Friday, March 14, 2014
Committee (Omni Shoreham)
In the early 21st century, violent pasts are repeatedly resurrected in an attempt to understand the present and imagine a more peaceful future. This paper analyzes German-language novels that prominently figure post-1990 violent conflicts, wars, and their aftermaths, including the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the NATO mission in Kosovo, the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and the Iraq War. I examine the forms and functions of memory, especially of the Second World War, and demonstrate how multiperspectival literary texts utilize the past to confront current social issues, ranging from the deployment of German troops abroad to the tightening of immigration law in Austria, while also narrating recent events in order to recall forgotten histories. Nicol Ljubić’s Meeresstille (2010) questions the validity of Germany’s NATO involvement in the 1999 bombing of Serbian cities as political atonement for Auschwitz. Ludwig Laher’s Verfahren (2011) juxtaposes a Kosovar asylum seeker’s fate in twenty-first century Austria with that of a Viennese Jew’s in WWII Great Britain while also revealing a xenophobic legacy that has continued partially due to the myth of Austria as Hitler’s first victim; and Thomas Lehr’s September. Fata Morgana (2010) contrasts WWII memories of bombing and refuge with post-9/11 conflicts. These novels narrate complex transnational memories while also acknowledging and problematizing the continued impact of official national memories upon domestic and foreign policy. Furthermore, my analysis of ultracontemporary literature asserts the continued relevance of examining national pasts and individuals’ memories in increasing transnational cultural products.
