Hello Gentle Reader
Günter Grass was one the moral compass of Europe. His best known work is “The Tin Drum,” the first in his celebrated Danzig Trilogy. The author went on to become a honoured Nobel Laureate in Literature with the citation: “whose frolicsome black fables portray the forgotten face of history.” In the beginning of his career, Grass was the moral compass for Germany, encouraging the German people and politicians to accept the Nazi crimes, and forgive themselves, for such a self-induced insult on their past. However, in his later years, Grass had become a polarizing figure – especially as a writer who often made political comments. Grass however lost credibility, when he himself had revealed in his autobiography “Peeling the Onion,” that at the age of sixteen he had been conscripted by the Waffen-SS, a fact of the author’s life that had not been revealed. The public was outraged. How could someone tell them to repent and admit their own tragic and traumatic history, but not do the same themselves? Further controversy had landed on Günter Grass a few years later. With a poem titled “What Must Be Said,” Grass had criticized Germany’s military support of Israel, by the delivery of submarines to the country; which Grass had argued in his poem, could be used to attack and kill the Iranian people. The poem was quickly rejected by many, feeling that a author who had hid his own Nazi past, was in a vague manner showcasing anti-Semitic views. Fellow Nobel Laureate in Literature Herta Müller, criticized Grass for the poem:
“Günter Grass distorts reality. Iran is threatening Israel with annihilation, not the other way around,” and continued with the following statements, “In my opinion, he lost his moral credibility long ago, because over the course of decades he hid his affiliation with the SS.”
It were to appear that Günter Grass had become more of a political persona in his later years, than a writer; which had tarnished his reputation and many inquired about the authors integrity or lack thereof with his later in life confession of his affiliation with Germany’s Nazi past. However this does not mean that Grass’s work is not without its own literary merits, and should be judged on its own merits, not the writer who in his later years had become a political persona and a polarizing political figure. However with Grass's passing, many whom mourn the author, speak of a man who was far different then his public persona. Friends of the writer, speak of a humorous man, who thought deeply about people, and was perpetually fascinated by them.
Rest In Peace Günter Grass.
Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader
Take Care
And As Always
Stay Well Read
*And Remember: Downloading Books Illegally is Thievery and Wrong.*
M. Mary
No comments:
Post a Comment