Edition of Erich Fried’s “Intimus” broadcasted by the BBC into the GDR (1953–68)

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Carsten Gansel
• Subject Area: German Literary and Cultural Studies (Modern German Literature) ; Theatre and Media Studies
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 554278111

Fried is one of the most outstanding personalities of German post-war literature. From his exile in London, he broadcast the weekly radio program "Personal Observations” (“Persönliche Betrachtungen", code word of BBC: "Intimus") from 1953 to 1968. For about 8 min. Fried addressed listeners in the GDR and critically referred to literary, political, philosophical, art theoretical and psychological topics. With a few exceptions, these broadcasts were never printed and have also hardly been investigated. The Austrian National Library (ANL), which administers Fried's estate, possesses handwritten annotated typescripts of 319 of “Intimus” broadcasts, some of them in different versions (620 in total), in addition to 3 audio recordings of them. The scholarly digital edition and commentary of these broadcasts will make an essential contribution to the intertwining of politics and literature in European post-war history, particularly in German-speaking countries, as well as to radio history. The project aims to make these culturally and politically insightful documents accessible and to supplement them with documents from other archives. For the commentary 5 research questions are crucial: (1) Which argumentative, rhetorical and stylistic features characterize the broadcasts? (2) Which topics are discussed? (3) How do literary experiment and political commitment relate to each other? (4) What changes in content and impact strategies can be identified over time? (5) What were the (in-)official reactions to the broadcasts in the GDR? The answers to these questions will show the connection between linguistic interventions and changing social conditions and institutions in the former GDR, the FRG and GB. The material will first be transcribed, digitally edited and extensively annotated. The commentary will offer a detailed introduction to the broadcasts, an index (persons, places, artistic works, institutions, events) and explanations of Fried's positions, topics and argumentation strategies. Besides the scholarly digital edition, a print edition of selected broadcasts for the wider public will be produced. The project (1) is a milestone in international research on Fried; (2) opens up a hitherto little-researched part of the media history of the BBC's "German-Soviet/Eastern Zone Program"; (3) provides deep insights into (a) the literary and political discussions within the German-speaking world, in particular the German left, in the 1950s and 1960s, and (b) the interdependence of literary currents and developments in the literary, cultural and political institutions of the GDR and FRG.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Austria
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Roland Innerhofer