Markus Wolf: Die Troika. Geschichte eines

GDR Bulletin
Volume 17
Issue 1 Spring
Article 8
1991
Markus Wolf: Die Troika. Geschichte eines
nichtgedrehten Films. Nach einer Idee von Konrad
Wolf
Margy Gerber
Bowling Green State University
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Recommended Citation
Gerber, Margy (1991) "Markus Wolf: Die Troika. Geschichte eines nichtgedrehten Films. Nach einer Idee von Konrad Wolf," GDR
Bulletin: Vol. 17: Iss. 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.4148/gdrb.v17i1.992
This Review is brought to you for free and open access by New Prairie Press. It has been accepted for inclusion in GDR Bulletin by an authorized
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Gerber: Markus Wolf: Die Troika. Geschichte eines nichtgedrehten Films. N
development of G D R literature during the years covered by the
study. W i t h its critical portrayal o f the potential future o f socialism
(and c a p i t a l i s m ) , its satire on the r e w r i t i n g o f history to suit
ideology, and its insistence on the individual as opposed to the
collective, Saiäns-Fiktschen
is far from the G D R literature written
before the H o n e c k e r era under the strict dictates o f socialist
realism. Taboos remained, o f course, given the Biermann affair of
1976 and the literary works banned under Honecker. T h e notes at
the end of each chapter provide the German original o f the quotes
Reid has translated into English in his text. Appended to his book is
an extensive b i b l i o g r a p h y of p r i m a r y (also i n c l u d i n g E n g l i s h
translations of G D R texts) and secondary sources, and an index.
It is the index which w i l l be of much value to those interested in
G D R literature who wish to use Reid's study for refreshing their
memory of the themes in the major works of G D R literature written
during the period in question. However, by no means is it my
intention to relegate Reid's efforts to the status of a reference work.
A l t h o u g h Writing Without Taboos concentrates on the Honecker
era, in many ways it forms an English counterpart to Wolfgang
Emmerich's Kleine Literaturgeschichte der DDR (1981 and 1989).
Its essayistic style free of too much esoteric jargon makes for an
eminently enjoyable and informative study. However, whereas
Emmerich proceeds chronologically through G D R literature, Reid
does so h o r i z o n t a l l y . F r o m the thematic perspective o f each
chapter, he looks at all of G D R literature during the Honecker era.
Thus, the same prose work may be mentioned and analyzed more
than once as it relates to the themes of the various chapters. The
chapters can be read autonomously, but reading them all together
makes for a broad understanding o f G D R literature after the taboo
speech.
One might question Reid's apparent eagerness to have his study
published before the direction of the G D R ' s political development
in the fall of 1989 became more evident. T h e patience of another
year (this is o f course easy to say on m y part!) and a
corresponding addition to the manuscript could have included that
final phase of literary production before the country's demise.
Although this was no longer the literature of the Honecker era per
se, it was not completely free of taboos. Including a final chapter
from this perspective w o u l d have shed additional light on what
ultimately still remained taboo d u r i n g the time preceding the
Wende.
I would like to add one further criticism of Reid's treatment of the
year 1968. Although it is quite appropriate to focus on Nachdenken
über Christa T. as the advent of a new G D R literature. G ü n t e r de
Bruyn's Buridans Esel o f the same year should have deserved
more than just a mention in passing. M a n y of the themes in Wolf's
novel are c o m m o n to de Bruyn's as well. A l o n g the same lines,
Christa T. d i d not come about in a vacuum. It was preceded by
such novels as Wolf's Der geteilte Himmel, Erwin Strittmatter's
Ole Bienkopp (both 1963) and E r i k Neutsch's Spur der Steine
(1964), a l l o f w h i c h demonstrated initial cracks in the hitherto
solid foundations o f socialist realism. Reid does mention all three
novels and b r i e f l y discusses W o l f ' s earlier w o r k . I believe,
however, that a more detailed discussion would have done more
complete justice to tracing the development o f G D R literature
under Honecker. After a l l , as Reid himself admits, Honecker's
taboo speech m e r e l y gave blessing to literary developments
already going on in the G D R .
A s the subtitles indicate. Die Troika is Markus W o l f s attempt to
realize an u n c o m p l e t e d project o f his brother, the f i l m m a k e r
K o n r a d Wolf, w h o died o f cancer i n 1982: to tell the life stories o f
three ( a c t u a l l y four) b o y h o o d f r i e n d s , w h o , i n the f o r e i g n
environment o f Stalin's M o s c o w o f the 1930s, forged a lasting
bond o f friendship despite their differing backgrounds: Konrad
W o l f ( K o n i ) himself, son o f physician/dramatist Friedrich Wolf,
who, as a Jew and C o m m u n i s t , had sought exile in the U S S R in
1933; V i c t o r Fischer (Vitja), son of the American journalist Louis
Fischer, who, a Soviet sympathizer, had moved to the U S S R in the
late 1920s and wrote for various liberal A m e r i c a n newspapers;
and Lothar W l o c h (Lotka), son o f the Berlin blue-collar worker
and C o m m u n i s t a c t i v i s t W i l h e l m W l o c h , w h o c o n t i n u e d his
antifascist resistance from his new base in Moscow after 1933.
K o n r a d W o l f ' s f i l m i d e a , w h i c h , a c c o r d i n g to h i s brother,
dominated his m i n d and emotions in the months—even years—
before his death, was to treat three Schnittpunkte in the lives of
these friends: their c o m m o n childhood/teenage years (193339/41) in M o s c o w ; their chance meeting again i n Berlin in 1945—
one o f the "horses" of the troika, Vitja, is replaced here by his
older brother Jura (George Fischer); and the reunion of the three
(four)—as 50-year-olds—in the United States in 1975.
T h e fascination o f the idea derives from the very different (both
outer and inner) development of the troika members, the direction
o f w h i c h was p r e d e t e r m i n e d by their parents' and their o w n
experiences in the U S S R . Disillusioned by the Stalinist purges
and then the Hitler-Stalin pact, L o u i s Fischer turned his back on
the U S S R , taking his family back to the United States, where his
two sons were " A m e r i c a n i z e d " ; both served in the U S a r m y
during W W II and were part o f the American occupation force in
G e r m a n y i n the i m m e d i a t e postwar p e r i o d . A v i c t i m o f the
Stalinist purges, the antifascist activist W i l h e l m W l o c h died in
Soviet i m p r i s o n m e n t in 1 9 4 1 , with the result that his w i d o w
returned to Nazi G e r m a n y with her children: the "middle horse"
of the t r o i k a . Lothar, fought i n the Wehrmacht—on the Soviet
front. O f the three families, only the Wolfs remained in the U S S R
and maintained their allegiance to the Soviet Union. Konrad Wolf
returned to G e r m a n y in the spring o f 1945 as an officer of the Red
A r m y , e v e n s e r v i n g b r i e f l y as the mayor o f S o v i e t - o c c u p i e d
Bernau (near Berlin). T h e boyhood friends had become "der
A m e r i k a n e r , " "der Deutsche," and "der Russe." The American
( G e o r g e F i s c h e r ) l a t e r went to H a r v a r d a n d b e c a m e an
" e s t a b l i s h m e n t " professor o f Soviet S t u d i e s ; the German—
L o t h a r — f o u n d e d a c o n s t r u c t i o n c o m p a n y i n West B e r l i n ,
profitting—albeit with a guilty conscience—from the postwar
economic b o o m ; the " R u s s i a n " Konrad Wolf assumed an active
role in the construction o f the G e r m a n socialist state, becoming a
leading figure in G D R cultural life and eventually president of the
Akademie der Künste.
Konrad Wolf's work on the troika idea began in 1977, in the
a f t e r m a t h o f the B i e r m a n n e x p a t r i a t i o n . It is c l e a r f r o m
conversations with W o l f and comments o f scriptwriter A n g e l
Wagenstein documented in the book that W o l f intended to present
the positions of all three men, without prejudgement. The result,
w h i c h no doubt w o u l d have been h i g h l y controversial and may
well have languished in the film archives, would have been both a
gripping story and an important pre-Gorbachevian contribution
to the opening up o f G D R society: a critical look at Stalinist
society and a juxtaposition o f Eastern and Western points o f view.
I had some problems with Reid's placement o f commas, but he
p r e s u m a b l y a d h e r e d to B r i t i s h E n g l i s h c o n v e n t i o n . T h e
publisher's j o b with the book is impeccable. I discovered no
printing errors.
Reinhard Andress
Alfred University
Published by New Prairie Press, 1991
Wolf, M a r k u s . Die Troika.
Geschichte eines nichtgedrehten
Films. Nach einer Idee von Konrad Wolf. Berlin/Weimar: Aufbau,
1989 (and D ü s s e l d o r f : Classen, 1989), 352 p.
To reconstruct the three Schnittpunkte,
Markus Wolf evidently
worked from notes, photographs, and tape recordings contained in
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GDR Bulletin, Vol. 17 [1991], Iss. 1, Art. 8
his brother's schwarze Mappe. Konrad Wolf's original sketch for
the film and some 130 pages of documents are included in the
volume, as well as many photographs. One of the most interesting
parts of the book is Markus Wolf's epilogue to the volume, in which
he discusses Konrad Wolf's last years and his plans for the film, and
Konrad's—and his own—views on such important matters as the
Biermann expatriation and the cultural upheaval that followed.
Given Markus Wolf's shadowy past—until his retirement in 1987 he
was head of the espionage division of the G D R ' s Ministry of State
Security, a fact which caused h i m to go into hiding to avoid arrest
after unification—one may, of course, question the credibility of this
section (and other undocumented details of the book as well).
Still, as a pre-Wende book—it was published in the G D R in March
1989—Die Troika contains sufficient information and ideas to have
been an impetus for change in the G D R . Markus Wolf's active
participation in the fall reform movement is perhaps an indication
that he published his brother's film project with this goal in mind.
Seen from today's perspective, Die Troika belongs to a growing
number of recent books by G D R authors that deal with the 1930s in
the U S S R , such as Trude Richter's Totgesagt, H e d d a Z i n n e r ' s
Selbstbefragung,
and E l f r i e d e B r ü n i n g ' s oral h i s t o r y
Lästige
Zeugen. The epilogue, on the other hand, provides some insight
into the cultural politics of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Both of
these forms of Vergangenheitsbewältigung,
which should have
been part of public discussion much earlier, retain their relevance
today as the former socialist state and its citizens are integrated into
the Federal Republic.
5
E i n B e i s p i e l : D a l l o w s S e x i s m u s . Peterson nennt D a l l o w s
sexistisches Verhalten unmotiviert ("gratuitous") und betrachtet
es als u n e r k l ä r l i c h ( " i n e x p l i c a b l e " ) , d a ß H e i n n i c h t m e h r
Interesse für die Frauen in seinem Text und ihr Leben zeigt als sein
H e l d ("his hero") Dallow. D a l l o w s Verhalten ist tatsächlich
eindeutig sexistisch. A n der Beziehung zu seiner " F r e u n d i n "
Elke interessiert ihn nur die Lust, die sie ihm einbringt. A n seiner
K n a s t z e i t b e r e u t er e i g e n t l i c h nur, d a ß er d a d u r c h eine
Pyjamaparty v e r p a ß t hat. D i e Idylle auf der Insel Hiddensee
besteht vor a l l e m darin, d a ß er mit m ö g l i c h s t vielen M ä d c h e n
s c h l ä f t . A u f w e l c h e W e i s e ist D a l l o w s V e r h a l t e n — s e i n
Sexismus-gesellschaftlich fundiert? Dallows Sexismus läßt sich
durchaus mit d e m S e x i s m u s eines de Sade vergleichen. E i n
k a l k u l i e r e n d e s , unterwerfendes und l e i s t u n g s o r i e n t i e r t e s
Verhältnis zum Geschlechtlichen ist, wie Horkheimer und Adorno
in ihren Überlegungen zum Werke de Sades zeigen, nichts als die
Konsequenz einer Vernunft, die sich nur auf B e h e r r s c h u n g ,
Organisation und V e r w a l t u n g b e s c h r ä n k t , die a u s s c h l i e ß l i c h
leistungsorientiert ist und deshalb als "instrumentelle Vernunft"
bezeichnet wird. Dieser Zusammenhang, den Horkheimer und
A d o r n o an den W e r k e n K a n t s , de S a d e s u n d N i e t z s c h e s
nachweisen, wird in Heins Tangospieler für die D D R - W i r k l i c h k e i t
demonstriert. D a l l o w w i r d dauernd mit A n f o r d e r u n g e n eines
leistungsorientierten Denkens konfrontiert: bei seiner Familie, bei
seiner " F r e u n d i n " E l k e , in seinen G e s p r ä c h e n mit Schulze und
Müller. Dallow widersetzt sich dem Zwang eines solchen Denkens.
Er wählt die Existenz eines Arbeitslosen. Der Zwang kehrt aber
wieder, wo er ihn nicht erwartet: in seinen Beziehungen zu Frauen.
Margy Gerber
Bowling Green State University
A RESPONSE TO BRENT O. PETERSON
6
Die inneren Schauplätze des real existierenden Sozialismus.
Christoph Heins Tangospieler
Carl Niekerk
Washington University
Die F o r s c h u n g ü b e r D D R - L i t e r a t u r macht eine
L e g i t i m a t i o n s k r i s e d u r c h . D i e D D R und ihre s p e z i f i s c h e
G e s e l l s c h a f t s f o r m , d u r c h d i e D D R - L i t e r a t u r s i c h bis jetzt
definierte, sind seit der Wende nicht mehr da. Damit entfällt
eine—und bis jetzt vermutlich die w i c h t i g s t e — M ö g l i c h k e i t , die
B e s c h ä f t i g u n g mit D D R - L i l e r a t u r zu l e g i t i m i e r e n ; es gibt in
Europa keine andere, sich vom Westen abgrenzende
G e s e l l s c h a f t s f o r m mehr, die es verdient studiert zu werden.
Orientierungslosigkeit wurde in bezug auf die Forschung ü b e r
D D R - L i t e r a t u r schon f r ü h e r konstatiert.
D i e Frage nach der
Legitimation der B e s c h ä f t i g u n g mit DDR-Literatur ist eng mit der
F r a g e v e r k n ü p f t , o b es d e r G e r m a n i s t i k g e l i n g t , neue
Orientierungen und damit verbunden neue Erkenntnisinteressen
zu formulieren, die ihre Tätigkeit i m Feld der DDR-Literatur
rechtfertigen.
Diese Problematik m ö c h t e ich in polemischer
Auseinandersetzung mit einer K r i t i k zu Christoph Heins Roman
Der Tangospieler e r ö r t e r n , die Brent Peterson im letzten Heft des
GDR-Bulletins
veröffentlichte.
Dallows Sexismus ist sicher verwerflich, jedoch e r k l ä r b a r vor
dem Hintergrund seiner sozialgesellschaftlichen Konditionierung.
Dasselbe gilt für andere Aspekte seiner Biographie, sein Scheitern
als H i s t o r i k e r , sein politisches Desinteresse. Es ist deshalb
problematisch, den Text als eindeutige Verurteilung der Hauptfigur
zu lesen. Peterson behauptet in Anlehnung an den mit dem " N e w
H i s t o r i c i s m " a s s o z i i e r t e n T h e o r e t i k e r H a y d e n W h i t e , die
Linearität der Handlung—Anfang, Mitte, Ende—impliziere ein
moralisches Urteil ("moral judgment," "moralizing certainty"),
konkret: eine Verurteilung Dallows. Eine solche Behauptung ist
auf Treibsand gebaut; man könnte sehr wohl argumentieren, d a ß
die Struktur der Handlung zirkulär oder spiralförmig ist. Das Ende
der Geschichte führt uns zurück zu einem Punkt vor dem Anfang,
zu D a l l o w s bevorstehender B e f ö r d e r u n g z u m Dozenten. (Die
Handlung der Erzählung beschreibt also die Hälfte eines Kreises.)
E i n neuer Kreis fängt an mit einer neuen Hauptfigur: Roessler wird
von seinem A m t suspendiert. Kreis oder Spirale visualisieren eine
Wiederkehr des Gleichen, aus dem niemand als moralischer Sieger
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y
" D i e Geschichte lehrt, aber sie hat keine S c h ü l e r . " so heißt es
bei Ingeborg B a c h m a n n . Peterson liest Heins Tangospieler als
Bericht ü b e r eine p o l i t i s c h stumpfsinnige und sich sexistisch
verhaltende Gestalt, die Hauptfigur Dallow. Er nennt den Roman
h i s t o r i s c h ( " h i s t o r i c a l " ) . D a l l o w ist H i s t o r i k e r . Das B u c h
4
http://newprairiepress.org/gdr/vol17/iss1/8
DOI: 10.4148/gdrb.v17i1.992
a r t i k u l i e r t für Peterson das S c h e i t e r n der Verarbeitung der
eigenen V e r g a n g e n h e i t , was für ihn s y m p t o m a t i s c h für den
Umgang mit der Vergangenheit in der ganzen D D R ist. Petersons
E n d u r t e i l ist e i n d e u t i g n e g a t i v : er w i r f t H e i n M a n g e l an
moralischer und politischer Relevanz vor und fordert stattdessen
untersuchende, nuancierte und unendlich diskutierbare Texte.
E r s c h ö p f t P e t e r s o n s K r i t i k d a m i t das h i s t o r i s c h e
Erkenntnispotential des Textes (auch nur ansatzweise)? M e i n
Vorschlag geht in eine andere Richtung. Der Tangospieler läßt
sich als genaue historische A n a l y s e lesen, glaube ich; eine solche
A n a l y s e sollte sich aber—um nochmals eine F o r m e l Ingeborg
Bachmanns aufzugreifen—auf die " w i r k l i c h e n Schauplätze, die
i n w e n d i g e n " richten und auf die Frage, wie das, was auf diesen
inneren S c h a u p l ä t z e n passiert, von ä u ß e r e n U m s t ä n d e n ,
sozialgesellschaftlichen Bedingungen, beeinflußt wird. Der Text
k o n f r o n t i e r t uns m i t e i n e r D e n k a u f g a b e : v o m L e s e r w i r d
e r w a r t e t , Z u s a m m e n h ä n g e z w i s c h e n inneren und ä u ß e r e n
S c h a u p l ä t z e n h e r z u s t e l l e n , inneres G e s c h e h e n u n d ä u ß e r e
Faktoren miteinander zu verbinden.
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