The Language of Silence

An analysis of West German literature as it tries to come to terms with the holocaust and its impact on post-war German society.

Ernestine Schlant is Professor of German at Montclair State University. She is author of Hermann Broch (1978) and editor of Legacies and Ambiguities: Postwar Fictionand Culture in West Germany and Japan (1986).

Introduction 1. The First Postwar Decade Heinrich Böll Wolfgang Koeppen 2. Documentary Literature Alexander Kluge Günter Grass 3. Autobiographical Novels Generational Discord 4. Autobiographical Novels Hans-Josef Ortheil 5. The War on the Eastern Front Hermann Lenz 6. Ruptures and Displacements Gert Hofmann 7. Restitution of Personal Identity? Alfred Andersch Peter Härtling Gert Hofmann 8. Speeches and Controversies 9. Post-Unification Bernhard Schlink Peter Schneider W. G. Sebald Conclusion The Jewish Presence in Germany The Institutionalization of the Holocaust