Memory, Down with the Ship

Who are the nazis?

Posted by Campbell Rocco on Aug 11, 2003 at 4:57 PM

Grass never seemed to come to terms that his parents never or only reluctantly told him about what happened in Nazi Germany. As I understood it, he was ashamed that the generation of his parents didn’t show any feelings of guilt but instead tried to use some , lame, false or common place excuses for what really happened and their lack of courage under a oppressive regime. These excuses are far too common in the generation of my grandparents ( I’m 25 right now ) and they always sound the same like “how could we know what really happened” or “we were unpolitical”. These statements and the lack of feeling guilt made the generations following after the War very angry, bitter and desperate in in attempting to make a genuine cut with past by acknowledging what really happened. To make peace with this generation was somehow impossible. This differences between the generations subsequently culminated into the 1968 student revolts in Germany. At this time, those who were in power were partly consisting of the same people that had been in positions of power during the Third Reich. Questions even went further, how should a new democratic Germany behave in the face of future adversities. Germany was divided and stuck between two blocs, often a threat of war seemed imminent. This is what lies behind many of Grass’s stories.

Only recently, a new issue has entered the historic debate and this is reflected in Grass’s novel Crabwalk. He and other intellectuals asked what happened to German civilians during the War. During the “Bombennaechte” ( bombing nights ) for example in Hamburg and Dresden, and, more importantly, while many millions attempted to flee from the “Ostgebiete” ( Eastern areas of Germany that later were situated in Soviet Union ) as the Red Army was approaching. However, this issue is not about the question of guilt, this is about what happened to the civilians and in this case the question wasn’t posed by a “revanchistic” older generation but by a curious younger one that dares to ask. Grass seems to have the same intention and it is good that an authority like him shares his voice with the younger generation.

Posted by Martin Kuroczik on Feb 23, 2004 at 6:21 PM