Rudolf Georg Binding (13 August 1867 – 4 August 1938) was a German writer. He was born 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 ...

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 ...

, and died in

Starnberg Starnberg is a German town in Bavaria, Germany, some southwest of Munich. It is at the north end of Lake Starnberg, in the heart of the " Five Lakes Country", and serves as capital of the district of Starnberg. Recording a disposable per-capi ...

. He studied medicine and law before joining the Hussars. On the outbreak of the First World War, Binding, who was forty-six years old, became commander of a squadron of

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat w ...

s. Except for a four-month period in Galicia in 1916, Binding spent the whole of the war on the Western Front. Binding's diary and letters, ''A Fatalist at War'', was published in 1927. His collected war poems, stories and recollections were not published until after his death in 1938. Binding was never a member of the National Socialist Party and publicly dissociated himself from one of its actions; but his relationship to it was ambiguous, for he saw it at times as an aspect of national revival. In 1928 he won a silver medal in the art competitions of the Olympic Games for his "Reitvorschrift für eine Geliebte" ("Rider's Instructions to his Lover"). From 1933 his private secretary and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

interpreter was

German Jew 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 ...

Elisabeth Jungmann Elisabeth Jungmann (Lady Beerbohm) (1894 – 28 December 1958) was an interpreter and the secretary, literary executor and second wife of the writer, caricaturist and parodist Sir Max Beerbohm. Born to a German Jewish family in Lublinitz i ...

. Binding had hoped to marry Jungmann but was prevented from doing so by the

Nuremberg Laws The Nuremberg Laws (german: link=no, Nürnberger Gesetze, ) were antisemitic and racist laws that were enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, at a special meeting of the Reichstag convened during the annual Nuremberg Rally of th ...

. She became the second wife of Sir Max Beerbohm in 1956. In October 1933 Binding signed the

Gelöbnis treuester Gefolgschaft The Gelöbnis treuester Gefolgschaft (variously translated from German to English as "vow of most faithful allegiance", "proclamation of loyalty of German writers" or "promise of most loyal obedience") was a declaration by 88 German writers and poe ...

declaring loyalty and support to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. He was on friendly terms with the English writer

A.P. Herbert Sir Alan Patrick Herbert Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (A. P. Herbert, 24 September 1890 – 11 November 1971), was an English humorist, novelist, playwright, law reformist, and in 1935–1950 an Independent (politician), independent Mem ...

, to whom he was introduced by Wilhelmine Arnold-Baker. They found that they had been within yards of each other in opposite trenches during the war.

Publications

By Rudolf Binding

* ''Aus dem Kriege.'' Rütten & Loening, Frankfurt-am-Main 1925; translated into English as
A Fatalist at War
', Ian F. D. Morrow, tr., Allen & Unwin, London 1929 and Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York 1929 * ''Das grosse Rudolf-G.-Binding-Buch. Eine Auswahl aus dem Werk.''

Bertelsmann Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, and is also active in the service sector and ...

, München 1979 * ''Der Opfergang. Eine Novelle.'' (53. edition, Insel, Frankfurt am Main 1993 )

About Rudolf Binding

* Traude Stenner: ''Rudolf G. Binding. Leben und Werk.'' Potsdam: Rütten & Loening. 1938. * Anton Mayer: ''Der Göttergleiche. Erinnerungen an Rudolf G. Binding.'' Potsdam: Rütten & Loening. 1939. * Heinz Millotat: ''Rudolf G. Bindings erzählerisches Werk.'' Würzburg-

Aumühle Aumühle () is a municipality in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany, about 21 km (14 mi) east of Hamburg. Its Friedrichsruh district is home to the family estate and mausoleum of Otto von Bismarck. Geography Aumühle lies on the ...

: Triltsch. 1939. * Roger L. Cole: ''The Ethical Foundations of Rudolf Binding's 'Gentleman'-Concept.'' The Hague and others: Mouton. 1966. (= Studies in German literature; 7) * Bernhard Martin: ''Dichtung und Ideologie. Völkisch-nationales Denken im Werk Rudolf Georg Bindings.'' Frankfurt am Main and others: Peter Lang. 1986. (= Europäische Hochschulschriften; Reihe 1; Deutsche Sprache und Literatur; 950) * ''Reitvorschrift für eine Geliebte'' (New edition: Olms, Hildesheim and others, 1995 ) * Kirstin M. Howard: ''The concept of honour in the context of the World War One. Accounts of

Walter Flex Walter Flex (6 July 1887 – 16 October 1917) was a German author of ''The Wanderer between the Two Worlds: An Experience of War'' (''Der Wanderer zwischen beiden Welten'') of 1916, a war novel dealing with themes of humanity, friendship, and suff ...

, Rudolf G. Binding and

Ernst Jünger Ernst Jünger (; 29 March 1895 – 17 February 1998) was a German author, highly decorated soldier, philosopher, and entomologist who became publicly known for his World War I memoir '' Storm of Steel''. The son of a successful businessman and ...

.''

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, New Zealand: Univ. of Otago, Dissertation, 1996.

Trivia

Binding was introduced to the English poet Sir

Herbert Read Sir Herbert Edward Read, (; 4 December 1893 – 12 June 1968) was an English art historian, poet, literary critic and philosopher, best known for numerous books on art, which included influential volumes on the role of art in education. Read ...

by Wilhelmine Arnold-Baker. They discovered that they must have been posted within yards of each other on opposite sides of the trenches of the Western Front.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Binding, Rudolf 1867 births 1938 deaths Writers from Basel-Stadt German people of Swiss descent German Army personnel of World War I 20th-century German male writers German World War I poets German male poets 20th-century diarists Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic competitors in art competitions Olympic silver medalists in art competitions