Heiner Müller, Der Bau [Construction Site]

John Milfull (University of New South Wales)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1965

Places

Germany (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

Based on motifs from Erik Neutsch’s novel Spur der Steine [Track of the Stones, 1964] Der Bau [Construction Site] was written in 1963/1964, published in 1965, but not performed until 1980. With Der Bau, the storm that had greeted Müller’s final attempt to “correct” Die Umsiedlerin turned into a hurricane which blew him into a personal “ice age” that was to last for nearly a decade.

In structure and content, the new play represented a return to the world of industrial reconstruction of Die Korrektur. In the mud and chaos of the construction site GDR a new society is struggling to emerge. The problems are familiar – apathy and subversion in the work force, alienation of t…

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384 words

Citation: Milfull, John. "Der Bau". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 March 2005 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=14467, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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