Abstract
The background of this study is the end of the 1950s, a representative moment in Austrian history, which was characterized by some developments in social life. These developments searched for partnership and harmony, without dealing with the country’s past in relation to Nazism. Against this situation, some important writers of Austrian literature appear and are guided by aesthetic formalizations that promote a critical historic setting, mainly due to Benjamin’s historical-materialist approach. The aim of this paper is to analyze two literary texts: the short story Unter Mördern und Irren (written in 1956-7, published in 1961), by Ingeborg Bachmann and the novel Auslöschung (1986), by Thomas Bernhard.
Keywords:
Literature and society; Austrian literature; Ingeborg Bachmann; Thomas Bernhard; Walter Benjamin