CO NAS CZEKA (PO ŚMIERCI)? WSPÓŁCZESNA NIEMIECKA POWIEŚĆ DYSTOPIJNA WOBEC PYTAŃ O RZECZY OSTATECZNE
WHAT AWAITS US (AFTER DEATH)? CONTEMPORARY GERMAN DYSTOPIAN NOVELS AND QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ULTIMATE THINGS

Summary/Abstract: Using selected examples from German-language dystopia, the paper discusses the theme of fear for the future of humanity in the context of Christian eschatology and concepts such as death, eternal life, the Last Judgement, belief in God, and apocalypse. The starting point for the interpretation of this theme is Utopia, the first representative of the utopian novel genre, in which Thomas Morus introduced unconventional forms of belief in the supernatural and combined them with a model for the functioning of a fictional society. The paper is based on the hypothesis that the world of Utopia, as well as the fictional religion created for the novel, exhibit characteristics of totalitarianism, to which social life is also subordinated. Such a relationship between totalitarian religion and society determines the characteristics of later dystopian or antiutopian novels up to the present day. They describe not only disturbing visions of the near future based on apocalyptic themes, but also, by exposing the connection between religion and social conditions, show contemporary ethical and religious crises related to the faith in God. The paper identifies the main themes of Christian eschatology in the fictional world of the novels and their relationship to real concerns about the future of humanity.

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