6 - Literary reflections on '68

Summary

One of the constituent debates of the post-unification period has centred on the impact of the generation of '68 – those in their late fifties and sixties at the end of the 1990s who had been active in the student movement of the 1960s – on the culture, politics and society of both the ‘old’ West Germany and the ‘new’, post-1990 Federal Republic. While some observers continue to see '68 as a ‘watershed’ that embedded West German democracy and as a ‘cultural revolution’ that negated the nation's authoritarian past, others believe it has led to a loss of traditional values and German identity. Equally significant, the discussion has centred on the 68ers' role in shaping West Germany's open and democratic Streitkultur (culture of public debate). Above all, the legacy of ‘critical engagement’ with the Nazi past, arguably the 68ers' most outstanding contribution to the self-understanding of modern-day Germany, has been challenged, as has the continuing dominance in the media, politics and the cultural sphere of a left-liberal elite drawn largely from the ranks of the former student protesters. This chapter examines the debate on '68 and, specifically, the recent explosion of literary texts reflecting on '68 as myth and cultural memory. These texts not only interrogate the values, aspirations and aesthetics of the generation most closely connected with the dramatic events of that period but also endeavour to define its significance for the Berlin Republic.