War Diary

Ingeborg Bachmann's War Diary is a collection of sketches that depict the last months of World War II and the first year of the British occupation of Austria. It reveals her hatred of war and Nazism and her meeting with a British officer, Jack Hamesh, a Jew who had fled Vienna for England in 1938. The diary provides insight into Bachmann's formation as a writer and a poignant glimpse into life in Austria in the immediate aftermath of the war.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 108 pages
\n Publication date: 29 March 2018
\n Publisher: Seagull Books London Ltd
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Austrian writer Ingeborg Bachmann (1926-73) is widely regarded as one of the most significant novelists, poets, and playwrights of postwar German literature. Given her remarkable versatility as a writer, her War Diary is not a mere day-by-day journal but rather a collection of sketches that depict the final months of World War II and the initial year of the subsequent British occupation of Austria. These articulate and powerful entries, all the more remarkable considering Bachmann's young age at the time, reveal the 18-year-old's deep-seated hatred of war and Nazism as she navigates the fanatics' unwavering determination to defend Klagenfurt to the last man and woman.

The British occupation ultimately leads to an incredible encounter between Bachmann and a British officer named Jack Hamesh. Hamesh, a Jew who had originally fled Vienna for England in 1938, is astonished to find in Austria a young girl who has delved into the works of banned authors such as Mann, Schnitzler, and Hofmannsthal. Their relationship is beautifully captured in the emotional and moving letters Hamesh writes to Bachmann during his travels to Israel in 1946. In his correspondence, he describes the lingering sense of rootlessness that affects so many individuals who have lost parents, family, friends, and homes during the war.

War Diary offers an exceptional insight into Bachmann's artistic development and is sure to be cherished by her numerous fans. However, it extends beyond her personal experiences to provide a poignant glimpse into life in Austria in the immediate aftermath of the war. The reflections of both Bachmann and Hamesh speak to a broader and more significant narrative that encompasses the collective experiences of those who lived through such a tumultuous period.

\n Weight: 106g\n
Dimension: 135 x 174 x 11 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9780857425324\n \n