Exil-Literature and Group 47 - Helmut Böttiger and Ingo Schulze discuss the legend of a federal literary establishment

Group 47 originated from a circle of German authors with the goal of renewing German literature after the fall of the "Third Reich", and by doing so foster the democratization of the German post-war society.

To this day, the literary discourse is influenced by former members of Group 47, such as Günter Grass, Martin Walser or Marcel Reich-Ranicki. Others were Ingeborg-Bachmann, Paul Celan, Ilse Aichinger, Siegfried Lenz, Alexander Kluge and Heinrich Böll. In 1967 the group dissolved due to fierce disputes on the relationship between politics and literature. The group's take on the topic of "Exile" and the members' relation to the writers, who left Germany in the 30s and 40s, was characterized as "problematic". Helmut Böttiger's book „Die Gruppe 47. Als die deutsche Literatur Geschichte schrieb“ (The Group 47. When German literature wrote history) was a prize-winner at the 2013 Leipziger Buchmesse. He and writer Ingo Schulze will discuss  the group and how relevant it is for today's literary environment.

Helmut Böttiger was born in 1956. He studied German philology in Freiburg. Until 2001, he was the editor of the cultural pages of the Frankfurter Rundschau. Today Böttiger works as author, journalist and critic in Berlin. His book on the Group 47 won a prize at the 2013 Leipziger Buchmesse.

Ingo Schulze was born in 1962 in Dresden. He studied classical philology in Jena and worked as theatrical adviser and journalist in Altenburg. His prize-winning books have been translated into more than 30 languages. Today Ingo Schulze lives and works in Berlin.

This program of Villa Aurora and Literarische Freiheit (Literary Freedom) is part of the over- arching Berlin cultural theme for 2013 called „Zerstörte Vielfalt“, "Diversity Destroyed". The events commemorate the power grab of the National Socialists in 1933 and the November progroms in of 1938, and reflect on the subsequent destruction of the social diversity in Berlin.

Place: Soda-Salon of Kulturbrauerei, Schönhauser Allee 36, 10435 Berlin, as part of the series „Literarische Freiheit“ (Literary Freedom)

Tickets are 5,00 EURO