GRASS AND GRIMMELSHAUSEN: INTERTEXTUALITY BETWEEN WARS

Abstract

Grimmelshausen’s influence on Günter Grass prose can be verified from Grass’ first novel Die Blechtrommel (1956). In the first volume of Grass’ autobiographical trilogy, Beim Häuten der Zwiebel (2006), the dialogue between Grass and the author of The Adventurous Simplicissimus finds its importance in the process of reconstitution of Grass’ memories from a crucial moment of his life: his enrollment for the Waffen-SS and his participation in the Second World War. In order to remake his remembrance of that period, he makes intertextual use of Grimmelshausen’s narrative of the Thirty Years War. The aim of this paper is to analyze how Grass dealt with intertextuality in his autobiographical prose and the importance of this narrative strategy.