The Politics of the Unpolitical: German Writers and the Problem of Power, 1770-1871 - Hardcover

Craig, Gordon A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195094999 ISBN 13: 9780195094992

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1995

Synopsis

In a book written during the First World War, Thomas Mann wrote that political activity was alien to the German spirit and that "in fact the political element was absent from the German concept of education." The Politics of the Unpolitical demonstrates the essential unreliability of this generalization by focusing on the political activity of ten of Germany's most widely respected writers in the period from the French Revolution to the founding of the Bismarck Reich in 1871.
Gordon A. Craig's book shows how Goethe, Schiller, Heinrich von Kleist, Wilhelm von Humboldt, Holderlin, and Heine were fascinated by the political issues of their day and reacted either by entering public service or threw themselves into efforts to change society for the better. In his study of ten of Germany's most important intellectuals Craig, focuses on their political views and activities and argues that they were not, in fact, representatives of the genre of the "unpolitical German."

About this title

From the Back Cover:

In The Politics of the Unpolitical: German Writers and the Problem of Power, 1770-1871, historian Gordon Craig demonstrates the essential unreliability of this generalization by focusing on the political activity of ten of Germany's most widely respected writers in the period from the French Revolution to the founding of the Bismarck Reich. Craig shows how Goethe, Schiller, Heinrich von Kleist, Wilhelm von Humboldt, Holderlin, and Heine were fascinated by the political issues of their day and - by focusing on their political views and activities - urges that they were not representatives of the genre of the "unpolitical German". On the contrary, Craig argues, the writers studied here were all interested in and in various ways engaged in political life. He also examines the overwhelming effect of the personality of Napoleon Bonaparte upon German politics, awakening intellectuals to the vital importance of power in its many dimensions in the political process. The Politics of the Unpolitical deals with a question that has always been a point of controversy: do writers have political responsibility and are they obliged to show political engagement in their works? Craig answers these questions with an unequivocal yes.

About the Author:

Gordon A. Craig is J.E. Wallace Sterling Professor of Humanities, Emeritus, at Stanford University. He is the author of numerous books including The Politics of the Prussian Army, 1640-1945 (1955), and Force and Statecraft

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0195094999
• ISBN 13: 9780195094992
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208