LITERATURE
Mourning Günter Grass
He was a writer who forced post-war Germany to rethink itself and turned heads with strong political statements. Upon news of Günter Grass' death, here's how international politicians and intellectuals have responded.
Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he was "profoundly devastated" by the death of Nobel Prize winner Günter Grass. He pointed out that Grass passed away in a hospital in Lübeck just one day before a G7 meeting would be held in the northern German city.
Grass was extraordinarily active politically during his career and actively supported the left-center Social Democratic Party (SPD), to which Steinmeier also belongs.
Andrea Nahles, the SPD's secretary-general, praised Grass via Twitter on Monday for being a polemical intellectual, adding that this trait was missing from politics today.
Though Grass was closely aligned with the SPD, condolences came Monday across the political spectrum. Christian Linder, chairman of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), posted that while Grass was indeed polemical, his works remained outstanding.
EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker also expressed himself via Twitter, writing in German that Günter Grass had departed - and that this loss had filled him with a deep sadness.
From Lübeck, where Grass lived up until his death, the head of the Günter Grass House said, "We are thankful for the many experiences we were able to share with him." Lübeck's mayor, Bernd Saxe (SPD), commented that the author's death was "a significant loss for Lübeck, but also for German and international literature."
Indeed, Günter Grass was pivotal in helping Germany work through its war-time past, not least with revelations about his own involvement in the Nazi elite unit, Waffen-SS. But his influence extended well beyond his own country.
Award-winning British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie was quick to respond via Twitter, referring to the main character in Grass' breakthrough 1959 novel, "The Tin Drum."
It was in 1999 that Günter Grass received the prestigious Nobel Prize for Literature, with the jury calling him an author "whose frolicsome black fables portray the forgotten face of history." On Monday, the Nobel Prize committee honored Grass by posting memories of the author, including this photograph of him dancing with his wife at the 1999 awards ceremony.
Grass' works - in particular his first novel portraying the Nazi invasion of Poland, "The Tin Drum" - were translated into as many as 45 languages, making him a well-known name around the world. On Monday, the European Translators' Consortium honored Grass as "a huge friend of translators." Grass had written a message in the guest book at the consortium's house in Straelen in Germany, calling it "a suitable refuge in time of need."
Grass' reputation stretches even to Kosovo, where Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci praised him for his outspoken support of Kosovo.
Despite his political activism over the years, it is ultimately crucial to remember Grass as a writer, above all, said Johano Strasser, president of the writers' organization P.E.N.: "I knew him as a good and courageous friend."
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