Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1963. — 467 c. Volume II devoted to the literature of the German Enlightenment. It shows the struggle of Lessing, Herder, Wieland, Goethe, Schiller for national German literature, inspired by the high ideals of educational humanism literature that has become the pride of the still divided German people, a symbol of its cultural unity. However, it is in the XVIII in . German literature rightfully occupies a prominent place in the world literature . Werther, Faust, Wilhelm Tell are heroes of world literature, not just German literature. The task of the team working on the History of German Literature was to show the origin, formation and development of German literature from the early Middle Ages to 1945. In this work, the history of literature is associated with the history of the people, so the authors considered it impossible to consider the history of German, Austrian and Swiss literature as a whole, but the specifics of the interaction between these peoples and their literatures are given great attention. Showing the national identity and significance of German literature, It has given the world so many bright and noble names. authors sought to highlight the world importance of great works, created by the genius of the German people , Study international relations of German literature , which has contributed to its dissemination and recognition.. While working on the History of German Literature, Soviet scientists sought to create a work that would be useful not only for philologists, but also for the general readership. (from editorial)