Nordrhein-Westfalen - The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum

I always like to discover some new literature from the place I'm blogging about so, when it came to Nordrhein-Westfalen, my research brought me to the door of Heinrich Böll, one of Germany's best-known writers.

I'd never heard of Böll before, so it was a pleasure to read his novel The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum which is set in the Rhineland, in 1970's West Germany.  Throughout his life Böll was somewhat of a rebel and, I'd imagine, a thorn in the side of the authorities - he refused to join the Nazi youth in the 1930's, although he was later drafted into the Wehrmacht.  He was interested in society's misfits and dealt with topics that were both uncomfortable and challenging for the West German government.

The novel was quite short and written in an usual style, as the narration is somehow done 'at a distance'.  I'd recommend it to anyone interested in modern German literature and, to give you a taster, I've picked out some of the novel's key themes below.

Theme: Post-war pessimism

Cologne 1945 by Gordon Ross

Böll is one of Germany's post-war writers associated with Trümmerliteratur - or the 'literature of the rubble'. Trümmerliteratur deals with the issues of a post-war society that has to deal with the physical and moral devastation caused by war.  It's well-known that Böll was strongly affected by the destruction caused in Cologne by Allied air raids.  He felt indifferent towards the new city that rose from the ashes of World War Two and his novel is full of pessimism and resentment towards the West German authorities.

Böll's novels were incredibly popular in the ex-Soviet Union, which makes a lot of sense, as he focused on the moral emptiness of capitalism and the banality of the reconstructed West Germany that was his home. Katharina Blum is unemotional and disengaged from the world around her and she is hostile to the authority figures who are pursuing her because of her involvement with Ludwig, a young left-wing radical she met at a party.

Theme: Red scare

Post-war Germany found itself divided in a new, politically-polarised world of capitalism v communism. Whilst Brandenburg and Saxony fell under the influence of the Soviet Union and eventually became the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), Nordrhein-Westfalen became the heart of the capitalist Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) with it's new capital in Bonn.  

Böll's novel deals with the fear of communism that had such an influence on the politics of 1970's West Germany.  New left-wing organisations such as the RAF (Rote Armee Fraktion), aka the Baader-Meinhof gang, were terrorising West Germany with bank robberies and bomb attacks, kidnapping leading capitalists and killing police officers. 

I remember being amazed, when the Internet first came along, to learn about the RAF and Baader-Meinhof group - it's not exactly the kind of thing we were taught about in school and learning about this 'carefully concealed' chapter of history was my first experience of the kind of autonomy online research can provide. Despite their violent acts, the RAF gained a certain amount of sympathy amongst working-class West Germans and Katharina Blum, in a way, epitomises the ambivalence of a non-political West German towards the government's campaign on terror.

Theme: Fear of an Independent Woman

Katharina finds herself in the unusual position, for the 1970's, of being an independent woman.  After her marriage breaks down, she finds a job as a cleaner and manages to put away some money, so she can buy her apartment.  Whilst trying to establish whether or not she is really guilty of aiding and abetting a revolutionary, a lot of the 'evidence' of Katharina's guilt is based on the fact that she has her own life and could, potentially, choose any number of male sexual partners.  

River Main, 1970 by Barbara Ann Spengler

As it happens, she was involved in a love affair with a high-ranking government official - a married man - and her efforts to protect his name make the authorities even more suspicious of her behaviour, so that the conclusion is her being found guilty.  

It's as though she is guilty of being a single woman with control over her own life and, therefore, not answerable to or under the control of any man.  Katharina, for her part, has a long list of men who've done wrong by her, despite her attempts at being independent, she is ultimately limited by the rules of a man's world.  

As a single woman she's also seen as 'fair game' by the male investigators.  When one of the investigators tries to hit on her 'she in her dry way had given him to understand that, irresistible though he might be in his own eyes, he was not so in hers'

Theme: The Power of the Media

This theme is one we understand really well today, but I think Böll's novel must have been one of the first to deal with the power that the Media has to influence the outcome of a legal process.  Because she has no man to protect her, the male-dominated media tears Katharina's life to shreds, the argument being that, as a figure of 'public interest', she no longer has the right to privacy or benefit of the doubt.

Because of her coldness and apparent lack of remorse, the Media decides that Katharina is guilty and hound her in the papers, painting her out to be heartless, communist and immoral.  It's interesting how 'appearing remorseful' can play such an important part in public trials - we've seen it very recently in the case of Oscar Pistorius.  Katharina's emotional coldness is a major factor in her perceived guilt.

Theme: The Anarchy of Carnival

I was also quite interested in the fact that the backdrop to Katharina's story is the spring Carnival - as popular in the Rhineland, as it is in Venice or southern Europe.  Carnival is a time when the normal rules that govern society are suspended - it's a chance to let your hair down and unleash your sexuality, but it's also a time of anarchy and grotesque danger.  I've noticed that carnival is quite often the backdrop for crime novels and movies.

The action of The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum starts on Weiberfastnacht, the first Thursday of the German carnival weekend, also known as the 'women's carnival'.  It's on Weiberfastnacht that Katharina goes to the party, where she meets Ludwig and brings him back to her apartment.  It really is her night, before the nightmare of the carnival weekend, when she sees her life crumbling before her eyes.  The novel ends on Rosenmontag - the biggest day of the Rhineland carnival - and the joys of those around her contrast with the miserable situation Katharina finds herself in.   

Image credits:

The image of Cologne after the Allied bombings in 1945 was shared by Flickr member, Gordon Ross, who is originally from Vancouver in Canada.  You can see more of Gordon's images on his photo stream

The image of the RAF logo is in the public domain, you can see more information at the file page on Wikimedia Commons.  

The image of the woman with the German car was taken by Flick member Ladycliff, aka Barbara Ann Spengler, who now lives in Arizona.  This photo was taken by the River Main in 1970.  You can see more of Barbara's photos on her Flickr account.  

Thanks to Gordon and Barbara for sharing these images with us, using the Creative Commons license

Veneto - it's Carnival time!

It's the first day of the Venetian carnevale today - one of the world's most famous carnivals, renowned for its masked balls and costume parades.  The 2011 event will run until the 8th of March, which is also International Women's Day and the theme this year is Ottocento – Da Senso a Sissi – La città delle donne, 'The 1800's - from Senso to Sissi - City of women'.

The 150th anniversary of Italian reunification will be on the 17th of March this year and the theme of the Venetian Carnevale references the famous novella Senso, by Roman-born writer, Camillo Boito, which is set in the 1860's and deals with the wars against Austria that led to reunification.  It also explores the power of female sexuality and the main female character, an Italian countess called Livia, who falls in love with an Austrian officer called Franz and betrays her homeland with disastrous consequences. 

I think Sissi is a reference to Elisabeth of Bavaria, who became the Empress of Austria and was a 19th century fashion-icon.  I'm still trying to gauge the apparent contradictions involved in Venice's love/hate relationship with Austria and the fact that International women's day will be some kind of fashion show! 

Origins of the Carnevale



Volta mask

 The origins of the word 'carnival' is uncertain.  I've read at least three possible meanings - carne levare 'removing the meat', which is a reference to the fact that carnival is the last big knees-up before Lent and all the fasting in the run up to Easter.  I've also read that it comes from an expression carni vale which means 'farewell to meat', but could also mean something like 'removing your flesh' in reference to the masks and role-playing that the Venetian carnivale is so famous for, ie. you literally become someone else for the period of the carnival.  I think my favourite theory is the one that links the carnival to an Ancient Roman festival celebrating the Egyptian goddess Isis, which was known as Carrus Navalis (ship cart) and involved a ceremony in the sea that marked the beginning of the sailing year.  This resonates with that other great Venetian festival La Sensa when Venice is 'married' to the sea in an elaborate ceremony, although this usually takes place in May. 

The Politics of the Venetian Carnevale

Whatever the meaning, there is definitely a connection with the coming of Lent, although I suspect that this might have been yet another example of how the church latched on to existing pagan festivals and there is something very un-Christian about the gaudy colours, the unrestrained sexual behaviour and the raucous nature of the event!  I hear distant echoes of a Roman bacchanalia.  Originally the Venetian festival lasted almost six months and, in the decadent 18th century, it provided impoverished nobles with an opportunity to 'dress down' and disguise their poverty.  It's also believed that the carnevale was a kind of social safety-valve for Venetian society - the rulers could dress as the ruled and vice versa, men could dress as women and women as men. 

Perhaps not surprisingly, the Venetian carnevale came to an end with the arrival of Napoleon.  It was revived again in the 1970's and, for a brief moment, enjoyed a genuine sense of being a community-focused street festival, before it became the tourist extravaganza that it is today.  Even in the 18th century, Venice received something like 30,000 visitors during the carnival period.  Nowadays, 30,000 people visit the Venice carnevale every day!  Its value as a tourist draw is not to be underestimated and the list of sponsors for the 2011 carnevale indicates that it's seen as a major commercial opportunity by some of Italy's top companies.

Carnival around the world



Carnival del Pueblo, South London

 The Italians take their carnivals very seriously, but it's a concept which spread from Italy to the rest of the world, so that we have even more famous carnivals in places as far away as New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro.  It's much more popular in Catholic countries, therefore it tends to be celebrated in southern Europe and the southern parts of Germany and the Netherlands, as well as the Catholic countries in Eastern Europe.  It's also celebrated widely in the Caribbean and this tradition has resulted in the Notting Hill carnival in London every August which, although it's a truly secular event, it follows the blueprint of carnivals the world over.  I was quite surprised to learn that carnival is also celebrated in parts of India, especially in places like Goa, which has connections to catholic Portugal.  I know how much Indians love festivals!  I think carnival is just one of many. 

Interestingly, I grew up in a catholic country, Ireland, but I've still never really experienced a proper carnival, as we don't celebrate carnival in Ireland.  I guess we make up for it with St Patrick's day on the 17th of March.

Carnevale 2011

Carnevale will be celebrated today in Piazetti San Marco, with the Gran Brindisi or 'grand toast', kicking off at 19:00.  So if you're in Venice today, make sure to get down there and celebrate on behalf of the rest of us!  There's also the Festa delle Marie, a sort of beauty pageant today and the Festa Veneziana and Vollo dell'angelo (Flight of the Angel) tomorrow.  You can find out more about what's happening at the official web page for this year's carnevale (they have some news and pages in English). 

Carnival masks



Il Medico delle Peste

 One of the most famous aspects of the Venice carnevale is the carnival masks.  There are different types, the most famous one being the Bauta which is a plain white mask that covers your face, but leaves your mouth uncovered so you can still eat, drink and be merry!  Eye masks, mostly worn by women, are called Columbine Masks and are very pretty, usually decorated and may have feathers attached.  They are also sold on batons, so you can easily remove the mask from your face, if you need to.  Moretta masks are only for dedicated carnivalists - they are made of a black material which preserves the outline of your face.  They're held on by holding part of the material in your mouth, which I imagine makes eating, speaking and even breathing pretty difficult!  Volta masks are also plain white and non-decorative - they cover the whole face, with no opening for the mouth and they are often attached to elaborate headdresses.  The most striking (and scariest) mask, mostly worn by men, is the Medico delle Peste or 'the Plague Doctor' which is a mask with a long beak, stemming from actual masks worn by doctors during the plague.  They used to keep herbs in the beak of the mask, which helped keep the air that they were breathing pure. 

There is another interesting website on the carnevale where you can find out more about the traditions and masks that the carnevale is so famous for.

Image credits:

The image of the flag of Veneto was provided copyright-free on Wikimedia, the original image having been supplied by wikuser Vajotwo with this derived version being added by wikiuser Flanker - you can see a more detailed description of this image at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Veneto.svg

The photos of the masks at the Venice carnevale were taken by flickruser bazzmann aka Marco Trevisan, who is the CEO of Bazzman SRL, a local media and communication company.  You can see more of Marco's photostream at the following link. 

The photo of the Carnival del Pueblo, South London is by flickruser snappybex aka Bex Ross, who is a Science Communicator (what is that?) originally from Edinburgh in Scotland.  You can see more of Bex's photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bexross/

Thanks to Bex and Marco for sharing these images with us, using the Creative Commons license!