Wolfgang Borchert

1.1. Early Life and Education

Wolfgang Borchert was born in Hamburg, Germany, on May 20, 1921, as the only child of a liberal and progressive family. His father, Fritz Borchert, was a teacher who also contributed to the Dada magazine Die Rote Erde, while his mother, Hertha Borchert, was an author known for her dialect poetry and work for Hamburg radio. Growing up in Hamburg's intellectual social circles, Borchert was exposed to a rich cultural environment from an early age. He began writing poetry at the age of 15, influenced by his parents' artistic leanings. Borchert had a strong aversion to his compulsory time in the Hitler Youth, often missing meetings, which eventually led to his release from the organization. In April 1940, after leaving school, he reluctantly began an apprenticeship at the C. Boysen bookshop in Hamburg's Große Bleichen. During this period, he secretly took acting lessons without his parents' knowledge. He also actively resisted the Nazi regime by circulating anti-Nazi poems among his colleagues at the bookshop.

1.2. Pre-War Activities and Resistance

Even before the formal outbreak of World War II, Borchert demonstrated a strong anti-establishment stance and a burgeoning artistic drive. He engaged in social activities, forming a literary circle with friends where he delved into German Classicism, Expressionism, and various foreign literatures. He developed a particular admiration for poets such as Rainer Maria Rilke and Friedrich Hölderlin. His early pre-war works (1938-1940), including Yorrick, der Narr, Granvella! Der schwarze Kardinal, and Der Käseladen, often depicted the individual's struggle against state power by setting stories in historical contexts. His open defiance led to an early arrest by the Gestapo in April 1940, though he was subsequently released. By early 1941, he left his apprenticeship, and after successfully passing his acting examination on March 21, 1941, he joined the travelling repertory theatre company Landesbühne Ost-Hannover, based in Lüneburg. His promising theatrical career, however, was abruptly cut short by his conscription into the Wehrmacht.

1.3. Military Service and Imprisonment

Wolfgang Borchert's conscription into the Wehrmacht in June 1941 marked a brutal turning point in his life, exposing him to the full horrors of the Eastern Front. He witnessed immense suffering, with numerous casualties not only from battle but also from extreme cold, starvation, and inadequate equipment. On February 23, 1942, he returned from sentry duty with the middle finger of his left hand missing. He claimed he had surprised a Russian soldier, and in the ensuing hand-to-hand struggle, his rifle had accidentally discharged, wounding him. Despite his account, his superior officer accused him of self-mutilation as an attempt to evade military service, leading to his arrest and solitary confinement. Although the military prosecutor sought the death penalty at his trial, the court ultimately believed Borchert's version of events and acquitted him.

However, he was immediately re-arrested on charges under the Heimtückegesetz (Insidiousness Law) for making statements against the Nazi regime. He was convicted of "statements endangering the country" and sentenced to six weeks of strict-regime detention, after which he was sent back to the Eastern Front "to prove himself." While back at the front, he suffered severe frostbite and multiple bouts of hepatitis, eventually leading to medical leave. During his leave, he again performed in a nightclub in his now bomb-ravaged hometown of Hamburg. Upon his return to barracks, he successfully applied to be transferred to an army theatre group. He was moved to a transit camp in Koblenz, but on the evening of November 30, 1943, he was denounced by another soldier for retelling parodies of the Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. This led to his arrest and, on August 21, 1944, a sentence of nine months in prison. The sentence was deferred until the end of the war, and he was once again returned to the army, spending most of his time in barracks in Jena before being sent to the area around Frankfurt am Main in March 1945. His company surrendered to the French forces in March 1945. During their transportation to a prisoner of war camp, Borchert and others managed to jump off the lorry and escape. He then embarked on an arduous journey, walking approximately 370 mile back home to Hamburg. He arrived, utterly exhausted, on May 10, 1945, just a week after Hamburg had surrendered to the British.

1.4. Post-War Activities and Later Years

After returning to Hamburg, Borchert's health continued to deteriorate significantly due to the repeated illnesses and deprivations suffered during the war. In 1946, a doctor privately informed his mother that Borchert was not expected to live longer than another year, a prognosis that was deliberately kept from Borchert himself. Despite his rapidly failing health, he resumed his engagement with the theatre, serving as an assistant director at the Hamburg theatre, although this work was frequently interrupted by his illness, which eventually left him largely confined to his bed for his last two years.

During this period of intense physical struggle, Borchert poured his energy into writing. In December 1946, he published Laterne, Nacht und Sterne (Lantern, Night and Stars), a collection of 14 poems. Between December 1946 and January 1947, he penned his seminal play Draußen vor der Tür (The Man Outside). Even before its official publication, the play was broadcast as a radio drama on February 13, 1947, where it received widespread acclaim and resonated deeply with audiences. Its success led to frequent repeat broadcasts across almost all West German radio stations, instantly catapulting Borchert to national fame. In September 1947, in a final attempt to improve his worsening liver condition, Borchert traveled to a hepatic sanatorium in Basel, Switzerland. Even there, despite his grave illness, he continued to write short stories and penned his powerful manifesto against war, Dann gibt es nur eins!_{Then there is only one thing!}^German, shortly before his death.

1.5. Death

Wolfgang Borchert's life tragically ended on November 20, 1947, at a hospital in Basel, Switzerland, due to irreversible liver failure (hepatic insufficiency). He was only 26 years old. His death occurred just one day before the highly anticipated premiere of his most famous play, Draußen vor der Tür (The Man Outside), at the Hamburg theatre. This poignant timing underscored the profound impact of his short life and the enduring legacy of his works, which so vividly captured the despair and hope of post-war Germany.

2.1. Poetry

Borchert developed a passion for poetry in his mid-teens, often writing five to ten poems per day. He considered poetry an easier form of expression compared to prose, and his father, Fritz Borchert, frequently reviewed his work. Despite his prolific output, Borchert was often less concerned with the "quality" of his poems than with their function as a necessary outlet for self-expression. He once stated that if only "two or three" of his thousands of poems were worth preserving, he would be satisfied, indicating that his primary motivation was catharsis: "But for some time now I have ceased to regard my poems as something important that should not be lost. If only two or three of the few thousands - for that is how many there are by now - remain that are worth keeping, then I will be satisfied. But if I still keep writing some that are often not worth anything, then it is only to get rid of them - nothing else."

Many of his earlier poems were "occasional literature," written for specific events or individuals, and he did not intend for them to be published. As he matured, Borchert became more critical of his early works, destroying many he deemed irrelevant. Consequently, what survived of his poems were mostly those included in letters to correspondents like Aline Bussmann, Ruth Hager, Carl Albert Lange, and Hugo Seiker. The main collection published during his lifetime was Laterne, Nacht und Sterne (Lantern, Night and Stars), released in December 1946, featuring 14 poems. Much later, in 1996, his mother Hertha Borchert and American scholar Stanley Tschopp compiled and published a selection of about two hundred poems in Allein mit meinem Schatten und dem Mond_{Alone with my shadow and the moon}^German, fulfilling a long-held desire to make more of his poetic work accessible. Borchert's poems often exhibited a profound sense of despair and solitude, exemplified by lines from Laterne, Nacht und Sterne:

Ich möchte Leuchtturm sein
In Nacht und Wind-
für Dorsch und Stint-
für jedes Boot-
und bin doch selbst
ein Schiff in Not!

Which translates to:

I would like to be a lighthouse
at night and wind -
for codfish and smelt -
for any boat -
and am myself
A ship in need!

2.2. Prose

Wolfgang Borchert's prose primarily consists of numerous short stories, many of which are concise, palm-sized narratives that vividly portray the harsh realities of war and post-war Germany. His extensive personal experiences with the trauma of war, life as a prisoner, and the challenging return to a devastated homeland were central to his prose. These experiences led to a distinctive style characterized by abrupt and fragmented narratives.

Rather than developing memorable, named characters, Borchert often described people and things with anonymity, using generalized terms like "men," "soldiers," or "widows." This approach, ironically, allowed readers to connect more deeply with the universal pain and suffering he depicted, achieving a humanitarian success through simplicity. The basic and direct language he employed effectively conveyed the profound suffering he and the people experienced during the war. Notable titles from his prose include:

• Die drei dunklen Könige (The three dark kings, 1946)
• An diesem Dienstag (On this Tuesday, 1946)
• Die Hundeblume (The dandelion, 1946)
• Das Brot (The Bread, 1946)
• Nachts schlafen die Ratten doch_{The rats do sleep at night}^German (1947)
• Die Kirschen_{The Cherries}^German (1947)
• Die lange lange Strasse lang (Along the Long, Long Road, 1947)

Collections of his prose, such as Dandelion and On this Tuesday, were published in 1947, further cementing his reputation as a voice of the "lost generation."

2.3. Drama: The Man Outside

Wolfgang Borchert's most representative and impactful work is the drama Draußen vor der Tür (The Man Outside), written between December 1946 and January 1947. This play captured the profound despair and disillusionment of post-war Germany, making it a unique and defining work of the period.

The play is a stark tragedy centered on a returning soldier, Beckmann, who finds that the war has destroyed not only his body but also his soul, leaving him an outsider in a shattered world. Its theme is profoundly nihilistic, emphasizing that nothing seems worth living for and that everything has been irrevocably destroyed. The narrative is imbued with a pervasive sense of guilt, extending even to the question of God's responsibility for the atrocities. There is no sense of tolerance or acceptance of fate; instead, a raw, unyielding portrayal of suffering. Borchert aimed to present disjointed events, like a "shattered mirror," allowing the audience to viscerally feel the emotional intensity rather than passively observe a traditional narrative. The conventional storytelling style is absent, replaced by fragmented sections detailing despair, guilt, solitariness, and a pervasive lack of faith and willingness to live. This stylistic choice directly reflected Borchert's own distracted mind, shaken soul, and disordered emotions resulting from his intense war experiences.

The Man Outside gained immediate and widespread recognition even before its official premiere. It was first broadcast as a radio drama on February 13, 1947, eliciting an enormous response and leading to repeated broadcasts across nearly all West German radio stations. This radio success quickly made Borchert a household name. The play's theatrical premiere took place at the Hamburg theatre on November 21, 1947, tragically, just one day after Borchert's death. Its powerful depiction of the struggles of returning prisoners of war resonated deeply with a society grappling with its own trauma, cementing its literary and historical significance as a defining work for post-war German society.

3.1. Impact of War Experience

The immense trauma and suffering Borchert endured during World War II were the foundational elements shaping his literary style. His works vividly reflect his mental images of the front lines, the harsh realities of prisoner life, and the arduous return of a soldier to a utterly destroyed Germany, alongside a desperate, albeit fragile, hope for the future. This lived experience led to narratives characterized by abrupt and fragmented descriptions, mirroring a mind grappling with profound shock and disillusionment. Borchert's stories are not linear but often divided into stark sections expressing despair, guilt, solitariness, and a profound lack of faith or willingness to engage with life. This disjointed style was a direct consequence of his distracted mind, shaken soul, and disordered emotions, all initiated by the overwhelming impact of the war.

3.2. Characteristics of Style

Borchert's distinctive stylistic features contributed significantly to his powerful and unique voice in post-war German literature. His narratives often employ abrupt, fragmented structures, reflecting the shattered reality he portrayed. A notable characteristic is his use of anonymized character descriptions; instead of giving individuals specific names, he referred to them generically as "men," "soldiers," or "widows." This anonymity, rather than distancing the reader, paradoxically allowed for a more universal connection, as people could project their own experiences onto these archetypes, creating a profound humanitarian resonance. Readers felt the pain in his writing precisely because of this simplicity and universality, marking a humanitarian success.

The use of basic, unadorned language further amplified his message of suffering, making his works accessible and emotionally direct. For example, in his short story Das Brot (The Bread), the simplicity of the dialogue and description underscores the profound struggle for survival in post-war Germany. In The Kitchen Clock, the clock serves as a potent metaphor, evoking memories of his mother and lost family, a powerful example of trauma literature. Similarly, in describing a returning soldier in The Kitchen Clock, Borchert uses symbolic language instead of precise labeling, focusing on the character's internal state: "...He looked at his clock and shook his head pensively. No, dear sir, no, you are wrong about that. It has nothing to do with the bombs. You should not keep talking about the bombs. No. At 2:30. At night I mean. Nearly always at 2:30. That is just it..." This omission of specific character details allows a broader audience to relate to the soldier's situation, as many others also had their own "Clock" moments after World War II.

3.3. Major Themes and Philosophy

The core themes and philosophical messages woven throughout Borchert's works reflect a deep humanist concern for the victims of war and totalitarianism, presenting a stark and often bleak worldview. A prominent theme is nihilism, particularly evident in his play The Man Outside, which explores a hopelessly nihilistic landscape where nothing seems worth living for and everything has been destroyed.

Borchert's writings are uncompromising in addressing issues of humanity and the human condition. He conveys a pervasive "smell of guilt" that permeates everything, even extending to the accusation of God's guilt. His works consistently depict profound despair, solitariness, and a pervasive lack of faith and willingness, especially in the context of a society that has lost its moral compass. Despite the bleakness, Borchert's implicit philosophy champions a profound humanism by shedding light on the devastating psychological and emotional toll of conflict and totalitarianism, urging an acknowledgment of shared suffering and a yearning for a return to fundamental human values.

3.4. Literary Influences

Wolfgang Borchert was an avid reader, and his literary creations were profoundly influenced by a range of poets and authors, both German and international. He greatly admired and was influenced by Rainer Maria Rilke, to the extent that he once signed a work as "Wolff Maria Borchert" to express his respect. Rilke's characteristic use of metaphors, metonymy, and contradictions is evident in Borchert's own writing, particularly in short stories like The Kitchen Clock, where the titular clock functions as a powerful metaphor for lost family and trauma.

Another significant influence was Friedrich Hölderlin, known for his use of symbols rather than direct labels for people and places. This symbolic approach is also discernible in Borchert's narratives, allowing for deeper, more universal interpretations of his characters and settings. Beyond German literature, Borchert was inspired by the American Civil War poet Walt Whitman. A notable parallel exists between Borchert's poem Laterne, Nacht und Sterne and Whitman's "youth, old age, and night," as both works share similar images of insomnia, darkness, cold, hunger, and prolonged outdoor standing, reflecting a shared sensibility concerning human suffering and vulnerability. Borchert also listed French Symbolist poets like Charles Baudelaire, Arthur Rimbaud, and Paul Verlaine, as well as Alfred de Musset and German literary giants Friedrich Schiller as sources of artistic fulfillment.

4.1. Posthumous Recognition and Influence

Wolfgang Borchert's works gained significant critical reception and recognition after his premature death, characterized as some of the best war literature. He is widely regarded as a key representative author of Trümmerliteratur (Rubble Literature), a literary movement that emerged in post-World War II Germany, directly addressing the physical and moral devastation of the country. His uncompromising depictions of trauma, guilt, and disillusionment resonated deeply with a generation that had experienced similar suffering.

His enduring influence is evident in his continued popularity and the fact that his works remain a fundamental part of the German school curriculum. Borchert's raw, unvarnished style and his focus on the psychological scars of war provided a vital voice for the "lost generation" and continue to offer profound insights into the human cost of conflict and totalitarianism, making him a perpetual subject of study and discussion in German literary circles.

4.2. International Reception and Study

The reach of Wolfgang Borchert's works extended beyond national borders relatively quickly, as they were translated into various languages, most notably English. The first English translation of The Man Outside was undertaken by David Porter in 1952, though some critics suggested it reduced the artistic quality of the original. Later, in 1998, English producer Thomas Fisher retranslated the play, leading to a successful production at the Gate Theatre in London. These translations opened up new avenues for international scholars and readers to study his unique contribution to trauma literature, which is prominently featured in his poems and short stories.

To further promote the study of Borchert's writings on an international level, the International Wolfgang Borchert Society was established in 1988 by a group of individuals dedicated to his legacy. This society plays a crucial role in fostering global research and appreciation of his works.