Cultural Criticism in the Netherlands, 1933-1940 : The Newspaper Columns of Menno ter Braak

In Cultural Criticism in the Netherlands, 1933-40 , Jacob Boas offers a broad selection of the newspaper columns of legendary Dutch cultural critic Menno ter Braak noteworthy for their enduring literary and historical relevance. Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Introducing Menno ter Braak (1902–1940) A Note on Translation, Selections, Etc. Part 1 1933 1 Morgenstern’s Enchanted World The Spirit of Hieronymus Bosch 2 A People and Its Myth Emigrants about Germany 3 André Malraux: La Condition Humaine Part 2 1934 4 Jakob Wassermann 5 The Place of the Newspaper Critic A New Year’s Meditation 6 Hitler’s Mein Kampf 7 The German Writer Heinz Liepmann Under Arrest A Worrisome Precedent 8 Literary Awards The Nobel Prize in particular Ivan Bunin, Mitya’s Love Objective and Subjective Prizewinners Ivan Bunin Lyrical Decay 9 The Novel as Document The Significance of Max Havelaar Objections to the Documentary Novel 10 Art and the Art of Storytelling 11 Hero Worship Carlyle’s “Living Rock” No Recipe for Heroes The Book and the Newspaper 12 Races Race as Self-glorification Horizontal-Vertical Apologia for Jewry, Lack of Self-criticism 13 Writing as Enchantment Literature and Advertising Writers Who Have “Nothing to Say” Persuasion and Poverty of Ideas 14 Conversation with Erika Mann 15 The Simple Style 16 Le Chemin des Dames The Writing Woman and Her Genre Possibilities and Limits “Woman” and “Lady” 17 The European Spirit A Gathering of Intellectuals in Paris Thinking European: a Concern of Intellectuals Politics Non Grata Pros and Cons 18 The Simple Task Weekly Masterpieces in the Haagsche Post Disadvantages of the Reviewing Patent 19 Objective Criticism Dr. Ritter’s Case for Mediocrity What Is “Description”? 45% Subjectivity 20 Temporary Illiteracy The Benefit of Not Reading A Monster of Civilization: Homo Lector When Reading becomes Dangerous One Book, One Person! 21 Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844–1934 Misconstruing His Personality Nietzsche’s Race Problem Nietzsche and the Antisemites The Appropriation Part 3 1935 22 Ethics of the Weapons Industry Nations Will Always Misuse Their Weapons The Benefits of War 23 The War Film Okraina (a film by Boris Barnet) 24 Dames 25 Othello 26 Popular History (i) Good and Bad Popularization 27 Popular History (ii) Historical Materialism Historical Materialism and Its Usefulness for the Historian No Deadly “Impartiality” 28 Max Havelaar: Multatuli’s Timeless Book, 1869–1935 The Meaning of Max Havelaar’s Readability 29 Writers’ Congress in Paris (i) Paris, June 24 30 Writers’ Congress in Paris (ii) Paris, 25 June The Problem of Individualism Goes Begging What Is Gide’s Future? 31 Russian Literature Where Does Literature Belong? 32 Our Humanity Humanity “Close to Home” The Individual and the Meaning of Life 33 Huizinga’s Defense of Culture 34 Helping Writers! 35 Aphorisms (i) Between Flaubert and Nietzsche 36 André Gide’s The Immoralist Synopsis (Provided by Ter Braak) The Autobiography Part 4 1936 37 Eros as Rebel Lawrence as Author of “Shocking Words” 38 Thomas Mann under Fire An Attack on His Position by Schwarzschild Between Third Reich and Emigration 39 Thomas Mann Speaks Declares His Opposition to Hitler’s Germany Hatred of Jews Concerns Europe and the Higher Levels of German Culture 40 About Franz Kafka (I) A First-rate Jewish Writer His style and Existential Predicament A World of His Own Gate, Gatekeeper, Man of the Country 41 Emigration Embraced Falling from Germany, Love of Germany A Novel on the Frontier of Two Countries The Surprise of the Unknown Falling into the Netherlands 42 Unemployment Crisis in the Work Ethic The Generation of War Children Labor’s Don Quixote 43 Freud’s Impact European Intellectual Life Inconceivable without Freud Not “Freudism” but Critical Gratitude 44 Humanist Erasmus’ Struggle in Behalf Tolerance His life in Letters Warring Instinct of the Pacifist 45 History or Criticism? Objectivity v. Subjectivity 46 Committee of Vigilance of Anti-National Socialist Intellectuals Defense of Intellectual Freedom 47 Paradoxical Democracy Prohibition of Die Pfeffermühle Democracy as Weakness and as Strength 48 Thomas Mann No Longer German The Final Phase of a Development Nobel Prize without Fatherland Part 5 1937 49 Thomas Mann v. Bonn Open Letter to the German Academic Establishment Response to “the Betrayal of the Intellectuals” Honorary Doctorate Rescinded National Socialism and War 50 Machiavelli His Breviary for Rulers The Trajectory of a Book Realism v. Idealism 51 Ranking A Militant Construct Par Excellence Subjectivity of the Ranking Construct 52 About Franz Kafka (ii) End and Beginning Master of the Dream Jew, German, Czech, Prague “Decadent without Decadence” The Dream Kafka v. Freud 53 Aphorisms (ii) Differences between a Court and Sermonizing Culture 54 Suicide and the Writer 55 Ortega as Erasmus Historical Reason v. Cartesianism Politicians and Intellectuals Have Different Tasks The United States of Europe Not a Utopian Dream “Imbeciles” of Left and Right Part 6 1938 56 Diderot’s Dilettantism An Undogmatic Mind without Prophetic Gestures Diderot as Mentor and Writer for Pleasure 57 Tarentella Jeanette MacDonald in a Musical Spy Film 58 Literator and Writer 59 Nobel Prize for Pearl S. Buck 60 In Memorium Lev Shestov (1866–1938) 61 Homo Ludens Huizinga’s Work about the Play Element in Culture The Cultural Historian and the Problem of Play and Seriousness Learned Foray into Nomansland Part 7 1939 62 Book Reviewer and Book Critic 63 The Average Bartje as the Measure of All Things The Cobbler and His Last Hanseatics v. Pirates 64 German and European Future A Book about the Education of Youth in the Third Reich The Totalitarian System in Pedagogy How Will Youth Respond? From the family to the Hitler Youth 65 Thomas Mann in Our Country He Seeks Respite at the North Sea Moderate Optimism of a Pessimistic Temperament 66 The Construct Civilization On the Frontier of Civilization and Culture Erasmus as Moralist The Concept Steeped in History About Spitting Repression and Domestication Erasmus: Nose-blowing and Sneezing 67 The Importance of Being Earnest Wilde’s Earnestness 68 At Freud’s Death The Viennese Doctor Succeeded Queen Victoria Influence through Intellectual Integrity Two Eras Freud Fought for His Truths Part 8 1940 69 Selma Lagerlöf Deceased The Author of Gösta Berling The Book That Made Her Famous Her Masterpiece Selma Lagerlöf in Real Life On Writing 70 Rauschning’s Book Seized The Opinion of the Translators One Chapter Omitted 71 The Merchant of Venice The Meaning of Shylock Appendices Appendix 1 1933 Hitler, in the Lord’s Image Appendix 2 1934 Einstein’s Worldview Appendix 3 1935 Discourse on Freedom Appendix 4 1937 National Socialism as a Doctrine of Rancor Appendix 5 1938 Betrayal of the Flags October 1938. “Oh, Glorious Colors” Appendix 6 1939 Hitler’s Own Words Introduction to the Dutch Translation of the Book by Hermann Rauschning Appendix 7 1939 Ter Braak’s Journal 1939 The Hague, September 3 September 4 September 6 September 7 September 8 September 9 September 11 September 15 September 17 September 24 Bibliography Index "In Cultural Criticism in the Netherlands, 1933-40, Jacob Boas offers a broad selection of the newspaper columns of legendary Dutch cultural critic Menno ter Braak. Ter Braak's columns are noteworthy not only for their distinctive treatment of disparate cultural components ranging from literature to the social sciences, but also for the light they throw on the extent to which politics intruded on the cultural sphere in the years prior to the outbreak of war. Ter Braak set a standard for literary criticism of surpassing quality. Moreover, a staunch advocate of democracy, the critic joined the battle against fascism, urging fellow intellectuals to rise to the occasion. The 'conscience of Dutch letters' killed himself on the eve of the German occupation, May 1940"-- Provided by publisher