Homecoming

This is the text of the speech given by Günter Kunert at the presentation of the Goethe-Medal by President von Weizsäcker to Michael Hamburger, at the Goethe Institute, London, 4 July 1986.

The most recent selection of Michael Hamburger's poetry was published in Munich two years ago, under the title: Heimgekommen. The title implies a declaration on the part of the poet that after many delays he has finally reached a long-desired destination. Homecoming' suggests peace and reconciliation. It also evokes the story of The Prodigal Son, whose family celebrates his return home by holding a banquet, which rounds the story off with a happy ending. Yet the impression this title creates is a false one. We cannot possibly travel back in time from Michael Hamburger's later years as a refugee and exile to rediscover, in the early period of his life, what became of his lost years, his stolen youth. No such home- coming is possible. Least of all for a person like Michael Hamburger who, since he happens to be Jewish, was forced to leave his so-called homeland while still a child. Michael Hamburger was born in 1924, five years before I was. Affected by similar events, I lived through what he experienced from a distance: the ruthless extermination of the Jewish minority - a section of the population who contributed much to the distinctive character of what we cosily - but inappropriately - call our 'homeland'. To be a reality, ...