Todtnauberg by Paul Celan
"**Todtnauberg**" is a poem by Paul Celan, written after his singular encounter with the renowned philosopher Martin Heidegger in 1966. The title refers to Heidegger's home in the Black Forest of Germany, embodying themes of death and nature through its components—"Tod" (death) and "Berg" (mountain). The poem has sparked significant debate among contemporary philosophers, particularly in France, but also across Germany, England, and the United States, due to its challenging and allusive nature. This complexity may leave readers feeling that the poem is difficult to penetrate without understanding its background.
During his visit, Celan and Heidegger engaged in conversation, and the poem reflects on this meeting, beginning with bright imagery of healing herbs, suggesting initial hope. However, as the poem progresses, the tone shifts, introducing elements of unease and oppression in the natural landscape, which may mirror Celan's internal conflict regarding Heidegger’s controversial past, notably his association with Nazism. Interpretations of the poem vary, with some suggesting that Celan sought an explanation or apology from Heidegger, while others view it as a gesture of hope in the philosopher's potential for healing thought. Ultimately, "Todtnauberg" remains a rich and layered work, inviting readers to explore the interplay of philosophy, history, and personal experience.
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Todtnauberg by Paul Celan
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1970 (collected in Selected Poems and Prose of Paul Celan, 2001)
Type of work: Poem
The Work
“Todtnauberg” was inspired by Celan’s single encounter with one of the most famous philosophers of the twentieth century, Martin Heidegger. It has been the center of a fierce debate, most of which has taken place in France among contemporary philosophers, but the poem has been discussed at length in Germany, England, the United States, and elsewhere. It is a difficult poem because of its compression and allusiveness; without knowing its background the reader may find it impenetrable.
Todtnauberg was the name of Heidegger’s home in the Black Mountains of Germany, and therefore this title cannot be translated, although the name’s components reflect some of Celan’s preoccupations: Tod (death) and Berg (mountain). In 1966, after giving a reading, Celan was taken to a meeting with Heidegger at Todtnauberg. The two went for a walk and talked, and Celan wrote in Heidegger’s guest book in his home. Then Celan went back to his hotel. That very week, he wrote the poem, identifying the time and place of composition.
Heidegger remains a major figure in contemporary theory. His reputation has been tainted by his association with Nazism, and rumors of this connection were already afloat when he met Celan. He was interested in Celan’s work and Celan in his; Heidegger went to hear Celan read his work. However, the issue of Heidegger’s politics remained a barrier between them.
In the poem, Celan describes his single visit with the German philosopher at Todtnauberg. The beginning seems bright with hope, as the first images in the poem are of the healing herbs, arnica and eyebright, that Celan spotted upon his arrival there. (Heidegger was impressed by Celan’s knowledge of botany.) The speaker then takes a drink from a well—perhaps another symbol of hope and renewal. This is followed by his writing in the guest book, which is almost exactly what he wrote to Heidegger: “a hope, today,/ for a thinker’s/ word/ to come,/ in the heart.” (Translation is by Pierre Joris.) The question is: Was Celan asking for an explanation or an apology from Heidegger himself? The “thinker” is probably Heidegger.
In the poem, Celan is then driven back to his hotel, as he was after the actual visit. Upon leaving, he talks of how nature now appears: orchids, log trails, and dampness. There is a suggested unpleasantness: “Krudes,” or crudeness, is shown, probably by another passenger, and the driver is witness to it. The trip continues with nature now appearing oppressive and overbearing.
As in many poems, the speaker is effaced; the event seems to happen unobserved. This poem includes only one reference to “us” and the rest is objective; Celan’s later poetry tends to place the subject matter outside of the recorder. This makes the poem difficult to decipher. Is the crudeness indeed from another passenger? It is not identified. Or is it some insight into the visit that has just ended? Could it be that Celan has simply decided that no hope could possibly be justified, despite what he has just written in Heidegger’s guest book?
Some argue that Celan is asking in the poem for an apology from Heidegger that does not come. Others think that he is looking to Heidegger as a thinker who could help the healing process. If the former, Heidegger did not seem to read the poem that way; he felt honored by it.
Bibliography
Burnside, Sheridan. “Senselessness in Paul Celan’s Mohn und Gedächtnis.” German Life and Letters 59, no. 1 (2006): 140-150.
Cassian, Nina. “’We Will Be Back and Up to Drown at Home’: Notes on Paul Celan.” Parnassus: Poetry in Review 15, no. 1 (1988): 108-129.
Chalfen, Israel. Paul Celan: A Biography of His Youth. Translated by Maximilian Bleyleben. New York: Persea Books, 1991.
Dutoit, Thomas, ed. Sovereignties in Question: The Poetics of Paul Celan. New York: Fordham University Press, 2005.
Felsteiner, John. Paul Celan: Poet, Survivor, Jew. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1995.
Geuss, Raymond. “Celan’s Meridian.” Boundary Two: An International Journal of Literature and Culture 33, no. 3 (Fall, 2006): 201-226.
Myers, Saul. “The Way Through the Human-Shaped Snow: Paul Celan’s Job.” Studies in Twentieth-Century Literature 11, no. 2 (Spring, 1987): 213-228.
New German Critique: An Interdisciplinary Journal of German Studies 91 (Winter, 2004): 5-189. An issue devoted to Paul Celan.
Roditi, Edouard, “Paul Celan and the Cult of Personality,” World Literature Today 66, no. 1 (Winter, 1992): 11-20.
Roos, Bonnie. “Anselm Kiefer and the Art of Allusion: Dialectics of the Early ’Margarete’ and ’Sulamith’ Paintings.” Comparative Literature 58, no. 1 (Winter 2006): 24-43.
Tobias, Rochelle. The Discourse of Nature in the Poetry of Paul Celan: The Unnatural World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.