Albert Ehrenstein (23 December 1886 – 8 April 1950) was an Austrian-born German Expressionist poet. His poetry exemplifies rejection of bourgeois values and fascination with the Orient, particularly with China. He spent most of his life in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, but also travelled widely across Europe,

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, and the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

. In 1930, he travelled to

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, and published his impressions in a series of articles. Shortly before the Nazi take-over, Ehrenstein moved to Switzerland, and in 1941 to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he died.

Early life

Ehrenstein was born to Jewish-Hungarian parents in

Ottakring Ottakring () is the 16th District in the city of Vienna, Austria (german: 16. Bezirk, Ottakring). It is located west of the central districts, north of Penzing and south of Hernals. Ottakring has some heavily populated urban areas with many resid ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. His father was a cashier at a brewery and the family was poor. His younger brother was the poet Carl Ehrenstein (1892-1971). His mother was able to enroll him in high school, where he was harassed with anti-semitic bullying. From 1905 to 1910 he studied history and philosophy in Vienna and graduated in 1910 with a doctorate (with a thesis on Hungary in 1790). He had already decided on a career of literature, which he described as: "Hardly university studies; but by five years of alleged studies, I secured liberty: Time to do poetic work. Through tolerant overhearing directed to me by mail and offended about to light I put on even a doctorate."

Poetry and writing

In 1910 he wrote the poem "Wanderers song" published by Karl Kraus in the ''Overnight Torch''. The poem is attributed to the early expressionism and was published in 1911 with illustrations by his friend

Oskar Kokoschka Oskar Kokoschka (1 March 1886 – 22 February 1980) was an Austrian artist, poet, playwright, and teacher best known for his intense Expressionism, expressionistic portraits and landscapes, as well as his theories on vision that influenced the ...

. Through Kokoschka he came into contact with

Herwarth Walden Herwarth Walden (actual name Georg Lewin; 16 September 1879, in Berlin – 31 October 1941, in Saratov, Russia) was a German expressionist artist and art expert in many disciplines. He is broadly acknowledged as one of the most important discove ...

and got it published in ''

Der Sturm ''Der Sturm'' () was a German List of avant-garde magazines, avant-garde art and literary magazine founded by Herwarth Walden, covering Expressionism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, among other artistic movements. It was published between 1910 an ...

'', and later in Franz Pfemfert's magazine ''

Die Aktion ''Die Aktion'' ("The Action") was a German literary and political magazine, edited by Franz Pfemfert and published between 1911 and 1932 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf; it promoted literary Expressionism and stood for left-wing politics. To begin with, ''D ...

''. Ehrenstein quickly became one of the most important voices of expressionism and came into close contact with

Else Lasker-Schüler Else Lasker-Schüler (née Elisabeth Schüler) (; 11 February 1869 – 22 January 1945) was a German-Jewish poet and playwright famous for her bohemian lifestyle in Berlin and her poetry. She was one of the few women affiliated with the Expressi ...

Gottfried Benn Gottfried Benn (2 May 1886 – 7 July 1956) was a German poet, essayist, and physician. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times. He was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize in 1951. Biography and work Family and beginnings Go ...

and

Franz Werfel Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and Poetry, poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of ''Th ...

. It was widely circulated Anton Kuh Spottvers wrote about it: "its a high honor of a work, only its verses disturb you." At the beginning of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Ehrenstein, who was deemed not fit for military service, was ordered to work in the Vienna War Archives. While many other artists were initially carried away by enthusiasm for the war, Ehrenstein from the beginning was a staunch opponent of the war, which he articulated clearly in a series of articles and poems (''The man screams''). During the war he came in contact with

Walter Hasenclever Walter Georg Alfred Hasenclever (8 July 1890 – 22 June 1940) was a German Expressionist poet and playwright. His works were banned when the Nazis came to power and he went into exile in France. There he was imprisoned as a "foreign enemy". H ...

and

Martin Buber Martin Buber ( he, מרטין בובר; german: Martin Buber; yi, מארטין בובער; February 8, 1878 – June 13, 1965) was an Austrian Jewish and Israeli philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of existentialism c ...

. From 1916-17 he belonged to the circle of the first Dadaist magazine ''The New Youth'', in which he published work alongside

Franz Jung Franz Josef Johannes Konrad Jung (26 November 1888, Neisse, Upper Silesia – 21 January 1963, Stuttgart) was a writer, economist and political activist in Germany. He also wrote under the names Franz Larsz and Frank Ryberg. He grew up in Neisse ...

George Grosz George Grosz (; born Georg Ehrenfried Groß; July 26, 1893 – July 6, 1959) was a German artist known especially for his caricatural drawings and paintings of Berlin life in the 1920s. He was a prominent member of the Berlin Dada and New Objec ...

and

Johannes R. Becher Johannes Robert Becher (, 22 May 1891 – 11 October 1958) was a German politician, novelist, and poet. He was affiliated with the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) before World War II. At one time, he was part of the literary avant-garde, writin ...

. The magazine took a clearly anti-Wilhelm position and was quickly banned. Becher and Ehrenstein worked at the same time as editors in publishing Kurt Wolff. After 1918 he supported the revolution in Germany and signed, along with several others including Franz Pfemfert and Zuckmayer, the manifesto of the Antinational Socialist Party. During the war, Ehrenstein met the actress

Elisabeth Bergner Elisabeth Bergner (22 August 1897 – 12 May 1986) was an Austrian-British actress. Primarily a stage actress, her career flourished in Berlin and Paris before she moved to London to work in films. Her signature role was Gemma Jones in '' Esca ...

and helped with her career breakthrough. He fell hopelessly in love with her and dedicated many of his poems to her. In the 1920s he traveled with Kokoschka through Europe, Africa, the Middle East and China, where he remained for a time. He turned to Chinese literature and wrote numerous adaptations from Chinese works and the quite successful novel ''Murderer from Justice'' (1931). By the end of 1932 Ehrenstein went to Switzerland to Brissago.

Fugitive on the run

Along many other authors, he was placed on a black list by the Nazi party. In the book burning of 10 May 1933, his books were thrown on the pyre. In the next few years, he published in exile in several journals of literature. In 1934 he travelled to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, and in 1935 went to Paris to attend the "Congress for the Defense of Culture". In Switzerland he was threatened as a foreigner with deportation to Germany.

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include ''Demian'', ''Steppenwolf (novel), Steppenwolf'', ''Siddhartha (novel), Siddhartha'', and ''The Glass Bead Game'', ...

tried to help him to get permanent asylum for Ehrenstein but only managed to get him temporary Residence Papers. He prevented extradition by getting Czechoslovak citizenship. He went to England to his brother Carl, then to France, until he was finally able to leave the country for Spain and then to the United States in 1941.

Later life and death

In New York he met other exiles, including

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...

Richard Huelsenbeck Carl Wilhelm Richard Hülsenbeck (aka Charles R. Hulbeck) (23 April 189220 April 1974) was a German writer, poet, and psychoanalyst born in Frankenau, Hessen-Nassau who was associated with the formation of the Dada movement. Life and work Huelsen ...

, and

, and was granted a residence permit. Ehrenstein learned English, but found no work and lived on the income of articles he wrote for the newspaper, and by loans from George Grosz. In 1949, he returned to Switzerland, then returned to Germany, but was never published and finally returned, disappointed, to New York. After two years he was placed in a pauper's hospice on Welfare, where he died on 8 April 1950. After his death, friends gathered money so his urn could be shipped to England, where his brother Carl was still living. An honorary urn was finally buried in the Bromley Hill Cemetery in London.

Legacy

Ehrenstein's legacy was documented years later at the

National Library of Israel The National Library of Israel (NLI; he, הספרייה הלאומית, translit=HaSifria HaLeumit; ar, المكتبة الوطنية في إسرائيل), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; he, בית הספרים הלא� ...

, where he was also later re-interred. In his life he influenced many 20th century authors and had personal relationships with many.

Selected works

Poetry and essays

*'' Tubutsch'', 1911 (veränderte Ausgabe 1914, häufige Neuaufl.) *''Der Selbstmord eines Katers'', 1912 *''Die weiße Zeit'', 1914 *''Der Mensch schreit'', 1916 *''Nicht da nicht dort'', 1916 *''Die rote Zeit'', 1917 *''Den ermordeten Brüdern'', 1919 *''Karl Kraus'' 1920 *''Die Nacht wird. Gedichte und Erzählungen'', 1920 (Sammlung alter Arbeiten) *''Der ewige Olymp. Novellen und Gedichte'', 1921 (Sammlung alter Arbeiten) *''Wien'', 1921 *''Die Heimkehr des Falken'', 1921 (Sammlung alter Arbeiten) *''Briefe an Gott. Gedichte in Prosa'', 1922 *''Herbst'', 1923 *''Menschen und Affen'', 1926 (Sammlung essayistischer Werke) *''Ritter des Todes. Die Erzählungen von 1900 bis 1919'', 1926 *''Mein Lied. Gedichte 1900–1931'', 1931 *''Gedichte und Prosa.'' Hg. Karl Otten. Neuwied, Luchterhand 1961 *''Ausgewählte Aufsätze.'' Hg. von M. Y. Ben-gavriêl. Heidelberg, L. Schneider 1961 *''Todrot. Eine Auswahl an Gedichten''. Berlin, hochroth Verlag 2009

Translations and adaptations

*''Schi-King. Nachdichtungen chinesischer Lyrik'', 1922 *''Pe-Lo-Thien. Nachdichtungen chinesischer Lyrik'', 1923 *''China klagt. Nachdichtungen revolutionärer chinesischer Lyrik aus drei Jahrtausenden'' 1924; Neuauflage AutorenEdition, München 1981 *''Lukian'', 1925 *''Räuber und Soldaten. Roman frei nach dem Chinesischen'', 1927; Neuaufl. 1963 *''Mörder aus Gerechtigkeit'', 1931 *''Das gelbe Lied. Nachdichtungen chinesischer Lyrik'', 1933

Literature

* * ''A. Ehrenstein. Lesung im Rahmen der Wiener Festwochen 1993'' Hg. Werner Herbst & Gerhard Jaschke. (Reihe: Vergessene Autoren der Moderne 67) Universitätsverlag Siegen, 1996 37 Seiten, dabei 2 S. aus der „Neue Deutschen Biographie“ - Viele kurze Texte quer durch sein Werk, keine Quellenangaben, eine Art Collage *

Stefan Zweig Stefan Zweig (; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist, and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular write ...

: "Albert Ehrensteins Gedichte", in: ''Rezensionen 1902–1939. Begegnungen mit Büchern''. 1983
E-Text

Notes

* ''Ehrenstein, Albert'', article in

Encyclopaedia Judaica The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a 22-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, langua ...

. * Beigel, A. ''Erlebnis und Flucht im Werk Albert Ehrensteins'' (1966).

References

External links

* *
The Estate of Writer and Poet Albert Ehrenstein at the National Library of Israel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrenstein, Albert 1886 births 1950 deaths German socialists Jewish socialists People from Ottakring Writers from Vienna Austrian Jews Expressionist poets 20th-century Austrian poets German male poets 20th-century Austrian novelists German male novelists Austrian emigrants to Germany German emigrants to the United States Jewish poets 20th-century German poets 20th-century German novelists German-language poets Austrian male poets 20th-century German male writers