Edition of E. Fried’s “Intimus” broadcasted by BBC into GDR

The Austrian author Erich Fried (1921-1988) is one of the outstanding figures of post-war German- language literature. He began working for the BBC`s German Service in exile in London in 1941. From 1953 to 1968, he broadcast the weekly radio program "Persönliche Betrachtungen" (BBC code word: "Intimus"). For about 8 minutes, he addressed listeners in the GDR and made critical references to literary, political, philosophical, art theoretical, and psychological topics. With a few exceptions, these broadcasts have remained unpublished and insufficiently researched. The Austrian National Library administers Fried`s estate and has handwritten annotated typescripts of more than 320 "Intimus" broadcasts, many of which exist in different versions (over 620 in total), as well as three sound recordings. The project will make these culturally and politically revealing documents digitally accessible for the first time and supplement them with material from other archives. In the course of the project, the broadcasts will be transcribed, digitally edited and extensively annotated. The commentary will include an introduction to the broadcasts, an index (persons, places, artistic works, institutions, events), and explanations of Fried`s positions, themes, argumentative strategies, and historical and literary contexts. In addition to the digital edition, a book edition of selected and annotated broadcasts will be produced for the general public. The digital edition and the scholarly commentary on the broadcasts will provide insights into the intertwining of politics and literature in European post-war history and the history of broadcasting. The following research questions guide the commentary: How does Fried argue, what rhetorical and stylistic devices does he use? What issues does he discuss? What changes in content and impact strategies are evident over time? What were the official and unofficial reactions to the broadcasts in the GDR? The answers will illustrate the connection between Fried`s statements and the changing social conditions and institutions in the former GDR, West Germany, and Great Britain. The project is not only a milestone in international Fried research but also opens up a barely explored part of the media history of the East Zone program of the BBC German Service. It explains the literary and political discussions in the German-speaking world, especially on the German left, in the 1950s and 1960s. It shows how literary trends and (cultural) political developments in the GDR and the FRG influenced each other.