Legacy of Martin Walser: After WWII, Martin Walser was a German writer. One of the last sardonic and socially aware novels, he had an unforgettable impact on literature. He died at 96 in Überlingen, Germany, near the Swiss border. Rowohlt announced his death without details.
Boll, Grass, and Lenz influenced Walser’s writing. Like Walser, these writers strongly criticized post-war German conservatism in the 1950s and 1960s in their works.
In a letter honoring legacy of Martin Walser’, Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier stated, “Martin Walser is the foremost name in postwar German literature, aware of and committed to history.”
Walser was a successful writer in Germany, though less recognized in English. His 1978 masterpiece, “Ein Fliehendes Pferd” (“A Runaway Horse”), is his finest work. He won the 1981 Georg Büchner Prize, Germany’s top literary award.
In “Ein Fliehendes Pferd,” a short but impactful story by Walser, Klaus and Helmut, childhood friends, reunite in their forties amidst class divisions in a post-war society that emphasizes minor differences.
The narrative highlights contradictions in a culture that values minor differences. Klaus admires Helmut’s non-bourgeois nature. Helmut, however, is a proud bourgeois.
Walser, a former Communist Party member, later shifted right, unlike his peers. He openly admired German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the 2010s. If he were American, he would have voted for Trump over Clinton in the 2016 U.S. election.
Walser’s honesty caused issues. In 1998, he cautioned against using Germany’s Holocaust sorrow as a “moral cudgel” and a “historical burden.” Most people applauded, but Ignatz Bubis, head of the Central Council of German Jews, criticized him. He feared the effects of this rhetoric.
In the years after, Germany’s story splintered, with some saying the Holocaust shaped German identity and others calling for moving on.
Walser fought again with his 2002 book “Tod eines Kritikers.” The work satirized Marcel Reich-Ranicki, a Holocaust survivor and literary critic. Antisemitic undertones upset people, and they sold it.
Walser’s effect extended beyond writing. He was born on March 24, 1927, in Wasserburg am Bodensee, Germany. The war affected his worldview. Even though he later claimed to have briefly been a Nazi Party member as a child during World War II, this was one of his convoluted stories.
Walser worked for Süddeutscher Rundfunk after the war. He changed when he joined Group 47, a group of young writers who cared about social concerns and helped develop Grass and Boll.
Walser wrote in various genres. His 1957 work, “Ehen in Philippsburg,” was his debut. It satirized post-WWII Germany’s materialistic society. He studied society’s impact on the human mind in later works.
Martin Walser wrote over 40 novels, plays, essays, poetry, and hundreds of notes. Writing and eating were his passions, displaying his commitment to words and knowledge.
German literature reflects Martin Walser’s life. His work explored intricacies, challenged conventions, and enabled readers to relate to various human situations.
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