Alfons Rosenberg (1902–1985) was a

German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...

writer from

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

who wrote ''Die Welt im Feuer'' (1983, ''The World in Fire''). An expert on

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

ism, he wrote over forty works. He made important contributions to the understanding of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

's operas.

Life

Succeeding unwillingly to his father's shoe-making business, he much preferred the life of an artist. He studied and enjoyed the fine arts and dancing and was also semi-involved in agriculture. His career as a lecturer and a writer began in 1942. He had moved to an island on Lake Wörth, near

, to evade the

National socialists Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

, but in 1935 he had to flee abroad and found a safe haven in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, where he earned his living through his art and handicrafts. He was a part of the intellectual discussion group

Eranos Eranos is an intellectual discussion group dedicated to humanistic and religious studies, as well as to the natural sciences which has met annually in Moscia (Lago Maggiore), the Collegio Papio and on the Monte Verità in Ascona, Switzerland sinc ...

, through which he became acquainted with

C. G. Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, phi ...

Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn (19 October 1881 – 1962) was a Dutch spiritualist, theosophist, and scholar who gained recognition in the 1920s. She lived in Switzerland for most of her life. Early life Olga was born in London, the first child of Dutch paren ...

Hugo Rahner Hugo Karl Erich Rahner (3 May 1900 in Pfullendorf – 21 December 1968 in Munich) was a German Jesuit theologian and ecclesiastical historian. He was Dean and president of the University of Innsbruck and the elder brother of the famous theologian ...

and other renowned people. Co-operation with the group inspired him to study

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

. He converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in 1943. Rosenberg was friends with the Catholic author

Ida Friederike Görres Ida Friederike Görres (2 December 1901, in Schloss Ronsperg, Bohemia – 15 May 1971, in Frankfurt am Main), born Elisabeth Friederike, Reichsgräfin von Coudenhove-Kalergi, was a Catholic writer. From the Coudenhove-Kalergi family, she was the ...

. He edited the Festschrift for her sixtieth birthday in 1961. He spent his life lecturing about symbolism, love and

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

throughout the German-speaking world. In his classic studies, ''Die Zauberflöte - Geschichte und Deutung von Mozarts Oper'' (1964, ''The Magic Flute - History and Interpretation of Mozart's Opera'') and ''Don Giovanni - Mozarts Oper und Don Juans Gestalt'' (1968, ''Don Giovanni - Mozart's Opera and the Don Juan Figure'') as well as in some shorter works, he made major contributions to the understanding of the symbolism of Mozart's operas. In his little book ''Die Zauberflöte und die Geheimwissenshaften'' (1972, ''The Magic Flute and the Secret Sciences''), immediately after quoting the telling words of

Ludwig Börne Karl Ludwig Börne (born "Loeb Baruch"; 6 May 1786 – 12 February 1837) was a German-Jewish political writer and satirist, who is considered part of the Young Germany movement. Early life Karl Ludwig Börne was born Loeb Baruch on 6 May 1786 ...

, "Mozart's music reflects back everyone's own and present feelings like a mirror, but somewhat ennobled; we recognise in it the poetry of existence", Rosenberg adds his own comment: "In other words, ever since

's time men have in his music recognised their true condition and state cleared of everything that can tarnish it from without; the sensual man recognises himself as the godlike man he has been called to be by nature."''Die Zauberflöte und die Geheimwissenshaften'', 1972, p. 8; quoted in Marcus Lefébure OP and Dr

Hans Schauder Hans Schauder, (22 November 1911, Vienna – 10 July 2001 in Edinburgh) was a British medical adviser and counsellor, co-founder of Camphill Community, founder of Garvald School & Training Centre Childhood and youth Hans Schauder was born in V ...

, ''Conversations on Counselling between a Doctor and a Priest'', 3rd ed. T & T Clark, 1990, pp.139-140

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenberg 1902 births 1985 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Switzerland German Roman Catholics German male writers