"Gespräch über Bäume" : Kleine Geschichteeines Missverständnisses

Abstract

The article outlines the history of the literary topos “Gespräch über Bäume” (“a conversation about trees”) in German-language literature. The author analyses Bertolt Brecht’s poem, An die Nachgeborenen (To Those Who Follow in Our Wake), which is the source of the phrase “Gespräch über Bäume,” and presents the functioning of this topos on the chosen examples in various historical and literary contexts after 1945. The author also points to the fact that misinterpretations of the poem contributed to the popularity of this topos.