Hum (Jan 2011)
FICTIONAL WORLD OF HEINRICH BÖLL Themes, traumas and forms
Abstract
The paper speaks about fictional world of Heinrich Böll, which is greatly marked by traumatic war experience, National Socialism and postwar German confronting with its own history and finding a way out for its own and others’ pain. Some key topics of Böll’s poetry were crystallized from those traumas: war, politics moral and religious dilemmas and – as the prevailing one – a man with his fears and helplessness, but also with unexpected vitality, courage or goodness in the war whirlwind and postwar misery or modern welfare. Especially interesting is poet’s searching for support in humanity, love, faith opposite to tragic of life in the hard times, in the area of insensitive, unscrupulous and sometimes dangerous people and institutions. Böll gained deserved attention in our areas as well, which is proved by numerous translations of his works which are mentioned at the end of this article.
