Published: 2024-09-02

Stanisław Lem’s Science Fiction Literature and Literary Censorship in the GDR in the 1950s and 1960s

Marek Rajch
Kultura-Media-Teologia
Section: Artykuły i rozprawy
https://doi.org/10.21697/kmt.2024.58.14

Abstract

One of the most recognisable Polish post-war authors, Stanisław Lem enjoyed tremendous popularity and recognition among the readership in both German states. This was doubtless a result of the high artistic value and attractiveness of his texts; moreover, their publication guaranteed economic success for the publishing houses. From the point of view of the operation of censorship in totalitarian states, the attitude of literary censorship in the GDR towards Lem’s works is particularly fascinating. This paper presents the procedure for authorising the printing of Lem’s four texts: The Astronauts, The Star Diaries, The Magellanic Cloud, and The Invincible. Analysis covers the 1950s and 1960s, when the system of institutional censorship in the GDR was undergoing successive transformations until it eventually developed in 1963.

Keywords:

literary censorship, science fiction literature, GDR

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