Kahlschlag

Kahlschlag, term in forestry denoting the complete felling of trees and clearance of undergrowth, was first used as a literary metaphor by W. Weyrauch in an essay introducing his anthology of stories Tausend Gramm (1949). It quickly became the slogan for a complete break with literary tradition in matter and manner, being especially fashionable in the early and mid 1950s. The poem Inventur by G. Eich has frequently been quoted as Kahlschlag in action.