Taking Sides: Stefan Heym’s Historical Fiction

Stefan Heym was one of the most prominent critical writers of the German Democratic Republic, yet of the seven novels which he wrote and published there, five had historical settings. Meg Tait has worked closely with Heym’s archive. Focusing on the representation of historical figures, events and processes in selected works and in GDR political discourses and historical studies, she explores the range of motives and aims which lay behind the author’s lasting attraction to historical fiction. Heym consistently denied that he was a ‘dissident’ writer, but prided himself on his independent mind. The study offers a nuanced interpretation of his engagement with and understanding of political and cultural developments in the GDR.