Literature Prize scandal: Bremen Senate kisses Günter Grass out of his sight!

Literature Prize scandal: Bremen Senate kisses Günter Grass out of his sight!

August 18, 2025 marks the anniversary of a scandalous incident in German literary history that had a profound impact on the awarding of awards. In 1960, the Bremen Senate canceled the award of the literary prize to Günter Grass for his important work “The Tin Drum”. The Senate justified this decision with “moral reasons” and thus went against the jury, which in turn had agreed to an award. In the years since 1954, the literary prize has not only been awarded to Grass, but also to well-known authors such as Ingeborg Bachmann and Paul Celan. The resulting scandal led to a fundamental reformation of the literary prize in 1962, from now on awarded by an independent foundation in order to avoid such controversies as fernuni-hagen.de reported.

A group of students from the FernUniversität in Hagen have intensively studied the archive documents of the incident. During their research in the state archives and the Günter Grass media archive, they came across interesting details about the debates at the time. Kerstin Herrnkind, one of the students, was able to establish a personal connection to the topic due to her previous work at the taz in Bremen. Annemarie Mevissen, who served as youth senator in 1960, was a central figure in the dispute and was massively criticized for her decision. The public opinion on her assessment was that she had rejected the award for reasons of protecting minors. Mevissen expressed ambivalence about the book, which she viewed as being on the way to world literature, but saw parts of it as “downright perverse,” according to the students’ research.

The meaning of “The Tin Drum”

“The Tin Drum,” published in 1959, tells the story of little Oskar Matzerath, who decides at the age of three to stop growing. The book is not only an autobiographical novel, but also deals with the experiences during National Socialism and the post-war period in Gdansk. It is considered one of the most influential German novels of the 20th century and reflects the complex mechanisms of social repression. Grass' work was both a literary and a social contribution to coming to terms with the past.

Günter Grass himself, born on October 16, 1927 in Danzig, left a controversial legacy. His life and work cannot be viewed without a critical look at the time in which he served as a soldier in the Waffen-SS. This membership repeatedly gave rise to serious debates about his moral authority. Grass, who died in 2015, was nevertheless known as a Nobel Prize winner in literature and a critical intellectual. His political statements and his commitment, especially to the SPD, shaped his public image. Later, the poem “What must be said” caused a stir and was criticized as anti-Semitic, which again led to divisions,](https://www.fr.de/kultur/literatur/guenter-grass-biografie-literatur-nobelpreis-zweiter-weltkrieg-kontroversen-92723506.html) is the perspective that Harro Zimmermann has in his comprehensive biography of Grass offers.

Current developments in connection with Günter Grass

In the present, the discussion continues to cast shadows on the Günter Grass Foundation, which awards the “Albatross” literary prize. The US author Dave Eggers, who was invited to the upcoming awards ceremony, canceled his participation at short notice. In his statement, he criticized the need to address Grass' controversial statements on Israel and Iran. Eggers' rejection is not directed against the foundation or the prize itself, but rather reflects the deep conflict that shapes Grass' legacy. The Günter Grass Foundation awards the highly endowed literary prize, which has been awarded every two years since 2006, with prize money of 40,000 euros. Eggers and his translators share this prize for his work “Zeitoun,” which is considered a plea for moral courage. In the award, the jury also recognized the outstanding translation by Ulrike Wasel and Klaus Timmermann.