« Mon unique vie est entre 2 pays »

Thomas Brasch (1945-2001), who left the GDR for the FRG in December 1976 after the Biermann affair, is often regarded as an emblematic figure of the exiled East German writer. However, if we take into account Brasch’s statements on this subject, his migration is not so much to be considered as a decisive break in his career or his artistic work as an indication of the transnational character of the latter. Highlighting Brasch’s experience of exile reactivates other exiles experiences, such as that linked to his Jewishness, which is evoked in his works, or the aesthetic and political ruptures (such as his interest in American rock music) that marked his years in the GDR and persisted after he settled in West Germany : indeed, he never ceased to occupy positions of in-betweenness and to refuse all assignments. The example of Brasch thus leads us to contextualise works by GDR writers who have moved to FRG differently than before and to view them more in a transnational perspective - instead of classifying them as “GDR literature”.