The history of this period in German literature is told through a detailed chronology, an introductory essay, a comprehensive bibliography, and over 200 cross-referenced dictionary entries on poetry, novels, historical narrative, philosophical musings, drama, and the exceptional writers who emerged and shaped German literature over the centuries.

Some authors strongly criticized attempts to rebuild a German literary culture in the aftermath of World War II, while others actively committed themselves to 'dealing with the German past.' There are writers in Austria and Switzerland that find other contradictions of contemporary life troubling, while some find them funny or even worth celebrating. German postwar literature has, in the minds of some observers, developed a kind of split personality. In view of the traumatic monstrosities of the previous century that development may seem logical to some. The Historical Dictionary of Postwar German Literature is devoted to modern literature produced in the German language, whether from Germany, Austria, Switzerland or writers using German in other countries. This volume covers an extensive period of time, beginning in 1945 at what was called 'zero hour' for German literature and proceeds into the 21st century, concluding in 2008. This is done through a list of acronyms and abbreviations, a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on writers, such as Nobel Prize-winners Heinrich Bsll, GYnter Grass, Elias Canetti, Elfriede Jelinek, and W. G. Sebald. There are also entries on individual works, genres, movements, literary styles, and forms.

The Historical Dictionary of Contemporary Germany is designed as a reference work on the main historical, cultural, and social developments of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), also with some coverage of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It covers the period from the Grand Coalition (1966-69) to the present day. (West) Germany has remained remarkably stable since the foundation of the FRG in 1949 and has become something of a model state in many respects: it is widely admired for the "social partnership" between industry and government that has promoted economic success alongside democratic structures, for its role of quiet leadership within Europe, and for its pioneering measures to improve and sustain the environment. The third largest country in Europe, as well as the most populous, Germany is regarded as a cornerstone of the expanding European Union (EU), a reliable partner in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and a democracy in which civil and human rights are respected. The Historical Dictionary of Contemporary Germany details the many changes that have occurred in the country since the end of World War II and the collapse of the Nazi regime in 1945. This is done through a detailed chronology, an introduction, appendixes, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on some of the more significant persons, places, events, institutions, and organizations, as well as the political, economic, social, cultural, and religious facets.