Post-Exile Translation: People, Texts, Entanglements 1945–60

After the Second World War, translators who had gone into exile were faced with essential decisions: Should they return to their home countries, stay in their countries of exile or seek new opportunities elsewhere? The entire publishing world had to make a new start under the conditions set by the Allied occupying powers, who were aiming for a de-Nazification based on a democracy-imbued reeducation of German and Austrian societies. The project Post-Exile Translation: People, Texts, Networks 1945-1960 analyses translation activities during this period of change and sheds light on the challenges translators faced in the post-war period. Building on the research findings of the Exil:Trans project, which examined the lives and work of translators during their exile (1933-1945), Post-Exile Translation shifts the focus to the post-war years. Post-Exile Translation is a collaborative project undertaken by the University of Graz, the University of Mainz and the University of Lausanne. The primary aim of Post-Exile Translation is to shed light on the social, cultural, and political transformations of the post-war period through the lens of translation. The project investigates the intertwined biographies of translators, their networks, and the fate of the texts they produced. A critical focus is placed on the translation policies of the occupying powers, examining their implications for the book market and the circulation of knowledge into post-war societies shaped by radical social and cultural change. Post-Exile Translation works from manifold disciplinary perspectives that integrate biographical research with the study of translation policies. We use digital tools to collect, archive, and visualize biographical and bibliographical data on translators. We will then make these resources available through open-access online databases, such as UeLEX and DLBT, fostering public engagement with our findings and raising awareness of the pivotal role translators play in shaping cultural narratives. This project contributes to the fields of translation studies and translation history by foregrounding the actors and their contextualized actions. We contend that translation cannot be separated from the political and social frameworks within which it operates. Decisions regarding translationmade by governmental entities and publishing houseshave profound implications for cultural interactions and transcultural transformations. Post-Exile Translation seeks to illuminate these connections, within a framework taking into account the political dimensions of steering translation practices and thereby enriching our understanding of the legacy of translators in the post-war period.