GERMAN LITERATURE AFTER 1945: LITERARY RECONSTRUCTION AND SOCIO-CULTURAL DISCOURSE IN POSTWAR GERMANY

Abstract

This paper examines the main developments of German literature after 1945 within the context of profound political and cultural transformations in postwar Germany. Adopting a historical-literary and socio-cultural approach, the study explores the reconstruction of literary discourse after the National Socialist period, with particular emphasis on the role of “Gruppe 47” as an informal institution of literary modernization and aesthetic critique. Special attention is given to Alfred Andersch’s Sansibar oder der letzte Grund as a representative text of postwar engaged literature, articulating the tensions between historical memory, individual ethics, and resistance to totalitarian systems. The novel is interpreted as a narrative structure reflecting the crisis of the modern subject and the search for freedom under conditions of oppression. The paper argues that German literature of this period represents not only an aesthetic renewal but also a profound process of critical engagement with the historical and ideological past. In this sense, it contributes to the formation of a new European cultural identity grounded in reflection, memory, and historical responsibility.