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 A war novel or military fiction is a novel about war. It is a novel in which the primary action takes place on a battlefield, or in a civilian setting (or home front), where the characters are preoccupied with the preparations for, suffering the ...

dealing with themes of humanity, friendship, and suffering during

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 ...

. Due to his idealism about

Prussian virtues Prussian virtues (German: ) are the virtues associated with the historical Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918). They were derived from Prussia's militarism and the ethical code of the Prussian Army as well as from bourgeois values such as honesty an ...

and the Great War, as well as the posthumous popularity of his writings, Walter Flex is sometimes compared to 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 ...

Rupert Brooke Rupert Chawner Brooke (3 August 1887 – 23 April 1915)The date of Brooke's death and burial under the Julian calendar that applied in Greece at the time was 10 April. The Julian calendar was 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. was an En ...

and

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 ...

Biography

Walter Flex was born at

Eisenach Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...

, in the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

, on July 6, 1887. The second of four sons, Walter's father, a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

teacher, was a fervent admirer of

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...

, and all four of his sons were brought up to revere the former German Chancellor. Flex had a happy childhood and showed no interest in the world until the

Second Anglo-Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

began in 1898. Due to his sympathy for "the underdog", Flex, like many other Germans of his time, sympathised with the Boer Republics in their battle against the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. Flex went to the

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

where he studied German, thanks to the award of a bursary. According to Tim Cross, "Walter Flex's first attempt at drama was the

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

''Demetrius'', about the Tsarist Pretender. In his following works for the stage, social problems form the core, as in ''Lothar'', ''Die Bauernführer'', ''Das heilige Blut'', and ''Der Kanzler Klaus von Bismarck''. These revolve around the premise that society is necessary. Each individual is like a thread, insignificant, disposable, and only makes sense if he is a thread woven into the fabric of the carpet. Interesting as these plays are in the context in which they were written, it cannot be claimed that Flex was an original writers a dramatist, he laboured much under the influence of

Hebbel Christian Friedrich Hebbel (18 March 1813 – 13 December 1863) was a German poet and dramatist. Biography Hebbel was born at Wesselburen in Dithmarschen, Holstein, the son of a bricklayer. He was educated at the '' Gelehrtenschule des Johanne ...

. His poetry is the least distinguished of his output, and appears more as an exercise towards the prose works such as ''Wallenstein'' and ''Der Wanderer''." Flex was successful academically and became a teacher like his father. His first appointment was as a private tutor to the family of Chancellor von Bismarck. A later appointment was to the family of Baron von Leesen, but this was interrupted by the outbreak of the Great War in August 1914. Despite weak ligaments in his right hand, Flex volunteered for 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 his mother's birthplace of

Rawitsch Rawicz (; german: Rawitsch) is a town in west-central Poland with 21,398 inhabitants as of 2004. It is situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship (since 1999); previously it was in Leszno Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Rawicz C ...

and was assigned to the 50th Infantry. By September 1914, Flex saw combat in the Argonne. According to Tim Cross, "His poetic outpourings on the war were prolific. Two collections, ''Sonne und Schild'' and ''Im Felde Zwischen Tag und Nacht'' were produced in the first months of the war. His body, soul, and literary talent were placed wholly at the disposal of the war-effort. The ''Christmas Fable for the 50th Regiment'' earned him the

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle (german: Roter Adlerorden) was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful se ...

with Crown." While going through

officer training A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

at Posen in early 1915, Flex met Ernst Wurche, a fellow member of the

Wandervogel ''Wandervogel'' (plural: ''Wandervögel''; English: "Wandering Bird") is the name adopted by a popular movement of German youth groups from 1896 to 1933, who protested against industrialization by going to hike in the country and commune with n ...

youth movement. Wurche lived by the motto, "To stay pure is to mature." Wurche also always carried three books in his backpack: the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

, the poems of

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

, and

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 ...

's ''

Also Sprach Zarathustra ', Op. 30 (, ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' or ''Thus Spake Zarathustra'') is a tone poem by Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical 1883–1885 novel ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra''.novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

''Der Wanderer zwischen Beiden Weltem'' ("A Wanderer between Two Worlds"), which has never been out of print since its first publication. Taking part in

Operation Albion Operation Albion was a World War I German air, land and naval operation against the Russian forces in October 1917 to occupy the West Estonian Archipelago. The land campaign opened with German landings at the Tagalaht bay on the island of S ...

, Flex was wounded in action. He died of his wounds at Oti Manor, in

Saaremaa Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring . The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the island i ...

on October 16, 1917. Walter Flex was buried in the cemetery of Peude Church in the village of the same name, on

Saaremaa island Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring . The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the island i ...

, in modern

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. His epitaph was a quote from one of his works ''Preußischer Fahneneid'' ("The Prussian Military Oath" written in 1915): :"Wer je auf Preußens Fahne schwört, :Hat nichts mehr, was ihm selbst gehört." (Translation: :"He who on Prussia's banner swears :has nothing left that belongs to himself.")

Legacy

His ''Wanderer zwischen beiden Welten'' was published in 1916, by Verlag C. H. Beck, and was well received. By 1917, over 700,000 copies had been printed in Germany—a testament to his extreme popularity with the wartime public. Tim Cross compares Flex's posthumous popularity and the idealization of his wartime death with the similar ''cultus'' surrounding English

. Under 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 al ...

, Flex's reputation grew further. Between 1933 and 1945, Flex's

romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

and

idealism In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected to ide ...

were exploited for

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

by the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

, which found his poetry and prose especially appealing and considered Flex the epitome of

Aryan Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...

ideals. According to Flex, however, it was "not national patriotism I represent, but demands for the moral good. When I wrote about the perpetuity of the German race and about the deliverence of the world by the Germanic, it had nothing to do with national

egotism Egotism is defined as the drive to maintain and enhance favorable views of oneself and generally features an inflated opinion of one's personal features and importance distinguished by a person's amplified vision of one's self and self-importanc ...

; rather it is a moral conviction which can be realized as much in the defeat or in the heroic sacrifice of a nation." In 1940, Flex's body was moved from

to a new military cemetery before of the Sackenheimer Tor at

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

(now

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

, Russia). Walter Flex's grave, along with the rest the city, was destroyed in Allied air raids and during the three-month siege previous to the city's surrender to the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

on April 9, 1945.Fritz Gause. ''Königsberg in Preußen''. (Gräfe und Unzer, 1968), p. 226. As a song, Flex's poem ''Wildgänse rauschen durch die Nacht'' gained popularity with the

youth and was well known and sung in Germany until the 1970s. During the time of (and partly due to his influence on) the

German student movement The West German student movement or sometimes called the 1968 movement in West Germany was a social movement that consisted of mass student protests in West Germany in 1968; participants in the movement would later come to be known as 68ers. T ...

, his reputation faded almost entirely .

Memorial markers

* The house (built in 1723) where Flex lived during his student days (1906-1908) is at Friedrichstraße 16.

Erlangen Erlangen (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian language, Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative d ...

, Germany has a historical marker. * A

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

is at Walter Flex's birthplace in

, Germany. The cross is a replica of the one at Peude which originally marked his grave. It was made by Eisenach-born . The inscription reads as follows: Translation: * The New Cemetery (Neuer Friedhof), Eisenach, Germany has a tombstone for Flex.

Works

* ''Briefe. In Verbindung mit Konrad Flex''. München, C.H. Beck 9--? 333 pp. * ''Demetrius: Ein Trauerspiel''. Berlin: ischer, 1909? 147 p.; 18 cm. * ''Klaus von Bismarck: Eine Tragödie; ühnen u. Vereinen gegenüber Ms.' Berlin: Janke, 1913. 136 pp. * ''Zwölf Bismarcks: 7 Novellen''. Berlin: Janke, 1913. * ''Das Volk in Eisen: Kriegsgesänge eines Kriegs-Freiwilligen. Ein Ehrendenkmal für meinen für Kaiser und Reich gefallenen lieben Bruder, den Lt. Otto Flex, Inf.-Reg. 160. Kriegsgesänge e. Kriegs-Freiwilligen ''. Second edition. Lissa i .P.: Eulitz, a. 1914 20 pp. * ''Zwei eigenhändige Ansichtskarten mit Unterschrift''. n.p.: n.p., 914? * ''Der Kanzler Klaus von Bismarck. Eine Erzählung''. Stuttgart, Evang. gesellschaft,

915 Year 915 ( CMXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Battle of Garigliano: The Christian League, personally led by Pope John X, lays s ...

196 p.; 20 cm. * ''Der Wanderer zwischen beiden Welten'' (1916) * ''Der Wanderer zwischen beiden Welten: Ein Kriegserlebnis''. Third edition. München: Beck, 1917. 106 p.; 19 cm. * ''Der Wanderer zwischen beiden Welten: Ein Kriegserlebnis''. 687. bis 712. Taus. München,

917 __NOTOC__ Year 917 ( CMXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * August 20 – Battle of Achelous: A Byzantine expeditionary fo ...

Print run of copies 687,000 to 712,000
OCLC 186818957
* ''The Wanderer between the Two Worlds: An Experience of War''. London: Rott Publishing, 2014. First translation into English by Brian Murdoch. * ''Kriegspatenbriefe. 1, Leutnantsdienst: neue Gedichte aus dem Felde''. Lissa : Eulitz,

28 pp. * Flex, Walter: ''Gesammelte Werke''. München, Germany: C. H. Beck´sche Verlh. First edition. Vol. 1. (1925). xxxix pp., 450 pp. * Flex, Walter: ''Gesammelte Werke''. München, Germany: C. H. Beck´sche Verlh. First edition. Vol. 2. (1925). 540 pp. * Flex, Walter: ''Gesammelte Werke''. München, Germany: C. H. Beck´sche Verlh. Fourth edition. Vol. 1. (1936). 691 pp.; 20 cm. * Flex, Walter: ''Gesammelte Werke''. München, Germany: C. H. Beck´sche Verlh. Fourth edition. Vol. 2. (1936). 811 pp.; 20 cm. * Flex, Walter: ''Gesammelte Werke''. München, Germany: C. H. Beck´sche Verlh. Ninth edition. Vol. 1. (1944). 691 pp. * Flex, Walter: ''Gesammelte Werke''. München, Germany: C. H. Beck´sche Verlh. Ninth edition. Vol. 2. (1955). 539 pp.

Memorial volume

*''Walter Flex Gedenkheft rsg. anläßl. d. 15. Todestages des Dichters''. (Title translation: ''Walter Flex Commemorative Booklet: Edited on the Occasion of the 15th Anniversary of the Poet's Death'' .] ) tendal, Breitestr. 55 arl August Richter1931.

References

External links

* *
The story of Walter Flex.
A film, narrating the story of Walter Flex.
Über die Vorgänge beim Tode des Leutnants der Reserve Walter Flex.
Typescript, first-person account of Flex's last hours (in German).
"Aus dem Vergessen-Deutsche Kriegshelden"
(From Oblivion-German War Hero). Episode 2 on Johann Elias Olfermann (1776–1822), Eduard Schlagintweit (1831–1866), and Walter Flex. (YouTube video; titles in German.)

at Schriftsteller. 73 (Text in German.)
Visiting the grave of Walter Flex.
Die Deutsche Wochenschau Nr. 579 October 8, 1941 Time 5:50 to 6:14. (archive.org; narration in German.)
"Wildgänse rauschen durch die Nacht."
The 1916 poem by Flex set to music. (YouTube video in the German language.) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flex, Walter 1887 births 1917 deaths People from Eisenach People from Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach German poets German World War I poets Writers from Thuringia University of Erlangen-Nuremberg alumni German military personnel killed in World War I German male poets German male novelists 20th-century German novelists German-language poets 20th-century German male writers Military personnel from Thuringia German Army personnel of World War I