The Great Debate: ｫBolshevismｻ and the Literary Left in Germany, 1917-1930 (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780820400747)

This study interprets debates within the Weimar literary Left over the relation of literature to politics. The historical key to these debates was the German revolution of 1918-1919 and the idea of Bolshevism , i.e. a symbolic allegiance to the only successful revolutionary movement of 1917-1920. In covering the arguments of figures like G. Grosz, W. Herzfelde, E. Piscator, J. Becher, A. Dlin, B. Brecht and W. Benjamin, it demonstrates the great ambivalence and historical specificity of the stances writers adopted in the Twenties over the issue of political allegiance to Marxism. Thus the work contributes to a historical appreciation of the mentality of the Weimar Republic and especially of Weimar Culture . But its concerns extend beyond Weimar to the larger question of the relation of intellectuals to politics in the twentieth century.

Author: John A. Zammito
ISBN-10: 0820400742
ISBN-13: 9780820400747
Publisher: Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publi
Language: English
Published: 12/31/1984
Pages: 208
Format: Hardcover