Literature1940 – 1970

Introduction source: literature without bonderies
Literature in the 1940’s till the 1970’s is an important timeline where the world survived World War II and liberation was the first step to rise again. But I will also write about the after War literature until the seventy’s.

Liberty – by Paul Eluard
And through the power of a word,
I start my life again.
I am born to know you,
to name you.

The Topic: War World II
The World War II is the horrifying historic event that mankind every known. But that did not stop literature to exist. Literature was used as a weapon against the occupation of the Nazi’s and to show support for the resistance. After the war, when Europe reunited with freedom, many writers felt a desire to write about the war. The world changed so and the writers needed to paint the world of today. That is why we have so many books on the World War II, because it had an enormous effect on the world. Not only history of war were topics of books, but also the personal side was a main theme such as Anne Franks diary book, which painted Anne’s thoughts and feelings on a very personal level in days of the war. Another thing is that literature played a role in the days of the war, especially in the resistance who spread different kind of illegal texts, to encourage the men of resistance who faught against the German soldiers. Poets such Paul Eluard and Jan Campert wrote many poems, where the last writer wrote a poem named The Eighteen Deaths. Still today, a 21st century there are still books being written and published what has the World War II as the main topic. But in these days, are the authors from Jewish descent who wrote about their horrible experiences in the war. They describe their fear in the circumstances they lived and the inhuman humiliation. “Is that a human”, a book written by Italian writer Primo Levi where he describes what he and millions of other had go through in the concentration camp. Many books about the war were also filmed like the “Assassination” of Harry Mulish and “The Girl with the Red Hair” of Theun de Vries. But in Germany are also many books published about the war, in the form the literature of mess (Trümmerliterature) where authors described the mess that war had caused. The writer Wolfgang Borchert, who is the famous representative of the literature mess, wrote may works.

The existentialism
A pessimist feeling called existentialism was a strong feeling after the war, was very present in the literature till the seventies. What is existentialism, you may think? Existentialism is feeling with the following motives: estranging; absurdity; border situations; egocentrism and engagement.

Estrangement
Here is a pessimist feeling where men feel estranged. By this I mean that men have idea what the meaning of life is. Because it could be clear if he creates, but when there is no answer, he gets confused. He should give his own interpretation to his own existence. Therefore he rebels against the civil life with the laid values, which will further cause confusion and a disturbed balance.

Absurdity
In novels and other writing texts, there is a pessimist feeling and sometimes a strong undertone where life is seen as useless. To paint a picture of what absurdity means, I will explain through an example. Willem Fredrik Hermans, an author works is always a pessimist person who does not see life as useful, as the main character see life as absurd. The Absurdist Drama by Samuel Beckett is clearly seen as an example where it describes this feeling.

Border situations
In roman books is the men centre in border situations, where he tries to clarify his existence through situations where the men stands against the wall with death, suffer, struggle and guilt. The only way to clarify is answering these questions with subjective answers.

Engagement
Engagement expresses the desire that men should not stand on the sideline, but take part of world’s society. In real life it means, he should have opinion or take sides on everything such as political colour. But other writers resist and especially against the ruling class like the group of writers named Angry Young Men in England.

Experiment in Poetry
In the art of poetry in classical form lead to unhappy reactions after 1945, people realized that many art forms such as music, film and literature could combine and form a new unity. So, they experimented, what is an important aspect of after war literature. The art of poetry is the experiment most notable clear to see than drama and prose. But to be honest, the experiment was not really knew, as it started after the World War I and flourished in Switzerland, Germany and France. The experiments continued on the paved path of movements like Expressionism and Surrealism, which in particular the Dadaism. This first experiment was in art was named the COBRA group. COBRA stood for Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam. Every poet who shared the same view with COBRA, worked together with COBRA artists.
Among the poets who helped the experiment to be classified as an art, were Lucebert, Gerrit Kouwenaar, Jan Elburg, Simon Vinkenoog, Bert Schierbeek en Paul Rodenko. But more writers shared the same views and felt close to the subject, but did not desire to be seen as a member of any movement. The big different between the after war prose writers on one side and the experiment poets and COBRA artists on the other side, was that they wrote about life. The after war writers painted life a sombre and useless world of chaos, as the experiments poets and COBRA artists tried to vitalize life. They did not try to through their poems in experiment style (which was seen by them as a lab) change the world, but hold a mirror to the world.

Literature and Society’s critic
Literature is a form that was used in the seventies to be critical on events that took place. Because of the thoughts of German philosophers like Theodor W. Adorno, Herber Marcusse and Max Horkmeier, made men look from a society’s point of view to literature. This was occurred manly in Germany. They felt that literature should be reaction on society’s and political events. That is why they joined with the upcoming protest of the sixties. Hans Magnus Enzensberger had a harsh tone on German society with its own satisfied civilians in his published 1957 poetry bundle “Vertedigung der Wölfe”. Another author was Friedrich Christian Delius, who portrait himself as defender of the students and expressed a lot in his works such Wenn wir, bei Rot of 1969 were he reworked newspaper articles and photo’s.

Conclusion
In the thoughts of these writers, they expressed their thoughts and changed the world little bit than the world they inherited from the forefathers. This shall be always the same as we, the generation of today do (or maybe did) and the generation of tomorrow will do. Literature is the art where it takes different form such as poetry and novels. Literature talks about everything such as religion, social and love. Through my journey, through three different times and movements, I will have learned so much, but their will more things that wait to be discovered, as literature is changing and sometimes reinventing itself.

Literature –

Through the arts of literature,
We paint through words a picture
of our deepest thoughts and feelings

we take men on a journey
in the front seat, to a world to see
that exists through words you are reading

giving you the message in an unique story
or in the beautiful art of prose and poetry
as literature exists forever, never ending