Zwischen Verweigerung und Selbstbehauptung Die DDR-Literatur der 1980er Jahre als paradoxer Protestraum

Between Denial and Self-assertion. GDR-Literature of the 1980s as a Paradoxal Space for Protest. Late GDR-literature of the 1980s developed a unique aesthetic of resistance, characterized by formal radicalism, poetological self-reflection, and the refusal of political appropriation. Using the works Abendlicht (Hermlin 1979), Kassandra (Wolf 1983), and Elf Uhr (Neumann 1990) as case studies, this article analyses how literature asserted its autonomy under dictatorial conditions – not through direct criticism but via aesthetic subversion. Hermlin’s poetic retreats into biographical and intertextual counter-worlds, Wolf’s mythical-feminist redefinition of the voice, and Neumann’s radical rejection of language are interpreted as strategies that subtly undermined the system. The study shows that these texts not only reflect political powerlessness but overcome it through their form: by eluding any clear interpretation, they created spaces of uncorrupted subjectivity. At the same time, the paradox of this literature is explored – its silence as its loudest protest, its hermeticism as a democratic invitation to the reader. The article situates these developments in the context of the late GDR and discusses their relevance to current debates on literature and political responsibility.