Auseinandersetzungen mit dem Nationalsozialismus im oesterreichischen Roman, 1945--1969

Austrian post-war literature has long been interpreted as conservative and apologetic towards history. Departing from this view, this dissertation examines novels by several avant-garde authors, who initiated a critical discourse on Austria\u27s national socialist past soon after the end of World War II. The study focuses on the contributions to Austrian literary history by six writers: Ilse Aichinger, Die grossere Hoffnung; Milo Dor, Tote auf Urlaub and Die weisse Stadt; Erich Fried, Ein Soldat und ein Madchen; Gerhard Fritsch, Moos auf den Steinen and Fasching; Franz Kain, Der Fohn bricht ein; and Hans Lebert, Die Wolfshaut. These authors were linked by a common attitude advocating open and honest discussion of contemporary history through literature. Faced with the problem to find a fitting way to discuss national socialism through literature, they developed formal and narrative innovations, which are suited to portray the conflict individuals face in their struggle against totalitarian oppression. The theme of resistance is prevalent in all of the novels discussed here. Writers agreed that resistance fosters personal integrity. The willingness to act in a responsible manner was seen as the key to end despotism and re-shape the world in a humane and democratic fashion. This attitude linked Austrian authors to the writers of French Existentialism as well as to the Gruppe 47 movement in Germany. The textual analysis reveals that Austrian novelists used a very frank and outspoken style in addressing the controversial topic of their country\u27s Nazi past. As a result, however, critical acclaim for their literary contributions was delayed during the politically conservative 1950s and early 1960s. The discussion of Austria\u27s role in the Third Reich did not reach the mainstream of Austrian literature until the 1980s. By then, most of the early efforts to discuss national socialism in Austria through literature had all but been forgotten. This dissertation provides an introduction to this neglected aspect of Austrian literary history. It seeks to demonstrate that a relevant discourse on contemporary history existed much sooner in Austrian prose literature than previously assumed