My 20th Century

On October 6, 1959, Günter Grass's "The Tin Drum" was published. It was the author's first novel. It achieved great success, but not how he imagined. It was banned in some parts. There were chapters where the German's pornographic depiction didn't sit well with readers. It was unmistakenly political in nature. The polemical quotes were unforgettable. Fifty five years have passed since the book's first publication, yet it still makes noise. It has something to do with the Free City of Danzig, the present-day GdaÅ„sk. Grass was born there on the 16th of October.

Gdańsk, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Poland, is an important seaport. This is also the birthplace of the Solidarity Movement, where Lech Wałęsa, its leader, would play a role in changing the course of history. But these are overshadowed by earlier events, complex yet enthralling. Napoleon Bonaparte played a part in Danzig's fate; Prussia ruled for some time. World War II came. When the Allied forces won, Poland took over. The German inhabitants turned into stateless citizens.

The period between World War I and World War II is a defining moment in Europe's history. Kingdoms came and gone, and it happened at the expense of thousands of people. But Danzig is different, as its storied past sums up the twentieth century.

I stand alone

“What more shall I say: born under light bulbs, deliberately stopped growing at age of three, given drum, sang glass to pieces, smelled vanilla, coughed in churches, observed ants, decided to grow, buried drum, emigrated to the West, lost the East, learned stonecutter's trade, worked as model, started drumming again, visited concrete, made money, kept finger, gave finger away, fled laughing, rode up escalator, arrested, convicted, sent to mental hospital, soon to be acquitted, celebrating this day my thirtieth birthday and still afraid of the Black Witch."

- Oskar Matzerath

Oskar Matzerath was already conscious of his world when he was born. He was also capable of thinking and deciding. It happened when his father had aspirations for him. He was a few years old, revolted by his old man's bourgeois dream. He thought if this was what being an adult was all about, then it was better to remain a child. So he willed to remain young forever. Then he received a drum for his birthday. It was the only thing precious to him, but it drove everyone crazy.

The beatings reflected Oscar's contempt. He was willing to kill anyone who would take his drum away.

Three decades later, Oskar was imprisoned in an asylum, charged with a crime he didn't commit. Sister Dorothea, the woman he only loved, was murdered. It made him tentative and unreliable. It wasn't the case before. He had several affairs. He was a member of the Nazi Party. He became involved in the life of crime. He was unapologetic.

After Grass's revealation (in 2006) that he was a member of the Waffen-SS during World War II, some wondered if the author penned a semi-autobiographical book. He chose to give the public something to think about.

"I always face the question: should I grow myself a thick skin and ignore it, or should I let myself be wounded? I've decided to be wounded, since, if I grew a thick skin, there are other things I wouldn't feel any more,” he said.