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Kurt
Tucholsky 1890-1935 |
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| If
any human can be that for me, Tucholsky definitely has been my hero for
many years. Despite all the quirks and complicated psychological
intricacies that certainly made him a sometimes difficult person to
deal with. But that is of course the nature of the beast,
any human is both complex and lost in his/her own
psyche and
issues, and at the same time powerful at what the passions drive
him/her to do and accomplish. And Kurt Tucholsky has accomplished a
lot, and is still relevant today. Tucholsky is known as one of the most prolific and influential journalists of the early 20th century Germany. The majority of his work was published in the newspaper "Die Weltbuehne" (the world stage), located in Berlin. He wrote for the "Weltbuehne" from 1913 until the journal got closed down by the nazis in 1933, the archives confiscated and since lost. After the nazis took over Germany, Tucholsky's books were burned, and he lost his citizenship. He emigrated to Sweden early enough (1930) to not follow the fate of close friends and colleagues that were imprisoned in the course of the 2nd world war and finally lost their lifes to the prosecution of intellectuals and political writers (e.g. Carl von Ossietzky, Walter Hasenclever). While still fighting to voice his understanding of the political situation in Germany, he lost his audience to the greater political powers. In 1933 he wrote: "I suppose I need not tell you that our world in Germany has ceased to exist, so I'll just shut up for the moment. No one holds up a red card to an ocean.". He died in 1935, under uncertain circumstances, from an overdose of sleeping pills. He wrote under 5 pseudonames that encorporated different personae, each with a unique style of writing, perspective and interest in the cultural, philosophical, and political aspects of daily life. Kurt Tucholsky Peter Panther - critic of theatre and literature, as well as writer about the oddities of life Theobald Tiger - humourous accounts of daily events, writer of popular songs and chansons and love poetry Kaspar Hauser - philosophical, melancholic view of the world, in the mindset of a somewhat lost outsider, in the spirit of the mysterious 19th century foundling that lend his name to this persona Ignaz Wrobel - political satire, biting wit, sharp analysis of historical-political events If interested in politics and society of Germany between 1900 and 1930, and outlooking far beyond that time, I highly recommend reading Tucholsky. Anything. Start with "Deutschland, Deutschland ueber alles" with photomontages by John Heartfield (read a german report about this book here). Continue with "Wir Negativen", a political commentary on the Weimar Republic, and the accusation that Tucholsky and his colleagues were too negative towards the political system of the time. This is one of the most passionate political, pro-democracy, and constructively critical statements I've ever read. I don't know of a translation of this yet, if someone knows one, please update me, or someday I'll translate it myself. Then, go for "Der Graben", a beautiful and gripping anti-war poem that was intoned by Hanns Eisler. You can download & listen to "Der Graben" in english, I have not found an online written translation though. Also, many Tucholsky-biographies are very interesting and illuminating, for example "Kurt Tucholsky. Ein Pseudonym" from Fritz Raddatz, "Kurt Tucholsky - Biographische Annaeherungen" from Michael Hepp, or "Kurt Tucholsky. Ein Lebensbild" from Helga Bemmann. To read the entertaining, humourous Tucholsky, read the "Pyrenaen Buch", a travel account, and "Rheinsberg. Ein Bilderbuch fuer Verliebte" (a picture book for lovers), a short sweet and very lovely love story, or many of his poems, two of which I have translated here. I'm getting the feeling that very few of Tucholsky's writings are translated (maybe just few in comparison to how much he has written?) - or it is hard to find them. If anyone comes across online/offline translations of anything I haven't linked to here yet, please let me know. As always, please feel free to comment on content, style or whatever you feel like, to 'Elin at Elindreki dot com'. |
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