Among the most special writers of ** of ** 20th -century German literature* Despite his literary value, Kestner succumbed to the embrace of Nazismwhich sealed its course and its place in history.

The readings of German soldiers in occupation Greece

Eighty years after the end of World War II remains unclear what the books read by the German soldiers in occupied Greece. However, it is certain that the book “Greece” by Earhart Kestner It was found in the hands of many of them, since it was written specifically for this purpose. Kestner’s influence shaped Greece’s image in Germany, especially during the 1950s and 60s.

His first contact with Greece came in 1941, during the Occupation, when he traveled as a German Air Force official. Using his position, he obtained permission from the military administration and toured the country to write a book that would distribute to Vermacht soldiers to familiarize them with the Greek surroundings.

Thus, in December 1942 his first book was published “Greece”· A high quality writing work, which nevertheless incorporated elements of Nazi propaganda, presenting Greece as a cradle of classical culture, as if it were the modern country deserted by residents, even if they suffered all of the German occupation.

The post -war writing work and the review of the depository

At the end of the war, Kestner was in Rhodes under British captivity and transferred to an Egyptian camp. After its release and return to Germany, purifies his original work Removing the propaganda villages and in 1953 he re -publishes the book entitled “Olives. Vineyards. ” In the revised version, for example, the scene is removed where the German soldiers on a stopped train are likened to “Homer’s blonde”now emphasizing the cultural substance without propaganda.

The new version is exempt from nationalist references and now gives a different perspective: not a country that has degenerated and is intended to be conquered by “fine” northern tribes, but of a Greece of timeless value. His post -war books such as “Crete” (1946), “The School of Korydallis” (1964, for Delos) and “Greek Islands” (1975, Post -Edition), prove this turn.

Contemporary Kestner’s evaluation – a writer with dual inheritance

What does Earhart Kestner finally represent today? Was a one literary opportunist And a companion or a sensitive writer who despite his compromises and his time still maintains our interest? The answer is dual.

OR historical assessment His personality requires that its dark spots are illuminated. However, his contribution to touring literature has a depth, a stochasticity and a sharpness that transcends the usual patterns of surface philhellenism. His work remains the subject of study and evaluation, regardless of the shadows of the past.