The Waffen-SS and Other Revelations in Günter Grass's: 'Beim Häuten der Zwiebel'

Abstract

Günter Grass's (belated?) "confession" or revelation that he had been a member of the Waffen-SS created headlines and controversy in Germany even before the publication of his autobiographical memoir 'Beim Häuten der Zwiebel' [Peeling the Onion] in August 2006.Whether it was a deliberate marketing ploy, or an innocent revelation of hitherto suppressed parts of his past, may perhaps be debated, but of importance is the impact this "outing" had on German society more than sixty years after the end of World War II. It is perhaps no coincidence in this context that four years earlier in February 2002 Grass's novella 'Im Krebsgang' [Crabwalk] was "launched" in a similar manner, in that 'Der Spiegel' published a cover story, including a detailed review of the novella, before the publication date, which was subsequently brought forward by several weeks. In a similar way 'Beim Häuten der Zwiebel', which was planned to be released surely not coincidentally on 1 September, was brought forward by several weeks following the controversial interview with the 'Frankfurter Allgemeine' on 12 August 2006, and like 'Krebsgang' before it, immediately shot to the top of the 'Spiegel' bestseller list (see 'Der Spiegel', 35, 28.8.06, where the book immediately attained first place). It remained in the top twenty for about eleven weeks.