Utopiekonzept und Geschichtsauffassung im Werk Heiner Müllers

This study traces the utopian constructions as well as historical and philosophical implications in the dramas of Heiner Müller. In all his creative periods the inspection of a utopia of one form or another as the unattainable goal of human action played for Müller a significant role. It is therefore not surprising that almost all of his plays are charged with utopian potential that, when uncovered, allows insights into contemporary historical contexts and into Müller's dealing with the history of literature. However, his understanding of what can be called “utopia" and what function it can have in society did change over the course of his 40-year work in the “quarry” of history. The study provides a cross-section through Müller's entire dramatic oeuvre and examines each period's key plays, starting with „Lohndrücker “ from East Germany's post-war reconstruction years, up to the reflections on the end of communism in „Germania 3“.