When Hitchens 'grassed up' Grass!

To be clear, I am referring to the late Christopher Hitchens and also to the now equally late Gunter Grass, Germany's pride and joy - sort of!  Herr Grass spent sixty years of his post WWII life pontificating on how it was the duty of all adult Germans to come clean about their lives and actions during Hitler's regime.  He, himself, spent most of his adult time writing books which, with their anti-Nazi message, charmed the liberal elite and eventually led to him receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature.  He spent most of his life espousing Left-wing causes and prating about the 'crime' of so many Germans failing to be honest about their personal histories and in particular not telling their children what they had done and why.  It was assumed, of course, that Grass, himself, was too young to have been any sort of participant in Nazi activities.

 So it was a bit of a shock when, in 2006, this German humbug owned up to the fact that in 1944 he had joined the Waffen-SS and fought as a tank gunner with the 10th Panzer Frundsberg Division until he was captured by the Americans in May 1945.  Of course, he was only 17 when he was called up but it is also worth noting that previous to that he had volunteered for the German submarine service.  Well, so far, so normal, for Germans of his age and older struggling to come to terms with a history which was all too real to them.  However, the vast majority of them simply kept 'schtum' as they tried, in the privacy of their consciences, to reconcile personal actions with massive political forces.  Grass's confession after decades of moralising went down like the proverbial Scheisse sandwich!

On the news breaking, Christopher Hitchens, who it would appear was just waiting for an excuse to beat Grass up with a lead-filled bratworst, let him have it in the pages of Slate magazine.  This, perhaps, gives you the flavour of Hitchens' view of Gunter Grass:

For all this, one was never able to suppress the slight feeling that the author of The Tin Drum was something of a bigmouth and a fraud, and also something of a hypocrite. He was one of those whom Gore Vidal might have had in mind when he referred to the high horse, always tethered conveniently nearby, which the writer/rider could mount at any moment. Seldom did Grass miss a chance to be lofty and morally stern. But between the pony and the horse, between the stirrup and the ground, there stood (and stands) a calculating opportunist.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeees, quite so!

 

Comments

[Whitewall]

The late Christopher Hitchens was an interesting writer. I read a good bit of him and watched him interviewed and a time or two and even heard a speech or two. Sometimes he was infuriating and other times quite tolerable. An odd mix who I guess is currently enduring an "odd mix".

On the guilt burdened kraut, according to a piece I read a month or so ago on some blog, there exists in Germany an "anti '68" movement made up of mostly younger adults. '68ers being the short of 1968 meaning the hippy dippy age of post war people. These are the people that were born during and right after the war and who now run things in Germany with the sins of their parents draped over their every action. Point the finger of guilt at them and they collapse. This younger group is evidently fed up with this posture and are rebelling against the '68ers. I haven't seen anymore about this so maybe it just stays within German politics.

[Hank]

David

A few years ago there was an article "Where Have the Fascists Gone/"

The point was that most of the Fascists were not imprisoned as war criminals. The author doubted that losing the war changed their minds, but any one with a tid bit of common sense knew he better not claim to be supporting fascism, but probably continued to support fascist ideas under new names and flags, sometime loudly denouncing fascism as they did it. It is sometimes suggested that the 68er's, perhaps unknowingly were quasi fascist.

Perhaps their is a new generation unknowingly pushing ideas without realizing it.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.upi.com%2FBusiness_News%2FSecurity-Industry%2F2003%2F04%2F19%2FAnglosphere-Where-have-the-fascists-gone%2F10261050807339%2F&ei=mLozVdfAM47xoAT_s4DoCA&usg=AFQjCNFmAJVpWNs-sMm5v8hOdv7514dt_w&bvm=bv.91071109,d.b2w

[David Duff]

Because he was USA-based, and apparently a real Lefty, I didn't follow him too closely - and now I wish I had because, certainly as he got older he told it the way he saw it! As does his brother, Peter, but from a Right-wing, or to be precise, a libertarian, view, here:

http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/

As for Germany, well yes, the 'times they are a-changin''. You can get a taste of it from the way the schools of thought in their history academies has altered. Fischer's 1960s book blaming Germany for WWI is now rubbished by the new historical kids on the block. Nothing like intellectuals falling out to provide some real blood 'n' guts fisticuffs!

[jimmy glesga]

Christopher Hitchins split from the idiots on the left who do not see Islam as Facist.
Some U Tube encounters with him and others are excellent. I do like his brother Peter simply because he speaks his mind and is not PC.

[David Duff]

Hank, sorry, our comments crossed. I have just read your link and it is not only superb but deadly accurate. The fascists have not gone away, they have merely changed their flags!

[Whitewall]

Hank, my gosh! That is an interesting link.

[Andrew Duffin]

All of which may be true, but have you read "Peeling the Onion"?

The guys writes like an angel, even in translation.

It is a completely wonderful book.

Strongly recommended.

[David Duff]

You're probably right, Andrew, but unfortunately most novels (apart from really low-brow pulp fiction) are beyond me. I know, my bad!

[Lawrence Duff]

Yeh, but I'd like to see Spielberg make something of this: -

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/06/04/how-i-spent-the-war

SoD