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Group 47
Gruppe 47 (Group 47) was a group of participants in German writers' meetings, invited by Hans Werner Richter between 1947 and 1967. The meetings served the dual goals of literary criticism as well as the promotion of young, unknown authors. In a democratic vote titled "Preis der Gruppe 47" (Prize of Group 47), it elevated many who were beginning their writing careers. Group 47 had no organizational form, no fixed membership list, and no literary program, but was strongly influenced by Richter's invitations.
In its early days, Gruppe 47 offered young writers a platform for the renewal of German literature after World War II and the end of censorship in Nazi Germany. It later became an influential institution in the cultural life of the Federal Republic of Germany, as important contemporary writers and literary critics participated in the meetings. The cultural and political influence of Group 47 has been the subject of numerous debates. Even after the end of their meetings in 1967, former participants of the group remained influential in the literary development of Germanosphere.
In the spring of 1945, Der Ruf, Zeitung der deutschen Kriegsgefangenen in USA (The Call: Newspaper of German War Prisoners) was begun in a Rhode Island POW camp, Fort Philip Kearny, as part of American re-education for German POWs. It was edited by Curt Vinz, working with Alfred Andersch and Hans Werner Richter. Upon their return to Germany they planned to publish a successor magazine under the title Der Ruf – unabhängige Blätter der jungen Generation (The Call – Independent paper of the Younger Generation), which first appeared on 15 August 1946. Although the magazine also published literary texts, the publishers (Andersch and Richter) understood it primarily as a political publication, in which they argued for a free Germany as a bridge between East and West. They were also critical of the American occupation forces, which led to the prohibition of the April 1947 Ruf by the Information Control Division of the American Occupation Zone. After the dismissal[why?] of the editor[who?], the magazine reappeared with a new political orientation, headed by Erich Kuby. However, it had lost its importance and was finally discontinued.
After Ruf ceased publication, Hans Werner Richter began to plan a successor magazine, which he wanted to dub Der Skorpion (The Scorpion). On the 6 and 7 September in 1947, Richter held an editorial meeting with authors from the area of the planned newspaper in Ilse Schneider-Lengyel's house, on Bannwaldsee, near Füssen. Their manuscripts were read and discussed together, as well as the private purpose of the future magazine. While Der Skorpion was never actually published, the first meeting of Gruppe 47 was developed from this meeting near Bannwaldsee. With regard to the group's history, Richter later explained: "The origin of Group 47 was of a political-publicistic nature. It was not created by literati, but by politically committed publicists with literary ambitions."
Friedhelm Kröll divided the history of Group 47 into four periods:
At the meeting at Bannwaldsee, 16 participants took part. To begin, Wolfdietrich Schnurre read his short story Das Begräbnis ("The Funeral"). After this, the other participants expressed open, partly sharp, spontaneous criticism, which was to become the later ritual of group criticism. This form of literary criticism, in which the speaker author always sat on the empty seat next to Richter, jokingly dubbed the "electric chair", remained the form of discussion for Group 47's entire existence. The important maxim was that the lecturer was not allowed to defend himself and that the review of a specific text was the focus of the meeting. Political discussions of literary or political nature, on which the group could have split, were consistently deferred to Richter. Despite the group's preference for realistic Trümmerliteratur (the post-war "rubble literature"), there was no official literary program, no common poetics and only a few principles about not allowing fascist or militarist texts.
The name Gruppe 47 emerged only after the first meeting, as Hans Werner Richter was planning to repeat the event regularly. The author and critic Hans Georg Brenner suggested the name, associating the group with the Spanish Generación del 98 (Generation of '98) before. Richter, who rejected any organizational form of the meetings, whether "club, association, or academy", agreed with the proposal, saying "‘Group 47’ – that is without obligation and actually says nothing."
It was only in 1962, on the 15th anniversary of the group’s birth, that Richter retrospectively formulated the "idealistic starting points" of Gruppe 47:
Group 47
Gruppe 47 (Group 47) was a group of participants in German writers' meetings, invited by Hans Werner Richter between 1947 and 1967. The meetings served the dual goals of literary criticism as well as the promotion of young, unknown authors. In a democratic vote titled "Preis der Gruppe 47" (Prize of Group 47), it elevated many who were beginning their writing careers. Group 47 had no organizational form, no fixed membership list, and no literary program, but was strongly influenced by Richter's invitations.
In its early days, Gruppe 47 offered young writers a platform for the renewal of German literature after World War II and the end of censorship in Nazi Germany. It later became an influential institution in the cultural life of the Federal Republic of Germany, as important contemporary writers and literary critics participated in the meetings. The cultural and political influence of Group 47 has been the subject of numerous debates. Even after the end of their meetings in 1967, former participants of the group remained influential in the literary development of Germanosphere.
In the spring of 1945, Der Ruf, Zeitung der deutschen Kriegsgefangenen in USA (The Call: Newspaper of German War Prisoners) was begun in a Rhode Island POW camp, Fort Philip Kearny, as part of American re-education for German POWs. It was edited by Curt Vinz, working with Alfred Andersch and Hans Werner Richter. Upon their return to Germany they planned to publish a successor magazine under the title Der Ruf – unabhängige Blätter der jungen Generation (The Call – Independent paper of the Younger Generation), which first appeared on 15 August 1946. Although the magazine also published literary texts, the publishers (Andersch and Richter) understood it primarily as a political publication, in which they argued for a free Germany as a bridge between East and West. They were also critical of the American occupation forces, which led to the prohibition of the April 1947 Ruf by the Information Control Division of the American Occupation Zone. After the dismissal[why?] of the editor[who?], the magazine reappeared with a new political orientation, headed by Erich Kuby. However, it had lost its importance and was finally discontinued.
After Ruf ceased publication, Hans Werner Richter began to plan a successor magazine, which he wanted to dub Der Skorpion (The Scorpion). On the 6 and 7 September in 1947, Richter held an editorial meeting with authors from the area of the planned newspaper in Ilse Schneider-Lengyel's house, on Bannwaldsee, near Füssen. Their manuscripts were read and discussed together, as well as the private purpose of the future magazine. While Der Skorpion was never actually published, the first meeting of Gruppe 47 was developed from this meeting near Bannwaldsee. With regard to the group's history, Richter later explained: "The origin of Group 47 was of a political-publicistic nature. It was not created by literati, but by politically committed publicists with literary ambitions."
Friedhelm Kröll divided the history of Group 47 into four periods:
At the meeting at Bannwaldsee, 16 participants took part. To begin, Wolfdietrich Schnurre read his short story Das Begräbnis ("The Funeral"). After this, the other participants expressed open, partly sharp, spontaneous criticism, which was to become the later ritual of group criticism. This form of literary criticism, in which the speaker author always sat on the empty seat next to Richter, jokingly dubbed the "electric chair", remained the form of discussion for Group 47's entire existence. The important maxim was that the lecturer was not allowed to defend himself and that the review of a specific text was the focus of the meeting. Political discussions of literary or political nature, on which the group could have split, were consistently deferred to Richter. Despite the group's preference for realistic Trümmerliteratur (the post-war "rubble literature"), there was no official literary program, no common poetics and only a few principles about not allowing fascist or militarist texts.
The name Gruppe 47 emerged only after the first meeting, as Hans Werner Richter was planning to repeat the event regularly. The author and critic Hans Georg Brenner suggested the name, associating the group with the Spanish Generación del 98 (Generation of '98) before. Richter, who rejected any organizational form of the meetings, whether "club, association, or academy", agreed with the proposal, saying "‘Group 47’ – that is without obligation and actually says nothing."
It was only in 1962, on the 15th anniversary of the group’s birth, that Richter retrospectively formulated the "idealistic starting points" of Gruppe 47: