Locating a Public Sphere: Some Reflections on Writers and Öffentlichkeit in the GDR

The article examines some recent extra-literary writings by Christa Wolf and Helga Königsdorf in order to approach historical and theoretical questions about the constitution of Öffentlichkeit in the GDR. As the conditions for communication and publicity changed in 1989-90, these writers found themselves compelled to reflect, within the emerging new forums, upon their own status as carriers of a public sphere, and hence as institutions. A reading of their reflections reveals some of the structural contradictions that shaped GDR writers' self-understanding and literary production. (EM)