Christa wolf what remains

Biography of Christa Wolf

German writer, renowned novelist, and essayist, Christa Wolf was born in 1929 in Landsberg (now Gozów Wielkopolski, Poland) into a merchant family. She studied German literature in Jena and Leipzig after completing her schooling in Mecklenburg. In 1949, she became a member of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SEPG).

In 1961, Wolf published her first work, "Moscow Novella," which received wide recognition in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). From 1962, she devoted herself exclusively to writing. Her novel "Divided Heaven," published in the same year, and subsequently adapted into a film, became her first major literary success and earned her the Heinrich Mann Prize. The novel explores the issues of a divided Germany during the construction of the Berlin Wall.

Controversy surrounding Christa Wolf heightened in 1989 after the publication of her story "What Remains." Although it was published after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the story was written in 1979 and revolves around a writer (clearly resembling Wolf herself) who is constantly under surveillance by the State Security Service and attempts to find a new language to break free from the tightly controlled society. The story delves into the question of why the GDR society collapsed, with Wolf acknowledging her own lack of courage and feeling partly responsible.

Debates arose about why Wolf published her story so late, and whether she can be considered a resistance fighter if she did not have the courage to publish it in the West when she wrote it. Prominent figures in German intellectual circles, such as Wolf Biermann and Günter Grass, came to Wolf's defense, pointing out that she has always been self-critical, as evidenced by her works. Since the publication of her novel "Cassandra" in 1968, Wolf continually questioned the model of the GDR state. She wanted to remain in East Germany, and openly criticizing the state would have resulted in the revocation of her citizenship, while remaining silent would have forced her to stop writing.

Wolf had a critical view of Western capitalism and materialism. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, she called for a "third way," advocating for the creation of a new independent, democratic, free, and socialist state in Germany. She feared that the West would simply colonize the eastern part of the country. Many representatives of Western intelligentsia with right-wing views considered Wolf's calls highly dangerous.

Germany continues to be a central theme in Christa Wolf's works. However, she no longer sees the situation in the country as dramatic.