Grass, Gunter Crabwalk

Originally published in Germany in 2002 under the title Im Krebsgang: Eine Novelle. Nobel Prize winner Grass’ brilliant novel deals with the hitherto nearly forgotten Jan. 1945 sinking of the German cruise liner WILHELM GUSTLOFF by a Soviet submarine in the Baltic Sea which resulted in over 9,000 civilian casualties (the vessel had been packed with German nationals attempting to flee the Red Army). Grass’ work has already been declared a masterpiece in Germany, and his English-speaking audience will surely concur. Grass vividly describes the GUSTLOFF, from her 1937 launch as a “Strength through Joy” (“Kraft durch Freude”) cruise ship intended for German working class holidays to her tragic end in the freezing waters of the Baltic Sea. Questions about German collective guilt for the Nazi era and victimhood, about familial silence and about the ways in which history has been rewritten are at the heart of Grass’ work as he examines Germany’s war past as it relates to both present day reunited Germany and the Germany of the 21st Century — all reflected through the horrific prism of the GUSTLOFF disaster.