The theme of war guilt in Bernard Schlink's, "The Reader".

The Reader Bernhard Schlink Themes War Guilt One of the main ideas in The Reader is German war guilt - guilt felt by both the war-time generation and the post-war generation. The post-war generation, to which the author, Schlink, belongs, has struggled to come to terms with the war crimes committed by the previous generation. The novel begins with a sick Michael being comforted by the maternal Hanna. This is an obvious symbol for the …

…of the Holocaust but it can seek out the reasons for its guilt and try to make the changes that ensure the conditions for evil are never again put in place. At the very end of the novel Michael visits Hanna's grave: "It was the first and only time I stood there." This is a symbol of what post-war Germany can one day achieve - once they honestly confront their past, they can move on.