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Family History as National History: Peter Henisch's Novel Die kleine Figur meines Vaters and the Issue of Memory in Austria's Second Republic
Author(s) -
Bushell Anthony
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
orbis litterarum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.109
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 1600-0730
pISSN - 0105-7510
DOI - 10.1111/j.0105-7510.2004.00799.x
Subject(s) - psychoanalysis , political science , psychology , sociology , history , art history
This article examines an early but key text in Austria's belated examination of its citizens’ role in the Third Reich. It shows how Peter Henisch's novel exposed unresolved generational conflicts within a prosperous and stable post‐war Austrian society and how the text provided an example of the discussion of uncomfortable societal issues in post‐war Austria through the intimate sphere of family life. Simultaneously, the book reflected upon the limitations and distortions inherent in all creative works of art, distortions that Henisch shows are present in the very process of remembering. Crucially, the work continues to invite the reader to associate the integrity of national memory with the integrity of private memory.