Sandra Beck, guest lecturer from the University of Mannheim, gave a talk on Leander Scholz’s RAF-novel Rosenfest. Her talk centred on explaining how the novel deconstructs the collective memorz of the RAF.
Beck outlined the development of the literary discourse on the RAF, beginning with Peter-Paul Zahl, Rainald Goetz and the autobiography of Peter-Jürgen Boock in the 1980’s up until recent receptions of this group, such as the film adaptation of the Baader-Meinhof Komplex in 2008. She demonstrated that over this period of time, certain symbols of terrorism became established and extended into the world of merchandise and commerce, contributing to the emergence of a variety of myths surrounding the RAF.
Beck also pointed out that the discourse on this group continues to be dominated by those who witnessed the “Deutsche Herbst” in 1977 and its aftermath. Against this historical backdrop, Leander Scholz, who was born in 1969, tries to open up the discourse by writing a fictional love story about two of the leaders of the RAF: Andreas Baader and Gudrun Ensslin. Not only does he rearrange historical facts and decontextualize heroic images, he also plays with gender stereotypes, as Beck demonstrated using a number of examples from the novel.
Rosenfest, according to Beck, interrogates the privileged position enjoyed by certain individuals – namely, members of the 68-generation – when it comes to establishing knowledge about the RAF. Scholz was highly criticized for this attempt to aesthetically deconstruct an established discourse. Beck’s talk was followed by a vivid debate on the role and importance of authenticity in literature.
Written by MA candidate Tobias Sedlmaier.