Reinhard Sorge
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Reinhard Sorge (29 January 1892,
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,
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 – 20 July 1916, Ablaincourt,
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) was a
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dramatist and poet. He is best known for writing the
Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
play ''
The Beggar ''The Beggar'' is a 1965 novella by Naguib Mahfouz about the failure to find meaning in existence. It is set in post-revolutionary Cairo during the time of Gamal Abdel Nasser. Plot summary The book opens with the main character Omar going to ...
'' (''Der Bettler''), which won the
Kleist Prize The Kleist Prize is an annual German literature prize. The prize was first awarded in 1912, on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the death of Heinrich von Kleist. The Kleist Prize was the most important literary award of the Weimar Re ...
in 1912 and almost singlehandedly created modern theatrical stagecraft. After being subsequently received into the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, Sorge began an effort to bring the
Catholic literary revival The Catholic literary revival is a term that has been applied to a movement towards explicitly Catholic allegiance and themes among leading literary figures in France and England, roughly in the century from 1860 to 1960. This often involved conve ...
into the literature of the Germanosphere. Instead, Sorge was conscripted into the
Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...
in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in 1915. He was killed in action during the
Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...
in the summer of 1916.


Early life

Sorge was born in
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 ...
- Rixdorf, into the family of a middle class salesman of
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
descent. According to Tim Cross, the blight of Sorge's childhood was his father's mental illness. To escape this atmosphere at home, Sorge was sent to
East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
to live with a
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
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 ...
and his family. There he recovered an inner balance, a sense of Christian purpose, and the foundation for his future development. When he was nine years old, Sorge's father died and his family moved to
Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...
. There, Sorge befriended the poet
Richard Dehmel Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (18 November 1863 – 8 February 1920) was a German poet and writer. Life A forester's son, Richard Dehmel was born in Hermsdorf near Wendisch Buchholz (now a part of Münchehofe) in the Brandenburg Province, Ki ...
and, "absorbed the neo-romantic influences of the day." He was also inspired by the writings of
Stefan George Stefan Anton George (; 12 July 18684 December 1933) was a German symbolist poet and a translator of Dante Alighieri, William Shakespeare, Hesiod, and Charles Baudelaire. He is also known for his role as leader of the highly influential literar ...
and
August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...
. Sorge began to write at the age of sixteen, but lost his faith in
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
after reading '' Also Sprach Zarathrustra'' by
Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...
. According to Rev. B. O'Brien, "The result was that he soon launched an attack on all that he conceived as a check on himself and his comrades. He caused common prayers and grace at table to be given up in his pious
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
home, and destroyed his young brother's belief in
God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
and
Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...
. In order to be free from the restrictions of school life, he left school a year before the end, with the resolution of studying for the leaving examination privately -- which he never did."


Writing career

After leaving school, Sorge switched to writing full-time. According to O'Brien, "His first poem was called, 'The Youth,' and described his own Nietzschean ideals. The second was a complete play called, 'The Beggar: A Theatrical Mission,' which was again a drama about himself, a describes in a series of violent scenes how he tests and rejects various classes of men as unfit for the highest ideals." ''The Beggar'' was written during the last three months of 1911. According to Michael Paterson, "The play opens with an ingenious inversion: the Poet and Friend converse in front of a closed curtain, behind which voices can be heard. It appears that we, the audience, are backstage and the voices are those of the imagined audience out front. It is a simple, but disorienting trick of stagecraft, whose imaginative spatial reversal is self-consciously theatrical. So the audience is alerted to the fact that they are about to see a play and not a 'slice of life.'" According to Walter H. Sokel, "The lighting apparatus behaves like the mind. It drowns in darkness what it wishes to forget and bathes in light what it wishes to recall. Thus the entire stage becomes a universe of hemind, and the individual scenes are not replicas of three-densional physical reality, but visualizes stages of thought." While he awaited its publication, Sorge first visited
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
and then stayed at the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
resort of
Norderney Norderney ( nds, Nördernee) is one of the seven populated East Frisian Islands off the North Sea coast of Germany. The island is , having a total area of about and is therefore Germany's ninth-largest island. Norderney's population amounts ...
, where he had a mystical experience that changed both his beliefs and the course of his entire life. According to his fiancee Susanne, Sorge attempted at Norderney to fulfill the doctrines of Nietzsche, who had argued that every pupil must surpass his teacher. Sorge struggled, amid the constantly overcast skies, to bring a new insight to mankind solely out of himself. Instead, Sorge drove himself on the edge of a mental breakdown and chose instead to accept the existence of the
Christian God God in Christianity is believed to be the eternal, supreme being who created and preserves all things. Christians believe in a monotheistic conception of God, which is both transcendent (wholly independent of, and removed from, the material u ...
. In 1912, "The Beggar" was published to rapt reviews and subsequently awarded that year's
Kleist Prize The Kleist Prize is an annual German literature prize. The prize was first awarded in 1912, on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the death of Heinrich von Kleist. The Kleist Prize was the most important literary award of the Weimar Re ...
due to the influence of Richard Dehmel. Sorge used his winnings to marry his fiancée, Susanne Maria Handewerk. Together, they took a honeymoon cruise via
North German Lloyd Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL; North German Lloyd) was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on 20 February 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of t ...
to
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. While on tour in
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
and
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, the Sorges were deeply moved by the pious Catholicism of the
Italian people , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...
. In a letter to his mother, Sorge wrote,
"In the
Revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
of St. John the heavenly visions are so depicted -- golden censers are swung; people kneel and worship in solemn vesture, with crowns on their heads, a woman clothed with the sun appears (
Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
). See, all quite Catholic, and that from St. John, a favorite disciple of the Lord. Our earthly Church must be a copy of the heavenly."


Conversion

After returning to Germany, the Sorges were received into the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
at
Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...
in September 1913. He subsequently wrote to a friend,
"My soul was always inherently Christian, but I was misled by Nietzsche, entangled in suns and stars. In ''Der Bettler'', I invoked the Name of
God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
many a time quite unconsciously, and yet thought myself a fervent disciple of Nietzsche, who denies God's very existence."
To the distress of Germany's
Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
, Sorge vowed, "Thenceforth my pen has been and forever will be Christ's
stylus A stylus (plural styli or styluses) is a writing utensil or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example, in pottery. It can also be a computer accessory that is used to assist in navigating or providing more precision w ...
—until my death." As a result, his subsequent writings were all centered on fervently religious themes. Admirers of avant garde theater, however, were disappointed by the more traditional stagecraft of Sorge's subsequent plays. Sorge also succeeded in winning over many of his friends and relatives to Catholicism. Sorge had less success in his evangelizing letters to
Ranier Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recogni ...
,
Stefan George Stefan Anton George (; 12 July 18684 December 1933) was a German symbolist poet and a translator of Dante Alighieri, William Shakespeare, Hesiod, and Charles Baudelaire. He is also known for his role as leader of the highly influential literar ...
, and his former
mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...
,
Richard Dehmel Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (18 November 1863 – 8 February 1920) was a German poet and writer. Life A forester's son, Richard Dehmel was born in Hermsdorf near Wendisch Buchholz (now a part of Münchehofe) in the Brandenburg Province, Ki ...
.


Military service in the First World War and death

Sorge was conscripted into the
Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...
in 1915 and assigned to the 6th Company of Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 69, which was attached to the 15th Reserve Division of the
Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...
along the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...
. By 1916, Sorge had been promoted to the rank of ''Gefreiter'', the equivalent to
Lance Corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...
. According to his letters to Susanne and a subsequent letter she received from his battalion's
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...
, Sorge used his devout Catholic beliefs in order to deal with the horrors of
trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became a ...
. He also spent much of his free time trying to win his fellow soldiers over to Roman Catholicism. While serving at the
Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...
, Sorge's thighs were shattered by an exploding grenade. He died the same day, 20 July 1916, at a field dressing station in the ruins of Ablaincourt. A short time before, he had written to Susanne,
"I suppose it is the imperfection of it all that I feel, and then the longing for our life together breaks through; but soon my
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
is soothed and consoled by the conviction that this period has to be, that without it there can be no perfection."


Burial

According to the website of the
German War Graves Commission The German War Graves Commission ( in German) is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of German war graves in Europe and North Africa. Its objectives are acquisition, maintenance and care of German war graves; tending to next of kin; youth ...
, Reinhard Johannes Sorge lies buried in a communal
war grave A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...
at the Vermandovillers German war cemetery, located near the battlefield where he died. The remains of the
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 ...
ish
Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
poet Alfred Lichtenstein, who fell fighting for the Kaiser in 1914, lie in the same cemetery.


Legacy

On 23 December 1917, legendary
Austrian Jew The history of the Jews in Austria probably begins with the Jewish diaspora, exodus of Jews from History of ancient Israel and Judah#Roman occupation, Judea under Roman occupation. Over the course of many centuries, the political status of the ...
ish
stage director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...
Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he i ...
presided over the
world premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its f ...
of Sorge's
Kleist Prize The Kleist Prize is an annual German literature prize. The prize was first awarded in 1912, on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the death of Heinrich von Kleist. The Kleist Prize was the most important literary award of the Weimar Re ...
-winning play ''Der Bettler'', which had long been, "a ''succès de scandale'', an innovation, changing the course of theatrical history with its revolutionary staging techniques." According to Michael Paterson, "The genius of the 20-year old Sorge already showed the possibilities of abstract staging, and Reinhardt in 1917, simply by following Sorge's stage directions, was to become the first director to present a play in wholly Expressionist style." The subsequent influence of Reinhard Sorge upon
Christian poetry Christian poetry is any poetry that contains Christian teachings, themes, or references. The influence of Christianity on poetry has been great in any area that Christianity has taken hold. Christian poems often directly reference the Bible, while ...
in the Germanosphere was so overwhelming during the
Interwar Period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
, that Rev. B. O'Brien compared Sorge to
Francis Thompson Francis Joseph Thompson (16 December 1859 – 13 November 1907) was an English poet and Catholic mystic. At the behest of his father, a doctor, he entered medical school at the age of 18, but at 26 left home to pursue his talent as a writer a ...
. On 4 July 2016 the centenary of Sorge's death was commemorated in a multinational ceremony at
Belloy-en-Santerre Belloy-en-Santerre (, literally ''Belloy in Santerre'') is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated on the D79 road, about from the junction of the A1 autoroute and the N29, som ...
, alongside Allied
war poet A war poet is a poet who participates in a war and writes about their experiences, or a non-combatant who writes poems about war. While the term is applied especially to those who served during the First World War, the term can be applied to a p ...
s
Alan Seeger Alan Seeger (22 June 1888 – 4 July 1916) was an American war poet who fought and died in World War I during the Battle of the Somme, serving in the French Foreign Legion. Seeger was the brother of Charles Seeger, a noted American pacifist ...
and Camil Campanyà, who fell serving with the
French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...
during the same battle.The Catalan Government pays homage to the Catalan volunteers of the First World War at Belloy en Santerre
4 July 2016.


Writings


Stage Plays

* ''Der Bettler. Eine dramatische Sendung'' (1912); * ''Guntwar. Die Stunde eines Propheten'' (1914); * ''Metanoeite. Drei Mysterien'' (1915); * ''König David'' (1916); * ''Mystische Zwiesprache'' (1922); * ''Der Sieg des Christos. Eine Vision'' (1924); * ''Der Jüngling'' (frühere Dramen umfassend;1925);


Poetry

* ''Mutter der Himmel. Ein Sang in zwölf Gesängen'' (1917); * ''Gericht über Zarathustra. Vision'' (1921); * ''Preis der Unbefleckten. Sang über die Begegnung zu Lourde's'' (1924); * ''Nachgelassene Gedichte'' (1925);


Collected works

* ''Werke'', 3 Volumes (1962–67).


Others

* ''Bekenntnisse und Lobpreisungen, edited by Otto Karrera (München, 1960).


Resources

* Rev. B. O'Brien, S.J., "From Nietzsche to Christ: Reinhard Johannes Sorge,"
Irish Monthly The ''Irish Monthly'' was an Irish Catholic magazine founded in Dublin, Ireland in July 1873. Until 1920 it had the sub-title ''A Magazine of General Literature''. History The magazine was founded by Matthew Russell, who was its editor for al ...
, December 1932, pages 713-722. * Private, Reserve Infantry Regiment 69, 6 Kompagnie; Prussian casualty list No. 607 of 15 August 1916, p 14057/Deutsche casualty list.


Notes


External links


Zeno.org Reinhard Sorge: Biography and Writings Online (In German)

Reinhard Sorge at Project Gutenburg (In German)


* ttp://www.fluelen.ch/Kultur/sorge.htm Reinhard Sorge: A German Poet in Switzerland (In German)
Catalogue of Sorge Manuscripts in the Deutsches Literaturarchiv, Marbach am Neckar




{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorge, Reinhard Johannes 1892 births 1916 deaths Writers from Berlin German Catholic poets Converts to Roman Catholicism from atheism or agnosticism German World War I poets Roman Catholic writers German male poets German male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century German dramatists and playwrights 20th-century German male writers Battle of the Somme Kleist Prize winners German military personnel killed in World War I