Parteischule oder Dichterschmiede? The "Abwicklung" of the Institut für Literatur "Johannes R. Becher"

The Institut fuer Literatur "Johannes R. Becher" was the GDR's academy for socialist writers, and its alumni included some of East Germany's major authors. Following the collapse of East German socialism, the Institute was criticized as a mere instrument of SED cultural policy. Yet this small institution was able to provide young writers with relative, if fragile, freedom, which was always dependent upon the political climate of the times. The survival strategies developed by the Institute under state socialism nevertheless proved to be a handicap as it fought for survival in the wake of German unification.