''Trümmerliteratur'' ("rubble literature"), also called ''Kahlschlagliteratur'' ("clear-cutting literature"), is a literary movement that began shortly after World War II in Germany and lasted until about 1950. It is primarily concerned with the fate of former soldiers and POWs who could return to Germany, who must stand both before the rubble of their homeland and their possessions as well as before the rubble of their ideals and deal with it. American

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

served as a model for the authors of this epoch. The stylistic means employed were simple, direct language, which laconically described but did not evaluate the destroyed world, and a restriction, usual for short stories, of the space, narrated time, and characters. On account of its simplification, writing of this epoch is also referred to as ''Kahlschlagliteratur'' ("clear-cutting literature"), and the aim of its authors was to use shortened sentences and straightforward language as a response to the misuse of German by the Nazis. They tried to show reality just as it was without any unnecessary information out of the view of the common people. A noteworthy example is Wolfgang Weyrauch who stressed

magical realism Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to: * Magical (horse) Magical (foaled 18 May 2015) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who excelled over middle distances and was rated in the top twenty racehorses in the world in 2018 and ...

. The literature was intended to help deal with the past and the recreation of the future, analyzing questions of truth, responsibility, and causes of the war and

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

, as well as serving as a critique of the political and social restoration of Germany.

Well-known representatives

Wolfgang Borchert Wolfgang Borchert (; 20 May 1921 – 20 November 1947) was a German author and playwright whose work was strongly influenced by his experience of dictatorship and his service in the ''Wehrmacht'' during the Second World War. His work is among t ...

('' Draußen vor der Tür'', ''

Das Brot "The Bread" ("Das Brot") is a short story by Wolfgang Borchert. The story takes places in 1945 post-war Germany where food was in short supply. Background Borchert wrote the story in 1946. The story was published for the first time in 1947 in a l ...

'', '' An diesem Dienstag'') *

Günter Eich Günter Eich (; 1 February 1907 – 20 December 1972) was a German lyricist, dramatist, and author. He was born in Lebus, on the Oder River, and educated in Leipzig, Berlin, and Paris. Life Eich made his first appearance in print with some poems ...

(Züge im Nebel, Inventur, Latrine) *

Heinrich Böll Heinrich Theodor Böll (; 21 December 1917 – 16 July 1985) was a German writer. Considered one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers, Böll is a recipient of the Georg Büchner Prize (1967) and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1972). ...

( Haus ohne Hüter, Wo warst du, Adam?, Der Mann mit den Messern, Wanderer, kommst du nach Spa…) * Wolfdietrich Schnurre ( Ein Unglücksfall, Das Begräbnis), ( Auf der Flucht) * Wolfgang Weyrauch ( Tausend Gramm) * Heinz Rein ( In einer Winternacht)

Well-known representatives

See also