Bulletin No. 41, April 11th, 2012
By Victor Grossman,
It's rare that poems cause such anger and excitement.
The only other case I can recall was Walt Whitman's
"Leaves of Grass" which once "awoke a perfect storm of
derision and abuse". That was a century and a half
ago, but somehow Grass still awakens "derision and
abuse". But this time it's Günter Grass, a Nobel
Literature Prize winner, with his poem "What Must Be
Said". And the subject matter is war and peace.
Grass denies the right of any country - and he is
courageous enough to name
heavily-armed first strike against
possibility that
weapons. He neither praises the
way nor does he speak in any way against the people of
he does indeed warn of the terrifying imminence of war
and points out that
while
of potentially atomic-armed submarines, one after the
other, to
and control of all atomic weapons in the area, whether
present Israeli ones or possible future Iranian ones,
in the hopes of saving the entire region - or far more
- from catastrophe. In a personal note, he admits his
hesitance in issuing this warning earlier because of
his own biography and because of the danger of being
accused of anti-Semitism. But in his waning years, with
his "last ink", as he puts it, he finds it impossible
to keep silent in the light of so much hypocrisy - and
such a menacing situation.
Immediately after the poem was published, virtually the
entire German media jumped on him - seemingly before
some critics even bothered to read it. This ignorance
of its contents or, more likely, an unwillingness to
discuss them with a shred of open-mindedness or even
fairness, led to attacks on both the poem and the poet
for three main reasons.
Reason one: Grass is an old man. His last best-seller
was some years ago; he now putters about with arts and
crafts. He should sit by his hearth and mind his own
business. His best days are past. A response to this is
obviously difficult; he is undeniably 84.
Reason two (which recalled the old attacks against Walt
Whitman): The poem was not really poetry; without
either rhyme or meter it was really disguised prose. As
if lyric quality really mattered - it was the content
which counted. After all, Grass had already received
the Nobel Prize and many other prizes (mostly for his
prose) and was seeking no additional laurels for
timeless literature. But he had something to say!
Reason three, constantly alluded to, was his
participation during World War Two in a unit of the
Waffen-SS, a particularly nasty section of Hitler's
military forces. Most critics disregarded or dismissed
the fact that he was only 17 when he was assigned to
this military unit and was in it only from November
1944 until he was wounded in April 1945. He claims that
he never fired a shot himself but did help load
artillery shells. Frequently mentioned is the fact that
he kept this secret until late in life, most probably
due to shame. But it must be asked: Did this past
secret disqualify him from uttering any political view
for the rest of his life? Or didn't his writings, most
notably his famous novel "The Tin Drum" (filmed by
Volker Schlöndorf), a dramatic, deeply engaged attack
on the entire fascist structure and crimes of the
Nazis, make good for those juvenile five months?
Then too, during all the decades since 1945 the very
same media now attacking him so self-righteously almost
totally "neglected" the fact that all
dominated to an amazing extent by former Nazi bigwigs -
up until they finally died out. And not by such young
recruits but by the bloodiest of generals who
completely built and commanded the new army. A host of
incriminated ex-Nazi diplomats represented the
government abroad, the police departments, secret
services, courtrooms, academic lecture rooms and
government positions up to the topmost heights were
heavily laden with truly guilty men. Indeed, the mighty
giants behind the swastika flags, those who profited
from the conquests and the slave labor, not the
individuals but banks and corporations with names like
Krupp, Siemens, Bayer, BASF and Deutsche Bank, still
dominate the scene today. And not a few newspapers
currently attacking Grass were built up after 1945 by
editors who won their spurs as propagandists for
Hitler. Unlike Grass, few of all these men ever
confessed their former sins - or publicly regretted them.
Except in one question. The new ruling powers in West
just those of the past but present and future ones,
were mildly overlooked if they loudly and stoutly
rejected open anti-Semitism while embracing any and all
policies of the Israeli government. This rule,
carefully watched over, provided the entrance ticket
for an ascent into the so rewarding ranks of the
"western democracies". And this strategy, at first
more a mask than anything else, soon developed into a
close bond between all ruling parties in
the far right forces in
openly racist Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and
Premier Benjamin Netanyahu.
This largely one-legged posture explains why any
questioning of the top-level German-Israeli alliance
represents an earnest threat and must immediately be
squelched. Over the years the taboo was rarely
violated; this explains the malevolence of the attacks
against Grass.
But there is now a new worrisome element explaining the
vigor of such attacks against anyone undermining this
status quo. In the face of recent Israeli actions - the
terrible civilian casualties in the attack on
fearful attack on the Mavi Marmara in the
oppression of Palestinian villages in the occupied
areas, the refusal to suspend the expansion of Jewish
settlement in these areas and, indeed, the construction
of a Wall reminiscent of
effect on public opinion and, much delayed, even on a
few public figures eager to win votes - or becoming
simply honest.
Shortly before the Grass poem Sigmar Gabriel, head of
the Social Democratic Party, wrote in Facebook after a
visit to the West Bank city of
justice for Palestinians there, that it was an
"apartheid regime" for which there could be no
justification. He, too, was immediately attacked but at
least partially stood his ground. No, he had not meant
to equate
apartheid regime in
friend of
settlement policy to be wrong. "The humiliating
treatment of Palestinians in
really great anger, even with someone like myself who
supports
Such sentiments are undeniably on the increase. What
makes this issue so much more complicated here is of
course
people. This demands that any criticism of Israeli
policy must scrupulously avoid any implied equation of
the Netanyahus with the Jewish people, in
anywhere else, especially since there is a numerically
small but potentially dangerous pro-Nazi element eager
to take advantage of any feelings against
rationalize Hitler's genocide. At the same time the
present leaders of the Jewish community (or the
official ones, in any case), while necessarily opposing
real anti-Semitism, also use that same label in
attacking any and every form of criticism of Israeli
policy, especially if it comes from the left - or from
even mildly leftish people like Günter Grass.
(Strangely enough, some far-right Netanyahu fans
suddenly find themselves on the same wagon with some
neo-Nazis, who are down-playing anti-Semitism in order
to attack the much larger, more vulnerable and far more
easily identifiable target, the allegedly common enemy,
the Muslims.)
At least one important Israeli fueled the fires in such
an arrogant manner that they soon backfired. Interior
Minister Eli Yishai proclaimed Günter Grass persona non
grata and said he would not be welcome in
riled many in both countries who otherwise denigrated
the Grass poem. Some journalists noted that Grass had
no such travel plans anyway. Others, in
out that the very same views, the rejection of any
"pre-emptive" military strike against
stated over and over by many Israelis, including Meir
Dagan, the former head of the Mossad espionage
organization. Others worried that while someone like
Grass or Noam Chomsky is barred from the country,
vicious racists like the Dutch rabble-rouser Geert
Wilders or the French neo-fascist presidential
candidate Marie Le Pen are welcomed. And for German
leaders, who have always demanded freedom of speech and
press in
say the least.
While some noted personalities, especially those who
have been waving the anti-Muslim banner most fervently,
continue with their attacks, the effects of his clear
and - for many - quite moving words have undoubtedly
had an effect. His books, though usually best-sellers,
were not too easily digestible except for
intellectuals, but a recent poll showed that well over
50 percent of the population now support him, with a
large number stating that they do not consider his
words to be anti-Semitic. It seems undeniable: his poem
has led not only to much controversy but with it to
wide-spread thinking and re-thinking.
+++
Postscript. Although they tend to stress local issues,
elections in May in Schleswig-Holstein and the key
state of North-Rhine-Westphalia are already affected to
a degree by the poem. Social Democratic leaders, with a
few notable exceptions, have said they no longer wish
any support from Grass, who in earlier years was a
favored campaign speaker on their behalf. The other big
party, the Christian Democrats, certainly will have
nothing to do with him. But, aside from such leaves -
or sharp blades - connected with Grass, both elections
will be of special importance to the four smaller
parties for other reasons. The Free Democrats, still
members of Angela Merkel's national coalition but
internally split, are virtually fighting for their
political survival. The Greens, though certain of
remaining in the legislatures in both states, face the
possibility that they will be shoved under the table at
a wedding of the two main parties, as in
a recent election there. They may even be overtaken by
the young new party, the Pirates, which hopes to break
its way into both state legislatures and has good
chances of becoming a new political factor nationally,
although - aside from free internet use and political
transparency - it remains vague on almost all major
issues, national or international.
The Left Party, which has some seats in both
legislatures, may well miss the 5 percent hurdle and
lose them all due in great measure to its difficult
internal situation in the past year - now complicated
by the decision of Gesine Loetzsch to resign as co-
president because of the illness of her husband and
remain only as Bundestag delegate from her
election district. The Left too is affected by the
Grass poem, for some leading members are basically pro-
Netanyahu, while others active support secular and
democratic Palestinian positions. But, as one drama
follows the other, in
leave these matters to future articles.
___________________________________________
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