“The Reed” and Post War Germany Anna Seghers’ “The Reed” is a story of a young woman, Marta Emrich, living in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany during and after the Second World War. She is a quiet, simple woman, who spends her days tending to her family’s house and property. However, in a mere 10 pages, Marta undergoes a transition that mirrors that of Germany’s people from the end of WWII to the 1950s. As unfortunate events continue to transpire, Marta holds onto silent hope that things will get better, and ultimately finds herself proud of her life. During the war, Marta is plagued by the loss of friends and family, and begins to live a devastating, lonely life. She resembles most Germans during the war: silently waiting for the devastation
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He is an aggressive former soldier, who has the belief that the world “needs war” (Seghers 235). This suggests that he supported the war and the injustices that happened because of it. He is cruel to Martha, and makes her fear living at home. He represents the Nazis living among the rest of the population after the war. All four occupying nations wanted to rid Germany of antifascist ideals, but a number of those individuals remained. The GDR hoped to propagandize against them, portraying former soldiers as the enemy of the public. Though he was cruel, Marta begins to speak up and stand up for herself more than she ever had. In this way, she embodies those who rose up against authority and those who made choices on behalf of the Germans, such as the political leaders after the war. Finally, Marta finds peace within herself. When she fails to find her friend, Kurt, she returns home, meets a man, and they marry. Though she isn’t left with much, she had something that “belonged to her and her alone; and it was not an object but an experience” (Seghers 237). This was the ideology of the German people after the war. Though times were difficult and living day-to-day was a seemingly endless struggle, they had each other and their memories to cherish. Objects were not easily come by, so experience was deeply
He is an aggressive former soldier, who has the belief that the world “needs war” (Seghers 235). This suggests that he supported the war and the injustices that happened because of it. He is cruel to Martha, and makes her fear living at home. He represents the Nazis living among the rest of the population after the war. All four occupying nations wanted to rid Germany of antifascist ideals, but a number of those individuals remained. The GDR hoped to propagandize against them, portraying former soldiers as the enemy of the public. Though he was cruel, Marta begins to speak up and stand up for herself more than she ever had. In this way, she embodies those who rose up against authority and those who made choices on behalf of the Germans, such as the political leaders after the war. Finally, Marta finds peace within herself. When she fails to find her friend, Kurt, she returns home, meets a man, and they marry. Though she isn’t left with much, she had something that “belonged to her and her alone; and it was not an object but an experience” (Seghers 237). This was the ideology of the German people after the war. Though times were difficult and living day-to-day was a seemingly endless struggle, they had each other and their memories to cherish. Objects were not easily come by, so experience was deeply