Monday 3 September, 2007

Gazeta Wyborcza 03.09.2007

In an interview published in German in the Polish daily, journalist Adam Krzeminski speaks with German historian Heinrich August Winkler about the complex German-Polish relations (more here). Winkler comments: "On the Polish side, it's difficult to ignore the groups that foment anti-German sentiment. They exploit the organisations of German expellees as an element in the political equation... In my opinion, however, fears in Poland of the loss of its newly recovered sovereignty to the EU are much more important than nationalist sentiments of some Polish politicians. This supranational association of states executes its sovereignty partly collectively, and partly through supranational institutions. Similar fears also exist among other new EU member states, and older members should handle them extremely carefully. This is also why I found the the term 'European constitution' ill-considered. It was bound to provoke resistance, and not just in Poland or the UK. If you want to carry out reforms necessary for the smooth functioning of the EU, you should avoid provoking such fears."


Süddeutsche Zeitung 03.09.2007

In a sombre report from Russia, Sonja Margolina describes how the Orthodox Church sees itself as a go-between among the government and the population. "The Orthodox 'Declaration of Human Dignity and Rights,' which was passed at the world congress of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow in 2006, opposes the liberal human rights of the West with 'higher values' like belief, morality and saintliness. Individual freedom only holds in limited circumstances, which are set by the traditional morals and historical religions. Public discussion is now focussing on whether the 'Sobornost' - which has made its voice heard in the criminal proceedings against the exhibition 'Beware, Religion!' - will consolidate its power as a clerical fascism, or as a milder form of 'Orthodox capitalism.' The consequences of the latter would be an upsurge in xenophobia and the bloody ethnic conflicts in the country."


Neue Zürcher Zeitung 03.09.2007

Poet and essayist Zafer Senocak is hopeful that the election of Abdullah Gül as president will set Turkey on the road to Europe. But an open and democratic society is still a long way off, particularly in the East of the country. "Authoritarian top-down modernisation is a closed chapter. The old elite represented by the bureaucrats and military went to seed after failing to meet the challenges of the globalised world order. The Anatolians however are confident and ambitious. They are keen to improve living standards and spruce up their towns and cities. But are they also prepared to change their conservative traditions? They probably don't have a choice. But they have a long road ahead of them." Read more articles by Zafer Senocak here.


Saturday 1 September, 2007

Die Welt 01.09.2007

German philosopher Rüdiger Safranski's study on "Romantik" (Romanticism) is too German in outlook, writes Paul Michael Lützeler. "The English Romantics were - just think of Coleridge and Wordsworth - involved in the literary fight against Napoleon far earlier and more effectively than Kleist, who failed to have any of his political poems, polemics or dramas published, let alone performed. Byron was no less 'Greek' in his mindset than Hölderlin. For his part, the painter-poet William Blake also searched for a new mythology. The enthusiasm for popular songs, the discovery of the national heritage, poetic new orientations, a fondness for the mysterious and the uncanny: all of that is also present in the writings of Keats and Shelly. With her 'Frankenstein', Mary Shelly attracted far more attention to herself in Europe and in the world, than E.T.A. Hoffmann with his 'Elixiren des Teufels.' By the same token the German horror novel remained in the shadows of the English Gothic novel. Walter Scott was, as author of historical novels, far more influential internationally than Arnim, Fouque or Tieck."


Süddeutsche Zeitung 01.09.2007

The author Sibylle Lewitscharoff was bowled over by the exhibition in Berlin's German Historical Museum on Karl May (1842-1912), the best-selling wild west fantasy novelist whose books were so popularly filmed in the 1960's. "Why is there so much to be gleaned from Karl May the man? What makes this exhibition so good? Karl May was dealt a rare destiny in which the vices, desires, and lusts of an entire epoch ignited as if through a magnifying glass. A single life that speaks volumes for millions of others plagued by similar dreams, grievances, and the same way of lying to themselves. If one can get beyond his dizzying heights and enter into atmospheric layers where one can see clearly and breath calmly, and if the transition takes place without recourse to malice and know-it-all foolhardiness, then a masterpiece will emerge. As the savvy compilers of this admirable exhibition have proved."


Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 01.09.2007

At the Venice Film Festival, Michael Althen watched Brian de Palma's "Redacted": "Cinema's most radical answer to Abu Ghraib." "De Palma shows everyday life in this American outpost in Samara, the crippling routine, the omnipresent fear, the forced camaraderie – and the escalation of apathy in the rape of a fifteen-year-old Iraqi girl and the murder of her family. Where other war films use authenticity to grab the viewer's attention, De Palma delivers such sustained blows to one's perception that the manipulation remains tangible at all times. It is his unswerving use of realism as a means to an end that makes his film so disturbing and malevolent."