Grass’ SS admission draws strong criticism

In his new memoir, Nobel laureate Gunter Grass talks of the lasting shame of having served in the combat wing of the fanatical Nazi SS organization during World War II.

The author of the classic “The Tin Drum” and many other writings has drawn heavy criticism for his recent admission that he was a member of the Waffen-SS as a teenager.

The revelation came before the publication of the book, which deals with his youth and war years.

Grass has received support from other writers, among them John Irving, who told the Associated Press on Wednesday that “Grass remains a hero to me, both as a writer and as a moral compass. His courage, both as a writer and as a citizen of Germany, is exemplary, a courage heightened, not lessened, by his most recent revelation.”

In “Beim Hauten der Zwiebel,” or “Skinning the Onion,” Grass recalls the pull of Nazi propaganda. When he was assigned to the 10th SS Panzer Division “Frundsberg” he found “nothing offensive” about the prospect and viewed the division’s namesake, Jorg von Frundsberg, as someone who had fought for “freedom and liberation,” in the 16th century.

“So, enough excuses,” he writes. “And yet I refused for years to admit to myself the word and the double letters. That which I accepted with the dumb pride of my young years, I kept silent about after the war out of growing shame.”

Grass’ book was supposed to come out Sept. 1 but could already be found in some German bookstores Wednesday. The U.S. publication of “Skinning the Onion” is scheduled for fall 2007, according to Harcourt, which has no plans to move up the date of release.

Grass, 78, paints an unheroic picture of his military service with the division, which fought Soviet troops toward the end of the war in eastern Germany. He was captured by Americans in May 1945.

Grass, winner of the 1999 Nobel Prize for literature and a heavyweight moral authority in Germany, has been slammed for not owning up sooner to his Waffen-SS service. In response to the criticism, he said Wednesday during taping for a television broadcast, “Anyone who wants to pass judgment can pass judgment.”

He added that he had said all he intended to say about the episode in the new book.