Stephan Hermlin is one of the important writers who, after returning from exile in 1945, hoped to take part in the efforts to reconstruct and shape the new Germany. Antifascist resistance is at the root of all his creative endeavors, which span a wide variety of genres from lyric poetry, short prose, translations, and a radio play to reports, speeches, and literary essays. Hermlin’s public persona and his literary work in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) have incurred enthusiastic admiration as well as harsh criticism. He struggled throughout his career to combine an almost religious loyalty to the workers’ movement and the communist party, courageous critical stance against the repressive cultural policy of the Socialist Unity P…
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Citation: Ertl, Wolfgang. "Stephan Hermlin". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 April 2006 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=11703, accessed 21 November 2024.]
