The Politics of the Unpolitical: German Writers and the Problem of Power, 1770-1871 1st Edition by Gordon A. Craig (PDF)

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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.”

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Editorial Reviews: Review “In ten chapters, each about a different man, Craig presents deft characterizations of German writers who sought to engage themselves politically and penetrating and provocative depictions of writers who abhorred politics as not being suited to the German writer’s temperament….An interesting discussion of literary responses to political situations from the Age of Napoleon to the Age of Bismarck.”–CHOICE”This collection of essays is a pleasure to read but will perplex many of its readers. The essays themselves are vintage Craig: graceful and wide ranging.”–American Historical Review 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 Read more

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