German language literature in Palestine/Israel

The research project Gennan language literature in Palestine/Israel` gives some insight into the hardly known phenömenon of contemporary German language literature in Israel. The objective of the project was to collect biographical as well as bibliographical data and to do some research an aspects such as origin/exilehe concept of home, the language problem, the spreading and the reception of this type of literature as well as the writers` self- awareness. In the past the feeling of belonging to two different cultures frequently lead to a deep inner conflict in most people in exile. This inner conflict, however, seems to haue been overcome in recent years. The few Gennan language authors in Israel who are still alive call themselves Israeli people with Gennan or Austrian roots. The language problem and difficulties in the distribution and reception of these literarg works still remain. On the one hand side western Europe`s interest in Gennan language literature from Israel has been rising, but an the other hand side there is hardly any German speaking readership left in Israel. Forthat reason also the so-called `Verband deutschsprachiger Schriftsteller` in Israel` is reducing its activities to a minimum. As it has been proved that the distribution and reception of this type of literature largely depends an the commitment of individuals, it is not expected that this literature will neither be perceived by a wider audience nor by researchers. The question of the writers` self-awareness is dealt with in the research assistant`s dissertation. The dissertation topic is the literary genre of autobiographies which is understood as a communicative act of the writers` `self- portrayal addressed to the general public. The research Shows surprising results: Generally studies an literary works and authors who have been suppressed and persecuted tend to concentrate an the aspect of violence. This is mainly the case with research done an the holocaust. Thus, autobiographies of survivors of the holocaust or exiles are offen seen as works focusing an the topics exile, broken lives and survival which is felt as personal geilt. The dissertation, however, will Show that the self-awareness of these people is extremely varied, even though they all shared equally horrible situations in their past lives. The dissertation does not view`these autobiographies as exile hterature but as a portrayal that follows general topos. Using this method of research, six authors` different levels of self-awareness can be seen. Studying these six autobiographies (Max Brod, Lola Landau, Max Zweig, Anna Maria Jokl, Alice Schwarz-Gardos, Willy Verkauf-Verlon) has largely contributed to a deeper understanding of the research topic.