Eberhard Wolfgang Möller (6 January 1906 – 1 January 1972) was a German dramatist and poet.

Biography

Möller was born on 6 January 1906 in Berlin. His first two published works appeared in 1929, the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

drama ''Douaumont'', and ''Kalifornische Tragödie''. In 1930, he published ''Panamaskandal'', which called for national renewal, denouncing the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

. In 1931, he became a member of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

, thus beginning his career as a

National Socialist Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequen ...

author and cultural official. In 1934, he was employed as a theatre critic in the Theatre Division of the Reich Propaganda Ministry. ''Rothschild siegt bei Waterloo'', Möller's most successful stage production, was written in 1934. It was an

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

comedy set in the Napoleonic era. During the war, he was involved in writing the screenplay for the antisemitic film '' Jud Süss'' (1940). The film had initially been suggested by scriptwriter Ludwig Metzger, but Möller was brought in to help in 1939. Although he had no experience in screenwriting, he was considered ideologically reliable. Another work was '' Frankenburger Würfelspiel'' (Frankenburg Dice Game), a '' Thingspiel'' (multi-disciplinary open-air drama), set in the seventeenth century, which had its première at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.

Themes

Möller's works were diverse in terms of historical setting, extending from the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

(''Der Untergang Karthagos'', 1938) to the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

(''Douaumont'', 1929). However, they all shared the theme of heroism, as well as reflecting his hatred of Jews, capitalism and modernity.Baird, 'Hitler's muse', p. 270.

References

Bibliography

*Baird, Jay W., 'Hitler's muse: The political aesthetics of the poet and playwright Eberhard Wolfgang Möller", ''German Studies Review'', 17 (1994) *Cadigan, Rufus J., "Eberhard Wolfgang Möller: Politically correct playwright of the Third Reich", in Glen W. Gadberry (ed.), ''Theatre in the Third Reich, the Pre-War Years: Essays on Theatre in Nazi Germany'' 1906 births 1972 deaths Writers from Berlin Nazi Party members Waffen-SS personnel 20th-century German novelists 20th-century German dramatists and playwrights German male novelists German male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century German male writers {{germany-playwright-stub