acquisation of the estate of the writer Volker Braun

• Applicant: Dr. Wolfgang Trautwein
• Subject Area: German Literary and Cultural Studies (Modern German Literature)
• Term: from 2014 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 253401174

The Akademie der Künste, Berlin, is planning to acquire the estate of the German writer Volker Braun, which is considered a national cultural heritage and needs to be preserved for the future, catalogued and made accessible for all kinds of research. The materials include the complete literary works, the preliminary stages in preproduction in its entirety, diaries and notebooks, his correspondence (approximately 20.000 sheets of paper), copies of his works and his own library for personal research, secondary literature on his oeuvre and collections of photos, audiovisuals, posters etc. as well as manuscripts of other authors. The academy’s personel will catalogue the estate supported by it’s own personal funds. Themes of special interest for future research will be Braun’s position in literature and society, especially in the GDR, which will provide essential insights into German history of literature and theatre as well as into entire cultural history, particularly during the period from 1965 till 1990 and the period after German reunification.

• DFG Programme: Acquisition and Provision (Scientific Library Services and Information Systems)