And what about Culture?

Author(s):  
Karl Kraus

This chapter discusses Bernhard Diebold, otherwise known as “Bernhardo Dieboldo.” According to the chapter, he was one of the most capricious figures ever to frolic at the forefront of German culture—a journalist who is still permitted his freedom thanks to his nimble manoeuvrings. In the Frankfurter Zeitung, Diebold draws parallels between National Socialism and Kraus's activity, prompting them to take stock of his work and encouraging him to take the movement seriously. Kraus was reluctant to do so since he preferred to occupy himself with the German language, adapting it to the French libretti that inspired Jacques Offenbach's operettas. But Kraus had also always liked to avail himself of the press as a spur to heroism, which stimulated him to undertake “new deeds”—as Richard Wagner advocated. Diebold, this chapter shows, is intent on promoting Wagner as Offenbach's polar opposite in order to make Goebbels suspicious of Kraus while at the same time ingratiating himself.

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 451-476
Author(s):  
DONATELLA GERMANESE

In the early 1940s, Felice Balbo and Giaime Pintor judged and re-envisioned Europe from a shared observation point in Turin with two institutional settings: the publishing house Giulio Einaudi Editore and the Italian Committee for the Armistice with France. Their privileged perspective—so far little known outside Italy—offers interesting clues about forms of opposition to Fascism and National Socialism by a generation that grew up under dictatorship. Drawing on unpublished sources and memoirs, this essay retraces a dialogue among friends, showing how young members of the Italian intelligentsia designed eccentric scenarios to overcome a nazified Europe. An overly enthusiastic reception of American culture, illusions about impending insurrections in Germany, and a general attraction to German culture helped Balbo and Pintor in becoming active antifascists.


1877 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Dakyns

In the summer of 1872 I visited Norway, and wrote the following brief notice of certain high-level terraces immediately on my return to England, but kept it back that I might first consult some papers on Norwegian terraces that had appeared in the closing numbers of “Scientific Opinion”; these I was not able to meet with for so long a time that I gave up the idea of sending my notice to the press. I am now induced to do so, because I see that the subject of the parallel roads of Glenroy still occupies the attention of geologists, and it may induce some one next summer to examine minutely the Dovre terraces and sand-heaps and their relation to the physical geography of the district. I was merely able to make a flying visit to them, which I delayed my party to do, because they caught my eye so forcibly, as we were driving along the valley.


2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 530-552
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Haska

During the Second World War, Polish underground organizations created a catalogue of behaviors that qualified as treason against the Polish nation. The rules covered everyday behaviors as well as boycotts of the press, cinema, theater, and the German language. These guidelines—appearing in both codified form and as articles and judgments printed in the underground press—constituted the discourse on treason in occupied Poland. The article presents this discourse, describing its main problems and modifications during the occupation period in an attempt to encompass all spheres of social, cultural, and economic life.


2021 ◽  
pp. 327-349
Author(s):  
Zsófia Kalavszky ◽  

In my essay I trace how – by which means and through what channels – the Ukrainian song «Ĭхав козак за Дунай» (Kozak was riding beyond the Danube) reached Europe at the beginning of the nineteenth-century and then by the means of German mediation, sprang out onto Hungarian territories. In the German language area, it spread essentially as a folk song. Translated (or rather transcribed) into German by Christopher Tidge, the Ukrainian song reached the Kingdom of Hungary most likely together with the troops that took part in the Napoleon wars. At the same time, another version of the song circulated among the Hungarian elite in German culture. The latter was known as Russisches Lied in the translation of Theodor Körner – it was also in vogue and was distributed mainly in print media. The history of this song that in the first decade of the nineteenth century, gained fame in Czech, Polish, and English, has another line that may be interesting from the point of view of Russian and Hungarian literary connections. In 1814, Russian poet Wilhelm Küchelbecker translated the song into German. His translation which remained in the form of the manuscript and was not known to the reading public reveals an amazing similarity and in some places direct coincidences with the poem by the Hungarian poet Count Ferenc Teleki written presumably before 1820.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Murad Karasoy

National socialist education policies put into practice between 1933–1945 in Germany, has been under the influence of romanticism, which is one of the important currents in the history of German thought that began in the middle of the 19th century. Such “being under the influence” does not refer to a passive situation, but it rather means intentional “exposure” by Nazi ideologues. The meeting of Romanticism with National Socialism led to the most dramatic scenes of the history. Educational institutions, where the victims of war were trained, bipartitely fulfilled the task assigned to them regarding to ideological instrumentalism: to destroy and to be destroyed. Putting an end to both their lives own and the lives of others due to this romantic exposure, primary, secondary and higher education students have been the objects of the great catastrophe in the first half of the twentieth century. It will be possible to see the effects of German romanticism, through getting to the bottom of the intellectual foundations of the period’s tragic actions, such as burning books, redesigning the curriculum on the line of National Socialism, and preventing the dissemination of dissenting opinions by monopolizing the press. This historical research, which is conducted by examining sources like Arendt (1973), Fest (1973), Giles (1985), Bartoletti (2005), Herf (1998), Heidegger (2002), Hitler (1938), Huch (2005), Hühnerfeld (1961), Schirach (1967), Pöggeler (2002), Thomese (1923), Zimmerman (1990) aims to reveal in a scientific way that it is necessary to be careful against the extreme romantic elements in the practices of education.


2006 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Knittel

"Polemic in the Concert Hall": the title of Richard Heuberger's article in the Neue freie Presse refers in no uncertain terms to the uproar surrounding Mahler's performances of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Vienna. The two performances, on 18 and 22 February 1900, used Mahler's own orchestral re-touchings of Beethoven's work, and Mahler's biographers have often identified these concerts as the first sustained attacks by the press, attacks that would, over time, only continue to increase in severity and frequency. When these concerts are placed into the context of reactions to Mahler's other Philharmonic concerts, however, this narrative of a "fall from grace" proves impossible to sustain. Not only was Mahler denounced for reorchestrating other works from his very first concert with the Vienna Philharmonic, but the language used to do so remained consistent throughout Mahler's tenure. Mahler, as a Jew, was not perceived as having the "right" to "improve" Beethoven--or any other composer for that matter. Although not overtly anti-Semitic, the language of the reviews resembles that found in Wagner's essay "Das Judentum in der Musik," where he outlines the Jewish composer's supposed handicaps: an emphasis on detail to the detriment of the whole, the prevalence of intellect over feeling, and an understanding of culture as merely "learnt" but never "mother tongue." An examination of the critical reactions points out these similarities while also suggesting that, particularly given Wagner's own suggestions (in 1873) for the reorchestration of Beethoven's symphony, the uproar had very little to do with what anyone heard.


2005 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martijn Eickhoff

This paper reconsiders German reflection on National Socialist pre- and protohistoric archaeology from 1933 onwards. It tries to do so by means of a case study of the academic contacts between the Dutch prehistorian A.E. van Giffen (1884–1973) and his German colleague H. Reinerth (1900–90). The approach adopted here differs from traditional historiographical writing on National Socialist archaeology in two respects. First, in its analysis of the academic exchange between the two scholars, the case study seeks to bridge the classical caesura between a pre- and post-war period. Second, contemporary and historical studies of National Socialist archaeology and archival sources, as well as interviews, have been incorporated in the research alongside the usual publications of the scholars involved. It is argued that with the approach taken here we may arrive at a more nuanced understanding of the different ways archaeologists have reacted to National Socialism over the past seven decades.


Author(s):  
Anja Lobenstein-Reichmann

In the history of the German language, hardly any other author’s linguistic work is as closely associated with the German language as Martin Luther’s. From the start, Luther as a linguistic event became the embodiment of German culture and was even elevated as the birth of the language itself; his style was emulated by some, scorned by others. Luther forces one to take a position, even on linguistic terms. The Bible is at the heart of the argument, being the most important work of Luther’s translation. However, it is only one particular type of text in the general work of the reformer. The role that the Bible plays both on its own and in connection with Luther’s other works, as well as the traditions Luther drew on and the way he worked with language, will be examined within the matrix of Early New High German, with all its peculiarities.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjam Held ◽  
Ricardo Arruda ◽  
Allison Chua ◽  
Ana Corbalan

<p>The HOSST and TOSST transatlantic graduate schools were conceived and designed as multidisciplinary and multicultural training opportunities. While HOSST is headquartered at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany, TOSST is run out of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. English being the language of science, the main language of communication in both programs is English. For most HOSST- and TOSST students, however, English is not their native tongue, but a second or even third language.</p><p>Language is a fundamental aspect of any culture; in fact, they are intertwined and mutually influence each other. A culture can only be fully understood through its corresponding language, while interacting with a different language always also illuminates the respective culture. An integral part of the HOSST- and TOSST graduate schools is the requirement that each student spends a 4-month research exchange at the sister institution. For most TOSST students, this meant immersing themselves not only into the German culture but also the German language.</p><p>To ease the transition to working and living in Germany, TOSST offered their students a German course, a proposition that was requested by the students and unanimously supported by the TOSST leadership team. Thanks to longstanding relationships with the German community in Halifax, the TOSST German course was offered through the German Heritage Language School. It so happened that the teacher was also a TOSST student. Many students accepted the offer to immerse themselves into a new language and culture ahead of their research exchange. Obviously they did not reach fluency after one or two terms, but studying German prepared them to engage with residents in everyday situations and to better understand the local culture.</p><p>Beyond these practical applications, the students appreciated an opportunity for lifelong learning outside of their field of research. Both the students and the teacher found interacting with the German language as part of their work days to foster their creativity by providing a different stimulus than their usual research efforts. The German course further provided an opportunity to build and deepen friendships among TOSST students across cultures and disciplines. The learning not only provided theoretical knowledge of the German culture, but opened up access to the sizeable German community in Halifax. A handful of students even continued with the course after their research exchange was completed as they appreciated studying the German language and culture as a skill that will serve them well beyond the TOSST graduate school.</p>


Author(s):  
Na'ama Sheffi

This chapter examines the controversy surrounding the Wagner affair in Israel: the ban on composer Richard Wagner (1813–1883) by Israeli authorities following Kristallnacht, the anti-Jewish pogrom that took place in Germany in November 1938. After the State of Israel was created in 1948, Wagner became identified with the racist views of National Socialism and vicious anti-Semitism and his work emerged as one of the explicit symbols of the Holocaust and its atrocities. This chapter considers the fundamental reasons for the opposition to performing Wagner’s work in Israel within a broad cultural and political context, suggesting that his music served as a stark reminder in Israel of the Holocaust of European Jews. It also discusses the cultural, historical, and educational implications of the ban on Wagner.


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