Research

 

Serving as a forum for literature and the visual arts, our house offers optimum conditions for research on the multi-faceted works by Günter Grass and on interdisciplinary issues in general. The Günter Grass-Haus accommodates a reference library with 2,000 volumes on the oeuvre of the Nobel laureate and also on the works of other multi-gifted artists, a media archive and a collection archive comprising the writer's manuscripts as well as his pictorial artistic estate.

The library contains several editions and study editions of Günter Grass' literary texts, including rare first releases and numerous foreign language publications. The collection of secondary literature is continuously kept up-to-date and reflects the state of the art in literary, art historical and comparative research. The media archive with audio and video recordings of readings and interviews as well as film documentaries complement our portfolio. According to our exhibition concept, the library of dual talents offers insights into the creation of other artists with interdisciplinary approaches, such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Ernst Barlach, Wilhelm Busch, Hermann Hesse or Friedrich Dürrenmatt.

The collection archive houses the manuscripts written by Günter Grass in the years between 1996 and 2002, after his secretariat was moved from Berlin to Lübeck and before this house was established in his name. These papers give a good comprehension of how individual narrative works and poems evolved from the first handwritten version up to the final galley proof. The pictorial artistic estate that is kept in this house comprises some 1,200 drawings, graphic prints and watercolours by the artist, all of them closely related to his texts.

Our online catalogue allows researching the books and pictorial works from the collection inventory.

The library and the archives of the Günter Grass-Haus can be visited during the opening hours from Monday to Friday upon prior notice. For this purpose and for any other scientific questions, please refer to:

Britta Dittmann
Scientific Associate
E-Mail: britta.dittmann@luebeck.de
Telephone: + 49 (0)451 - 122 42 35 (Fridays) 

Dr. Jörg-Philipp Thomsa
Museum Director
E-Mail: joerg-philipp.thomsa@luebeck.de
Telephone: + 49 (0)451 - 122 42 31