiner Werke in den polnischen posthumen Pressereaktionen aus. Man konzentriert sich in den zitierten Aussagen a`uf seine Verbundenheit mit Gdańsk, seine unaufhörlichen Bestrebungen, die deutsch-polnischen Beziehungen zu verbessern, auf seine deutsch-kaschubische Herkunft, sowie seine offensichtliche Bindung an Polen, die sich während seiner Besuche und beim Lesen seiner Texte registrieren ließ. Kontroverse Themen, wie z.B. die verschwiegene Mitarbeit oder die Verletzung der nationalen Mythen, werden zwar kurz angesprochen, aber für die Artikelautoren und zitierten Politiker oder Schriftsteller scheinen seine Literatur und sein Engagement eindeutig im Vordergrund zu stehen. In der polnischen Presse (im Gegensatz zu der deutschen) bleibt Günter Grass in erster Linie ein Schriftsteller und nicht nur ein umstritten
(DE)The article analyses reactions of both Polish and German media observable after the death of Günter Grass - one of the most accomplished German writers, the Nobel Prize laureate connected with the city of Gdańsk. The death of the controversial writer became another occasion for interpretation and evaluation of his numerous works, but also for a return to his turbulent biography and the discussion over his unspoken of and kept secret service in the SS. An analysis of the earliest pieces of information about the author's death included in German and Polish electronic sources indicates that there is a significant difference between the evaluation of the deceased writer in his homeland and in Poland. All of articles analysed refer to the basic facts from Grass' biography, call him one of the greatest contemporary authors and a great German, while The Tin Drum is perceived as the novel of the century. In both countries his social involvement, his political activity within SPD, and his support for Polish-German reconciliation are appreciated. However, the German press stresses more frequently the controversies surrounding Grass, the critical discussions after the publication of Too Far Afield, doubts surrounding Grass' reception of the Nobel Prize in Literature, or the global outrage after Grass' confession of having served in Waffen-SS. "Die Zeit" and "Der Spiegel" remind the readers of the negative commentaries after the 2012 publication of the poem "What must be said". Politicians and artists expressing their opinion recall Grass as an extraordinary figure, a merciless moraliser, a critic and provoker, and at the same time an unrivalled model for numerous writers, their authority and inspiration. Although many articles stress linguistic mastery and the rhythmic quality of Grass' prose, as well as the significance and the message of his most famous works, it is the writer's political activity that over-shadows the literary one from the perspective of his countrymen. In comparison, the evaluation of the life and work of the writer presented immediately after his death in the Polish press appears to be much different. People quoted concentrate on Grass' connections with Gdańsk, on his ongoing efforts to improve the Polish-German relations, which could be seen both during his visits to Poland and in his prose. Although the controversial subjects, such as the long-kept-in-silence cooperation with Waffen-SS or violation of national myths, are signalled, but they are overshadowed by Grass' literary achievements and activity, at least in the view of the authors of the articles analysed and the writers quoted by them. In the Polish press - unlike in the German one - the deceased Nobel Prize laureate from Lubeck remains, first of all, an accomplished writer, not a controversial politician.
er Politiker.
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