Christa Wolf, Kein Ort, nirgends : an analysis : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in German at Massey University

Some German throughout.1961 was an historic year for the German Democratic Republic. The erection of the Berlin Wall effectively sealed off East from West. In that same year Christa Wolf published her first work of fiction: Moskauer Novelle.1 1.Christa Wolf, Moskauer Novelle in: Romanzeitung 204 (Ber1in, 1961), pp.57-95. As part of an East German medical delegation visiting Moscow in 1959, Vera Brauer meets and falls in love with Pawel Koschkin, a Russian interpreter. Victims of fascism (Vera of Hitlerism, Pawel of Stalinism), the two characters discuss the future socialism will bring: Bei allem aber wird er (der Mensch) - und das wird seine grösste Leistung sein - kein Roboter werden, kein perfektioniertes Ungetüm, sondern endlich: Mensch.2 2.Ibid p. 75. Christa Wolf affirms that, in the future, socialism should become orientated towards humanism (in the general sense of the word) and serve the individual to realize himself. This is the central theme of all Christa Wolf's works.3 3.Cf. Christa Wolf, "Lesen und Schreiben" in: Lesen und Schreiben Neue Sammlung (Darmstadt and Neuwied, 1980), p. 43: "Eine der wichtigsten Voraussetzungen für das Entstehen von Literatur ist aber Sehnsucht nach Selbstverwirklichung: daher der Zwang des Aufschreibens, als vielleicht einzige Möglichkeit des Autors, sich nicht zu verfehlen (...)." She, however, does not politicize literature, although political overtones may occur. Hers is a human message to fellow human beings: Was ist das: Dieses Zu-sich-selber-Kommen des Menschen?4 4.Christa Wolf takes these words from Johannes Becher, a former cultural minister of the German Democratic Republic. They serve as a motto for Christa Wolf's later work Nachdenken über Christa T. (Neuwied and Berlin, 1969). Es ist ein grosser Gedanke, dass der Mensch nicht zur Ruhe kommt, ehe er zu sich selber gefunden hat. Die tiefe Wurzel der Übereinstimmung zwischen echter Literatur und der sozialistischen Gesellschaft sehe ich eben darin: Beide haben das Ziel, dem Menschen zu seiner Selbst-verwirkliching zu verhelfen.5 5.Christa Wolf, "Selbstinterview" in: Lesen und Schreiben Neue Sammlung, pp. 52-5

Outside, Inside by Michael Penny

Review of Michael Penny\u27s Outside, Inside

International Law and the American National Interest

There are those, John Bolton and Paul Stephan among them, who worry that international law poses something of a threat to the US national interest. They argue that the United States should disengage from international law and international institutions, that to the degree the United States involves itself in foreign affairs, it should favor unilateral over multilateral action. To others, this concern seems misplaced: what does the sole superpower have to fear from international law? Moreover, the response continues, even if international law is not directly beneficial to the United States, it is dearly beneficial to at least some other countries. Therefore, the non-threatened and magnanimous superpower should support the creation of an effective international legal system that would enable others to cooperate, develop, and prosper. These two positions, which might be characterized as the realist position and the idealist position, are both flawed. International law is in fact very much in the US national interest. For the United States, engagement with international law and international institutions offers a stability in international politics-and therefore security-that could never be achieved through isolationism and unilateralism

Operation “Canada”: 5th Canadian Armoured Division’s Attack on Delfzijl, 23 April to 2 May 1945

Operation “Canada” was the last action fought 5th Canadian Armoured Division in the Second World War. The battle to open the northern Dutch port of Delfzijl lasted ten days, and cost the Division a total of 62 dead and 180 wounded. Yet it has largely been forgotten. The capture of Delfzijl is interesting enough to be worth studying in its own right. As one of the last Canadian actions in the war, it reveals the level of proficiency achieved by Canadian soldiers by that time. The reduction of the pocket was carried out with a high degree of efficiency, and saw excellent cooperation between all combat arms. It is also a useful reminder that for many Canadians the costly fighting did not end in North-West Europe until the very last days of the war