Richard Grelling (11 June 1853 − 14 January 1929) 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 and pacifist who wrote the international best selling book ''J'Accuse'' in World War I, publicly criticizing the actions of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

for waging a war of aggression in Europe.

Early life

Richard Grelling was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, at that time the capital of

Prussia 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 ...

. He studied law but after finishing his studies worked as a writer and dramatist. In 1892 he was a founder-member of the

German Peace Society The German Peace Society (german: Deutsche Friedensgesellschaft (DFG)) was founded in 1892 in Berlin. In 1900 it moved its headquarters to Stuttgart. It still exists and is known as the ''Deutsche Friedensgesellschaft - Vereinigte Kriegsdienstgegne ...

(German: ''Deutsche Friedensgesellschaft''), of which he was vice-chairman. From 1903 he lived near

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

, until Italy joined the belligerents in 1915, after which he moved to Switzerland.

World War I

In 1915 Grelling wrote the anti-war book entitled ''J'Accuse'', condemning the actions of

in causing the war through its foreign policies. The book was banned in Germany but was translated into many languages and enjoyed huge sales. Printed excerpts in the form of propaganda leaflets from its text were dropped by aircraft of the British Expeditionary Force into the Imperial German Army's trenches in France before the Battle of the Somme in 1916 in an endeavour to undermine the fighting morale of the German troops situated there.'Das Koniglich Preussische Reserve Infanterie Regiment Nr.15', by Maj. von Forstner. (Pub. 1929), P.285. He followed this success of ''J'Accuse'' with ''Das Verbrechen'' (''The Crime''), in which he attacked his critics, including his son, the philosopher

Kurt Grelling Kurt Grelling (2 March 1886 – September 1942) was a German logician and philosopher, member of the Berlin Circle. Life and work Kurt Grelling was born on 2 March 1886 in Berlin. His father, the Doctor of Jurisprudence Richard Grelling, ...

Later life

He later worked for several newspapers, among them the ''Frankfurter Zeitung''. During the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

most of his writings were boycotted. Grelling died in Berlin.

References

1853 births 1929 deaths 19th-century German male writers 19th-century German non-fiction writers 20th-century German male writers 20th-century German non-fiction writers German male non-fiction writers German pacifists Jurists from Berlin Non-interventionism {{Germany-writer-stub

Early life

World War I

Later life

See also

References