Gustav Frenssen (19 October 1863 – 11 April 1945) was a German novelist. He wrote patriotically about his native country and promoted ''Heimatkunst'' (

regionalism Regionalism may refer to: * Regionalism (art), an American realist modern art movement that was popular during the 1930s * Regionalism (international relations), the expression of a common sense of identity and purpose combined with the creation a ...

) in literature.

Biography

Frenssen was born in the village of

Barlt Barlt is a municipality in the district of Dithmarschen, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Ru ...

, in the

Duchy of Holstein The Duchy of Holstein (german: Herzogtum Holstein, da, Hertugdømmet Holsten) was the northernmost state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It originated when King Christian I of Denmark had his ...

, then under the control of the

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of Denmark, metropolitan ...

. He was educated at the universities of

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...

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 ...

and

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

. He took orders and from 1892 to 1902 was

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

at Hemme, taking his degree as doctor of theology at

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

in 1903. But he had already for some years been known as a writer of novels, and in 1902, a year after his great success with ''Jörn Uhl'' (1901), he gave up his pastorate and devoted all his time to literature. In his later years, he abandoned Christianity because Christian morals were in conflict with his

racialism Scientific racism, sometimes termed biological racism, is the pseudoscientific belief that empirical evidence exists to support or justify racism (racial discrimination), racial inferiority, or racial superiority.. "Few tragedies can be more ...

. Instead, he turned to a form of

Germanic Neopaganism Heathenry, also termed Heathenism, contemporary Germanic Paganism, or Germanic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religious studies classify it as a new religious movement. Developed in Europe during the early 20th centu ...

which also suited his liberal views on sexuality. While the Nazis were coming to power, and afterwards, Frenssen showed great loyalty to the party. He was vocally anti-Semitic and supported euthanasia.

Ulrich Pfeil Ulrich Pfeil (born 13 May 1966) is a German historian based in France. Life Born in Hamburg Pfeil grew up in Heide (Holstein) and took the Abitur at the in 1985. After his military service he studied Educational Science, French languag ...

: '' Vom Kaiserreich ins „Dritte Reich“: Heide 1890–1933.'' Selbstverlag Heide 1997. Zugleich Hamburger Universitätsdissertation 1995/96.

Writings

* ''Dorfpredigten'' ("Village Sermons", 1899–1902; Vandenhoed & Ruprecht, Göttingen; the 1900 cover page indicates that he was pastor in Hemme, Holstein) * ''Jörn Uhl'' (1901) * ''Die Sandgräfin'' (1895, 3rd ed. 1902) * ''Die drei Getreuen'' (1898) * ''Das Heimatsfest'', a play (1903) * ''Hilligenlei'' ("Holyland", 1905) * ''Peter Moor's Fahrt nach Süd-West'' (1906), on the

Herero and Namaqua Genocide The Herero and Namaqua genocide or the Herero and Nama genocide was a campaign of ethnic extermination and collective punishment waged by the German Empire against the Herero (Ovaherero) and the Nama in German South West Africa (now Namibia). ...

, a very colonialistic and racist story about a soldier in the German war (1904-05) in

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

; translated into English by Margaret May Ward in 1908; one of the most popular novels of the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

* ''Klaus Henrich Baas'' (1909) * ''Sönke Erichsen'', a play (1912) * ''Die Brüder'' (1918) * ''Der Pastor von Poggsee'' ("The Pastor of Poggsee", 1921) * ''Otto Babendiek'' ("The Anvil") * ''Grübeleien'', observations (3 vols.) * ''Recht ~~oder Unrecht~~: Mein Land'', a defense of Germany's actions in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

("Right ~~or Wrong~~: My Country," the title is also a popular saying, cf.

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

; 1940)

References

External links

* * 1863 births 1945 deaths People from Dithmarschen People from the Duchy of Holstein Converts to pagan religions from Protestantism German modern pagans National-Social Association politicians Writers from Schleswig-Holstein German male writers Modern pagan novelists {{Germany-writer-stub