Austria existed in a political limbo between the fall of the Third Reich in 1945 and the reattainment of sovereignty in 1955. This discrete and culturally complex period has been largely ignored in the English-speaking world, and now Anthony Bushell seeks to redress that neglect by examining the wealth of poetry that was produced in Austria after Germany’s defeat. Bushell discovers that in Austrian literature a rejection of guilt over the war manifested itself as a marked reluctance to discuss life under Hitler. A wholly original contribution to our understanding of Austrian poetry, Bushell’s book will be of interest to anyone studying war’s impact on literature.
This book comprises of a detailed and original study of the wealth of poetry produced in Austria between the demise of the Third Reich and Austria's re-attainment of sovereignty in 1955.
It offers a distinctive contribution to the topic of literature and war, showing how, in the case of Austria, rejection of war-guilt after WWII produced a marked reluctance to treat the theme of war in literature. The author also demonstrates the theoretical problems for modern poetry in the handling of historical events.
Anthony Bushell is head of the Department of German and head of the School of Modern Languages at the University of Wales, Bangor. He is the author of Austria 1945–1955: Studies in Political and Cultural Re-Emergence, also published by the University of Wales Press.
