Literary scholars and literary critics in Poland have been debating for over 20 years whether the year 1989 can be defined as a historic turning point in Polish literature. Among German scholars of German literature and German feature writers there is more consensus with regard to "their" literature; for most, the political turning point and the collapse of real socialism in 1989 also signified the end of so-called ideological aesthetics (Gesinnungsästhetik), in other words a departure from politico-moralistic programmes in the spirit of Group 47 or the reform-oriented socialist authors in the GDR. The co-occurrence of such decisive events in politics and literature is generally taken for granted in Germany. The critical scrutiny of "turning point rhetoric" (Thomas Anz) is clearly an exception. Polish and German observers agree only on the fact that since 1989, Poland and Germany experienced more momentous political, economic and societal changes than before. This is reason enough to scrutinise the question whether since 1989 such new literary concepts and/or significant works have emerged in both countries that besides the transformation of cultural institutions one can speak of a new beginning within the symbolic system of literature.

Prof. Dr. Carsten Gansel lehrt Neuere deutsche Literatur und Literatur- und Mediendidaktik an der Universität Gießen. Dr. Markus Joch ist Associate Professor am Department of German Literature der Keio University in Tokyo. Dr. habil. Monika Wolting ist wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am Germanistischen Institut der Universität Wroclaw.