Erwin Guido Kolbenheyer (30 December 1878, in Budapest – 12 April 1962, in Munich) was an Austrian novelist, poet and playwright. Later based in Germany, he belonged to a group of writers that included the likes of Hans Grimm,

Rudolf G. Binding Rudolf Georg Binding (13 August 1867 – 4 August 1938) was a German writer. He was born in Basel, Switzerland, and died in Starnberg. He studied medicine and law before joining the Hussars. On the outbreak of the First World War, Bin ...

Emil Strauß Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...

Agnes Miegel Agnes Miegel (9 March 1879 – 26 October 1964) was a German author, journalist and poet. She is best known for her poems and short stories about East Prussia, but also for the support she gave to the Nazi Party. Biography Agnes Miegel was born ...

and Hanns Johst, all of whom found favour under the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

. He was nominated for the

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

five times.

Early life

A '' Volksdeutscher'' from the Hungarian part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, he attended school in Budapest before furthering his education in Karlsbad and Vienna.

Robert S. Wistrich Robert Solomon Wistrich (April 7, 1945 – May 19, 2015) was the Erich Neuberger Professor of European and Jewish history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the head of the University's Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study ...

, ''Who's Who in Nazi Germany'', 2001, p. 144 Kolbenheyer studied philosophy, psychology and zoology at the University of Vienna and earned his PhD in 1905. He became a freelance writer and came to specialise in historical novels that were characterised by their fixation with all things German. In 1908 he published ''Amor Dei'', a novel about life and thinking of the Jewish-Dutch philosopher

Baruch Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...

, which made Kolbenheyer fairly known. Kolbenheyer published an anthology with own poetry under the title ''Der Dornbusch brennt'' (i.e. '' Burning bush'') in 1922. Between 1917 and 1925 he produced his most celebrated works, a trilogy of novels about

Paracelsus Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. He w ...

, and in these books Kolbenheyer explored many of the ''

Völkisch movement The ''Völkisch'' movement (german: Völkische Bewegung; alternative en, Folkist Movement) was a German ethno-nationalist movement active from the late 19th century through to the Nazi era, with remnants in the Federal Republic of Germany af ...

'' concepts prevalent at the time by presenting his hero as the Nordic race archetype struggling against racial degeneracy and immorality. In 1929 he published „''Heroische Leidenschaften''“ (i.e. ''Heroic Passions''), a drama about the Italian astronomer

Giordano Bruno Giordano Bruno (; ; la, Iordanus Brunus Nolanus; born Filippo Bruno, January or February 1548 – 17 February 1600) was an Italian philosopher, mathematician, poet, cosmological theorist, and Hermetic occultist. He is known for his cosmologic ...

. Having settled amongst the

Sudeten Germans German Bohemians (german: Deutschböhmen und Deutschmährer, i.e. German Bohemians and German Moravians), later known as Sudeten Germans, were ethnic Germans living in the Czech lands of the Bohemian Crown, which later became an integral part ...

, Kolbenheyer's

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

attitudes solidified and he came to pre-empt many ideas of Nazism, notably in his theoretical work ''Die Bauhütte'' (1925), which predicted a turn away from '

Judeo-Christianity The term Judeo-Christian is used to group Christianity and Judaism together, either in reference to Christianity's derivation from Judaism, Christianity's borrowing of Jewish Scripture to constitute the "Old Testament" of the Christian Bible, or ...

' as the source of German salvation. This work has been identified as being one of the main influences on Alfred Rosenberg's ''

The Myth of the Twentieth Century ''The Myth of the Twentieth Century'' (german: Der Mythus des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts) is a 1930 book by Alfred Rosenberg, one of the principal ideologues of the Nazi Party and editor of the Nazi paper '' Völkischer Beobachter''. The titular ...

''. In Kolbenheyer's own words the addressee of his book "''Bauhütte''" is the "''philosophical conscience ... of the white race''" which he wanted to arouse. A strong opponent of left-wing politics, he joined

Wilhelm Schäfer Wilhelm Schäfer (20 January 1868 – 19 January 1952) was a German writer. Life Born in Ottrau (Grand Duchy of Hesse, Hesse), until 1896 Schäfer was a school teacher. He gained a scholarship to study in Switzerland and France through the Co ...

in resigning from the

Akademie der Künste The Academy of Arts (german: Akademie der Künste) is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The Academy's predecessor organization was fo ...

in 1931 over what he saw as their support for the activities of Heinrich Mann and

Alfred Döblin Bruno Alfred Döblin (; 10 August 1878 – 26 June 1957) was a German novelist, essayist, and doctor, best known for his novel '' Berlin Alexanderplatz'' (1929). A prolific writer whose œuvre spans more than half a century and a wide variety of ...

Nazism

He continued to write widely under the Nazis, taking up his pen to praise Adolf Hitler in a poem and to defend the Nazi book burnings, as well as to write pro-Nazi war novels such as ''Karlsbader Novellen 1786'' (1935) and ''Das Gottgelobte Herz'' (1938). The ''Gottgelobte Herz'' (i.e. ''The God-blessed heart'') is a novel about the Dominican nun

Margareta Ebner Margareta Ebner (1291 – 20 June 1351) was a German professed religious from the Dominican Nuns. Ebner – from 1311 – experienced a series of spiritual visions in which Jesus Christ gave her messages which she recorded in letters and a jour ...

. Indeed, his star rose under the Nazis because his literature fitted their world view. He was one of a number of writers added to the Prussian Academy of Arts after the Nazis came to power in 1933 at the expense of the likes of Franz Werfel,

Ludwig Fulda Ludwig Anton Salomon Fulda (July 7, 1862 – March 7, 1939) was a German playwright and poet, with a strong social commitment. He lived with Moritz Moszkowski's first wife Henriette, née Chaminade, younger sister of pianist and composer Cécil ...

and

Jakob Wassermann __NOTOC__ Jakob Wassermann (10 March 1873 – 1 January 1934) was a German writer and novelist. Life Born in Fürth, Wassermann was the son of a shopkeeper and lost his mother at an early age. He showed literary interest early and published ...

, none of whom shared the Nazi '' weltanschauung''. His 1934 play ''Gregor und Heinrich'', concerning Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor and

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII ( la, Gregorius VII; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana ( it, Ildebrando di Soana), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint ...

, demonstrated an instance of his pro-Nazi stance as he dedicated it to "the German spirit in the process of being resurrected". As a reward for his high standing under the Nazis he was one of six writers included on 'List A' or the 'List of the God-gifted', properly known as the Gottbegnadeten list, who were exempted from military service on account of their prestige. He was also awarded the Goethe Prize in 1937. In 1940 he published the anthology ''Vox humana'' and became a member of the Nazi party.

Post-war writing

Kolbenheyer was banned from writing for five years after the Second World War although from his base in West Germany he continued to publish novels that were largely in the same nationalist spirit as his previous output. He also became a regular contributor to the

far right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

, pan-European nationalist journal '' Nation Europa''.

Quotation

In Kolbenheyer's drama ''Menschen und Götter'' (i.e. Men and Gods), Orbis, Prague, 1944: : SON OF MAN :Go further monk, and heal :your excessive pain through my pain. :It flows to you as a part of yourself :out of the infiniteness. :Lo, the drops descend, :drops of blood out of heart and hand. :You shall humbly drink :the salvation by sacrifice, sent by God.Drama: ''Menschen und Götter'' (i.e. Men and Gods), Orbis, Prague, 1944; "Begib dich, Mönch, und heile dein Übermaß an meinem Leid. Es fließt als Teil dem Teile dir zu aus der Unendlichkeit. Sieh an, die Tropfen sinken des Blutes rot aus Herz und Hand. In Demut sollst du trinken des Opfers Heil, von Gott gesandt."

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolbenheyer, Erwin Guido 1878 births 1962 deaths Writers from Budapest Hungarian-German people Austrian male writers Nazi Party politicians Nazi Party members Militant League for German Culture members Austrian people of Hungarian descent German people of German Bohemian descent German people of Austrian descent German male writers Austro-Hungarian writers