Walser’s stance amounted to a desperate call to allow his country to shape a new national identity – one that reflected its resolute repudiation of fascism and adoption of democracy, rather than its highly regrettable (and regretted) history. And it drew a standing ovation from all but one of the 1,200 illustrious members of the audience in Frankfurt’s Pauluskirche, where Walser was being awarded the German Booksellers Association Peace Prize.