The conscious democrats : the political role of Group 47 in West Germany, 1947-1967

Traditionally, German writers have remained aloof from social and political involvement. The policy of Gleichschaltung (1933-1945) shattered that tradition. Writers of Group 47 (1947- ) became involved in the political and social life of postwar Germany. Heinrich Boll used his fiction to criticize accepted norms; Gunter Grass took an active part in German politics. By 1965, Group 47 writers sensed that their social and political engagement was innocuous. Some agreed with Peter Weiss that new levels of political commitment were needed. After twenty years of public involvement, however, they no longer questioned the tradition of commitment.