Bobrowski was a poet of solitary rank. His main topic is the historical guilt of the Germans in Eastern Europe. His unsmoothed imagery brings to life a landscape that has always been marked by history and violence, for example in the poem "Gedenkblatt" (Memorial) for persecuted gypsies in the volume "Schattenland Ströme" (Shadowland Streams). The novel "Levins Mühle" (Levin’s Mill) describes in staccato-like language the unpunished act of destruction of a rich mill owner against a Jewish competitor. The novel "Litauische Claviere" (Lithuanian Pianos) reflects conflicts between Lithuanians and Germans in Memel territory around 1936. Bobrowski grew up on the Memel and studied art history in Berlin. He was a soldier in the Second World War and a Soviet prisoner of war until 1949. Later he worked as a publishing editor in East Berlin. From 1960 Bobrowski took part in the meetings of Group 47 and two years later received their prize, which also made him famous in West Germany and internationally.
Illustration:
Günter Grass and Johannes Bobrowski (right) at a meeting of Group 47 in Stockholm in 1964.
Photo: picture alliance / akg-images/akg-images