The Gruppe 47 (Group 47) was a literary association in Germany after WW II. Literature is literally acquaintance with letters as in the first sense given in the Oxford English Dictionary (from the Latin littera meaning an individual written character (letter)). The term has generally come to identify a collection of texts, which in Western culture are mainly prose, both fiction and non-fiction... A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. ... German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad World War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the worlds nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. ...

Early history

The beginnings reach back to 1946 when Alfred Andersch and Walter Kolbenhoff founded the literary magazine Der Ruf (The Call) in Munich. Their goal was to inform and teach the German public about democracy after the Hitler era. The US American occupational forces revoked their printing license in April 1947 on the grounds of extensive Nihilism. 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Alfred Andersch (February 4, 1914 — February 21, 1980), a German writer. ... Munich (German: München, (pronounced listen)German Federal State of Bavaria. ... Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... The nonexistence of God is a quintessential nihilistic concern. ...

Founding

The former authors of Der Ruf met in September 1947 in order to start a new magazine, Der Skorpion. This was not successful because they lacked a sound financial basis. Inspired by the Spanish Group 98 they founded the Gruppe 47. 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ...

Organization

The group met regularly twice a year. During the meetings young writers would read from unpublished manuscripts, which were then criticized. The best writers would be given an award.

Goals

At first, the expressed goal of the Gruppe 47 was to encourage young authors, the so-called Nachkriegsliteratur (post-war literature). In addition, the group openly criticized the idealized, poetic dewey-eyedness of some modern prosa, as well as the tendency to write about distant time instead of the here-and-now.

Literature Prize

The Literature Prize of the Gruppe 47 was awarded to as yet unknown authors from 1950. The prize money was at first collected from the members of the Gruppe 47, later some publishers and radio stations chipped in. The following list of receipients is by no means complete: 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

• 1950: Günter Eich
• 1951: Heinrich Böll, for "Die schwarzen Schafe"
• 1952: Ilse Aichinger
• 1953: Ingeborg Bachmann, for "Die gestundete Zeit"
• 1955: Martin Walser, for the story "Templones Ende"
• 1958: Günter Grass, for Die Blechtrommel
• 1962: Johannes Bobrowski
• 1967: Peter Bichsel, for "Die Jahreszeiten"

1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Günter Eich (1907 February 1 - 1972 December 20) was a West German lyricist, dramatist, and author. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Heinrich Böll Heinrich Theodor Böll (December 21, 1917–July 16, 1985) was one of Germanys foremost post-World War II writers. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Ilse Aichinger is (or was) an Austrian Jewish poet. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ... Ingeborg Bachmann (June 25, 1926 Klagenfurt, Austria - October 17, 1973 Rome, Italy) was an Austrian poet and author. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Martin Walser (born March 24, 1927 in Wasserburg (Lake Constance)) is a German playwright and novelist. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Günter Grass Günter Wilhelm Grass is a Nobel Prize-winning Kashubian-German author. ... The Tin Drum book cover The Tin Drum (Die Blechtrommel) is a 1959 novel by Günter Grass. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... Johannes Bobrowski Johannes Bobrowski (b. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Peter Bichsel (born March 24, 1935) is a popular Swiss-German writer and journalist representing modern German literature. ...

Decline

The Gruppe 47 quickly gained popularity, no doubt on the basis of the well-known members, and was soon a part of the literary establishment in Germany. The onset of the decline began just before the student protests in 1968. There were grave differences of political opinion in the group. The public meetings were discontinued from October 1967 and in 1977 the group was officially disbanded. 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ...

Well-known Members

• Ilse Aichinger
• Alfred Andersch
• Ingeborg Bachmann
• Heinrich Böll
• Paul Celan
• Hans Magnus Enzensberger
• Erich Fried
• Günter Grass
• Wolfgang Hildesheimer
• Erich Kästner
• Alexander Kluge
• Siegfried Lenz
• Reinhard Lettau
• Marcel Reich-Ranicki
• Hans Werner Richter (initiative and organization)

Ilse Aichinger is (or was) an Austrian Jewish poet. ... Alfred Andersch (February 4, 1914 — February 21, 1980), a German writer. ... Ingeborg Bachmann (June 25, 1926 Klagenfurt, Austria - October 17, 1973 Rome, Italy) was an Austrian poet and author. ... Heinrich Böll Heinrich Theodor Böll (December 21, 1917–July 16, 1985) was one of Germanys foremost post-World War II writers. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Hans Magnus Enzensberger (born 11 November 1929 in Kaufbeuren), is a German author, poet, translator, and editor. ... Erich Fried was born in 1921 in Vienna, Austria. ... Günter Grass Günter Wilhelm Grass is a Nobel Prize-winning Kashubian-German author. ... Wolfgang Hildesheimer (b. ... Erich Kästner (February 23, 1899 - July 29, 1974) is one of the most famous German authors of the 20th century. ... Alexander Kluge (born February 14, 1932 in Halberstadt) is a German film director and author. ... Siegfried Lenz (b. ... Reinhard Lettau (10 September 1929, Erfurt - 17 June 1996, Karlsruhe) was a German-American writer. ... Marcel Reich-Ranicki (born 2 June 1920, at WÅ‚ocÅ‚awek, Poland) is a famous German literary critic, and a member of the literary group Gruppe 47. ... Hans Werner Richter (November 12, 1908 - March 23, 1993) was a German writer. ...

External links

• Die Gruppe 47 (in German)
• An account of the infighting: "Ein paar Dutzend Dichter - und kein Vers (Gruppe 47)", by Gert Rückel (in German)