"Heimat in Ketten": Development of ideological construction of german borderland novel in the First Republic

(in English) The presented diploma thesis analyzes German borderland novels (Grenzlandroman) of the interwar period, namely Robert Hohlbaum's Grenzland (1921), Rudolf Haas' Heimat in Ketten (1924), Das Dorf an der Grenze (1936) by Bruno Nowak, writing under the pseudonym Gottfried Rothacker, and Die Brüder Tommahans (1937) by Wilhelm Pleyer. As a literary genre, the borderland novel took conflict between nations as its central theme, while addressing contemporary or recent social evolution. German borderland novels from interwar Czechoslovakia give evidence of how not only the authors but also the whole social groups reflected societal changes in the aftermath of 1918. An analysis of the narratives typical of this segment of literature confirms its relevance to the formation of the German population's identity in interwar Czechoslovakia. Stereotyping mechanisms play a crucial role in instilling abstract notions of nationality in the everyday perception of ordinary people. The borderland novels' narrative practices contribute to the reconstruction and fixation of this stereotypical perception of reality. This perception not only affects the way individuals and social groups view their surrroundings, but also interferes with the interpretation of events. Analysis of the selected texts enables us to..