Poetry in the Service of Politics

The Case of Adam Mickiewicz in Communist Poland and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in East Germany

This book analyzes the ideology-based reception of Adam Mickiewicz in Communist Poland and of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in East Germany, the dynamics of that process and the strategies used to exploit the iconic status of the poets for the purpose of reaffirming the legitimacy of the new system. The basic question tackled here concerns the similarities and differences between the Polish and German styles of harnessing poets into the service of politics. These issues are presented in view of the cultural and political life, i.e. public appearances by prominent politicians and culture activists, Marxist history of literature and literary works that ennobled Mickiewicz and Goethe in a hagiographic manner.