Studies in European Culture and History edited by Eric D. Weitz and Jack Zipes University of Minnesota Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism, the very meaning of Europe has been opened up and is in the process of being redefined. European states and societies are wrestling with the expansion of NATO and the European Union and with new streams of immigration, while a renewed and reinvigorated cultural interaction has emerged between East and West. But the fast-paced transformations of the last fifteen years also have deeper historical roots. The reconfiguring of contem- porary Europe is entwined with the cataclysmic events of the twentieth century, twoworld wars and the Holocaust, and with the processes of modernity that, since the eighteenth century, have shaped Europe and its engagement with the rest of the world. Studies in European Culture and History is dedicated to publishing books that explore major issues in Europe’s past and present from a wide variety of disciplinary perspectives. The works in the series are interdisciplinary; they focus on culture and society and deal with significant developments in Western and Eastern Europe from the eighteenth century to the present within a social historical context. With its broad span of topics, geography, and chronology, the series aims to publish the most interesting and innovative work on modern Europe. Series titles Fascism and Neofascism: Critical Writings on the Radical Right in Europe Edited by Angelica Fenner and Eric D. Weitz Fictive Theories: Towards a Deconstructive and Utopian Political Imagination Susan McManus German-Jewish Literature in the Wake of the Holocaust: Grete Weil, Ruth Klüger, and the Politics of Address Pascale R. Bos Exile, Science, and Bildung: The Contested Legacies of German Intellectual Figures Edited by David Kettler and Gerhard Lauer Transformations of the New Germany Edited by Ruth Starkman The Turkish Turn in Contemporary German Literature: Towards a New Critical Grammar of Migration Leslie A. Adelson Terror and the Sublime in Art and Critical Theory: From Auschwitz to Hiroshima to September 11 Gene Ray German-Jewish Literature in the Wake of the Holocaust Grete Weil, Ruth Klüger, and the Politics of Address Pascale R. Bos GERMAN-JEWISHLITERATUREINTHEWAKEOFTHEHOLOCAUST © Pascale R.Bos,2005. All rights reserved.No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2005 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue,New York,N.Y.10010 and Houndmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire,England RG21 6XS Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St.Martin’s Press,LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States,United Kingdom and other countries.Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 1–4039–6657–5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bos,Pascale R. German-Jewish literature in the wake of the Holocaust:Grete Weil, Ruth Klüger,and the politics of address / Pascale R.Bos. p.cm.— (Studies in European culture and history) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1–4039–6657–5 (alk.paper) 1.Weil,Grete,1906—Criticism and interpretation.2.Klüger,Ruth,1931— Criticism and interpretation.3.German literature—Jewish authors—History and criticism.I.Title.II.Series. PT2647.E4157Z57 2005 830.9(cid:1)8924—dc22 2004043197 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd.,Chennai,India. First edition:June 2005 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America. Ter nagedachtenis aan mijn opa Jules (Juda) Isaac Erwteman (1911–1943) Auschwitz-Birkenau en oma Jetty (Henriëtte) Rozenberg (1912–1998) Amsterdam This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgments ix Preface xi 1. Introduction 1 German-Jewish Literature as Address and “Return” 3 Public Address/Personal Closure 6 Reading Against the Disputed German-Jewish Symbiosis 8 Analyzing Female Experience 11 Theoretical Intersections 12 Theorizing Holocaust Representation 14 Literary Interventions 19 2. The Jewish Return to Germany 21 Danach bin ich wieder Mensch: Weil’s Return from Exile 21 Informationsverweigerung 27 Competing Memories 32 The (Futile) Search for Engagement 37 “Symptoms of German Amnesia” 42 3. Mythical Interventions 47 “Hitler’s Children”: The Legacy of Silence in 1970s Germany 47 Antigone: Mythical Resistance Fighter or Terrorist? 48 Tactics of Evasion 55 Bridging the Generations 57 Changed Cultural Tides 60 Imagining Michal 63 Reconciling Jewish Identity: Bin ich Jüdischer geworden? 65 Finale 69 4. Creating Address 71 Ruth Klüger “Returns” to Germany 71 Unconventional Memories 73 A (German) Success Story? 78 Discursive Interventions 80 Reluctant Dialogue 81 Impossible Vienna 84 Reifying Discourse 85 viii/ contents 5. Belated Interventions 89 Impossible Legacy, Impossible Dialogue 90 Assessing Change 91 Minor Literature 92 Survivors Speak 93 Notes 95 Works Cited 125 Index 135 Acknowledgments This book could not have been written without the help of many dear friends and without several forms of institutional support. I thank the Hadassah International Research Institute on Jewish Women at Brandeis for their Senior Research Grant, the University of Texas at Austin, which awarded me a Summer Research Assignment Grant early on in my working on this book, and two Dean’s Fellowships at a later stage, all of which allowed me invaluable time off from teaching. Thanks go out to my wonderful University of Texas colleagues Lisa Moore and Katie Arens and former DAAD visiting professor Barbara Wolbert for their constant encouragement, thoughtful reading of several chapters, and insightful comments. Many thanks also to Maria Brewer, Naomi Scheman, Ruth Ellen Joeres, Arlene Teraoka, and especially Jack Zipes for their advice during a much earlier phase of this project, as well as to my friend Rebecca Raham. I further wish to express my gratitude to a number of colleagues whom I have had the pleasure of getting to know in the past few years and who have deepened or changed my understanding of the field of Holocaust Studies and whose work has inspired me: Marianne Hirsch, Leslie Morris, Sara Horowitz, Irene Kacandes, Gary Weissman, Michael Rothberg, Susan Rubin Suleiman, and Ken Jacobson. I also thank the participants and the faculty of the 2003 Faculty Summer seminar on Holocaust literature organized by the USHMM’s Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies as their discussions and readings were enlightening to me in quite unexpected ways. Thanks to my parents, Eelco and Anita Bos, in whose home my love for litera- ture and for critical debate was first instilled and honed, to my sister Jacqueline, to my friends Neena Husid and Hillary Miller for readings of my work and support, and to my students who challenge me with their questions and who make my life as an academic feel meaningful. Finally, thanks go out to Aliza for so many years of love and support, and to my little boefjes Eytan and Matan for being such a wonderful distraction.