konkret (magazine)

konkret (magazine)
Title	konkret
Frequency	monthly
Category	politics
Firstdate	1957
Country	West Germany / Germany
Language	German

konkret (magazine) is a German political and cultural magazine founded in 1957 that became a prominent forum for left-wing intellectuals, journalists, and activists. It developed from post-war debates in West Germany into a platform associated with New Left currents, attracting contributions from figures linked to Frankfurt School, student movement, and broader European leftist networks. The magazine has intersected with controversies involving figures tied to German reunification, Red Army Faction, and debates over detente and NATO policy.

History

konkret was established in 1957 in Hamburg amid intellectual disputes between proponents of Adenauer-era policies and critics influenced by Marxism and anti-imperialist thought. Early years saw interactions with émigré circles connected to Brecht, Benjamin and post-war debates around Paris Peace Treaties (1951) and Treaty of Rome. In the 1960s the magazine aligned with voices from the Extra-Parliamentary Opposition and overlapped with figures from Freie Universität Berlin and the University of Frankfurt am Main, while international correspondents commented on events such as the Vietnam War and the Prague Spring. During the 1970s and 1980s internal disputes mirrored splits in movements like those involving Herbert Marcuse, Rudi Dutschke, and activists sympathetic to groups such as the Red Army Faction. After German reunification the publication navigated tensions regarding the legacy of East Germany and the politics of the European Union.

Editorial profile and political stance

konkret's editorial line historically identified with anti-authoritarian, socialist, and New Left positions, engaging with debates around Karl Marx, Antonio Gramsci, Georg Lukács, and contemporaries like Jürgen Habermas and Siegfried Kracauer. The magazine combined cultural criticism referencing Bertolt Brecht, Brechtian theatre, and film criticism tied to Jean-Luc Godard, André Bazin, and Sergei Eisenstein with political analyses of policies connected to Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt, and transatlantic relations to John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Its stance toward détente, nuclear arms, and NATO frequently intersected with commentaries on Soviet Union actions, Solidarity, and debates over human rights as articulated by figures such as Andrei Sakharov and Lech Wałęsa.

Contributors and notable editors

Over decades konkret published work by a wide array of intellectuals, writers, and activists including contributors associated with Peter Weiss, Christa Wolf, Heiner Müller, Günter Grass, Ralph Giordano, Jens Peter Jacobsen, and critics in the orbit of Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer. Editors and frequent contributors have included personalities comparable to Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Siegfried Lenz, and journalists linked to Der Spiegel and Die Zeit networks, as well as figures connected to Solidarity, Italian Communist Party, and movements around May 1968 and the Green movement. International voices and correspondents referenced intellectuals like Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Herbert Marcuse, Erich Fromm, and poets in the lineage of Pablo Neruda and Nazim Hikmet.

Content and recurring features

konkret combined political essays, investigative reporting, literary criticism, and cultural pages featuring debates on theatre, film, and visual art; recurring subjects included analyses of Cold War geopolitics, labor disputes tied to IG Metall, and contributions on decolonization referencing Algerian War and Mozambique Liberation Front. The magazine ran interviews with statesmen and dissidents alike, profiles of artists in the tradition of Joseph Beuys and Anselm Kiefer, and serialized essays on European intellectual history tracing lines from Enlightenment figures to contemporary critics such as Michel Foucault and Louis Althusser. Regular columns engaged with electoral developments involving SPD, debates within the Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands and analyses of supranational institutions like European Economic Community.

Circulation, reception, and controversies

konkret's circulation varied, peaking during periods of intense student activism and cultural ferment around May 1968 and the German student movement, while later readership shifted amid the rise of outlets such as Die Zeit and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Reception ranged from praise in leftist circles connected to Autonomism and Trotskyism to criticism from conservative commentators allied with figures like Helmut Kohl and institutions such as Bundestag-aligned think tanks. Controversies included disputes over published positions on violent protest linked to Red Army Faction, accusations of apologism concerning 1968 invasion, and legal challenges mirroring cases involving journalists at Stern and Der Spiegel.

Legacy and influence

The magazine influenced generations of German intellectuals, activists, and writers, contributing to debates that shaped trajectories of groups such as the Greens and intellectual currents tied to postmodernism and critical theory emanating from the Frankfurt School. Its archives and back issues serve as source material for scholars of European leftist movements, cultural histories involving figures like Brecht and Weill, and studies of media ecosystems alongside publications like Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, and Süddeutsche Zeitung. The magazine's role in shaping public discourse links it to ongoing examinations of memory politics around German reunification, the legacy of East Germany, and transnational solidarities with movements such as Anti-Apartheid Movement and Palestinian Liberation Organization.

Category:German magazines