Hermann Fernau (born 1883 or 1884) was a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
lawyer, writer, journalist and pacifist.
Biography
Fernau was born in
Breslau (now called
Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
), in the
Prussian
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
Province of Silesia
The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...
. From 1905 he lived as a writer and journalist in Paris - he was a passionate pacifist and a
Francophile
A Francophile, also known as Gallophile, is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, French history, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, language, cuisin ...
. When war broke out in 1914 he was convinced that Germany was guilty of provoking the war. However, in May of the following year he was deported to Switzerland. In May 1916 he settled in
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
, where he joined the German-exile pacifist community. In his books and newspaper articles he opposed the war and called for an end to the German monarchy. He was accused by the German authorities of writing the book ''J'Accuse'', condemning the actions of the German Empire, which in fact had been written by his fellow pacifist
Richard Grelling.
Selected works
*
Gustave Hervé: ''Elsaß-Lothringen und die deutsch-französische Verständigung. Translated by and with a forward from Hermann Fernau''. Duncker & Humblot, Munich, Leipzig 1913
* ''Die französische Demokratie, sozialpolitische Studien aus Frankreichs Kulturwerkstatt''. Duncker & Humblot, Munich, Leipzig 191
Digitalisat* ''Gerade weil ich Deutscher bin! Eine Klarstellung der in dem Buche „J'accuse“ aufgerollten Schuldfrage''. Orell Füßli, Zürich 1916
** ''Because I am a German''. Edited with an introduction by T.W. Rolleston. Constable, London 191
Digitalisat
See also
*
List of peace activists
This list of peace activists includes people who have proactively advocated diplomatic, philosophical, and non-military resolution of major territorial or ideological disputes through nonviolent means and methods. Peace activists usually work ...
References
1880s births
Lawyers from Wrocław
German pacifists
20th-century German writers
Year of death missing
20th-century German male writers
Journalists from Wrocław
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