A Russian Trace in Ulla Hahn’s Poem My Father

<jats:p>The essay shows that U. Hahn’s poem My Father is constructed like a diptych: in its first part the lyrical “I” expresses her hatred towards her rude and uneducated father. In the second part she understands: he is not guilty of his rudeness and lack of education. Now, thinking about him no longer makes her hate but rather strive for a “new world”. Accordingly, the meaning of “Russia” as an image for describing the father changes. In the first part he is presented as a subaltern who was “seduced” to fight against “the Red” (i.e. the USSR). In the second part he appears as a human being who, together with his daughter, interprets the existence of “red” countries as pledge of a more just world.</jats:p>