Left-Wing Nietzscheans: The Politics of German Expressionism 1910-1920 (Monographien und Texte zur Nietzsche-Forschung, 22)

Nietzsche the elitist individualist, or Nietzsche the social critic? Nietzsche the universal existentialist, or Nietzsche the militant nationalist? "Become what you are," or "the will to power"? These are some of the questions relating to the influence of the "un-timely" German thinker and poet upon the various ideological movements of the twentieth century, ranging from fascism on the right to anarchist socialism on the left. While on the political sides (both right and left) the claims and disclaims to Nietzsche have often resulted from distorted editions and quotations taken out of the context of his works, the intellectual followers of Nietzsche often saw it necessary to abandon their "teacher" in the face of the realities of the twentieth-century political and social developments. No other group of intellectuals (with otherwise no common denominator but that of their revolt against the political and cultural conservatism of their time) could relate so jointly to one spiritual ancestor as the German Expressionists did to Friedrich Nietzsche. Therefore, when at the beginning of the famous Expressionism debate of the 1930s Gyorgy Lukacs made the claim that Expressionism had been a foreplay to national socialism, it actually seemed to give credence to the label of pioneer of German nationalism previously bestowed upon Nietzsche by the representatives of the "conservative revolution." In view of the widely contested statement by Lukacs, Nietzsche's influence upon the Expressionists has deserved a closer look in order to determine his and their true positions during the sharp turn to the right of German politics and public sentiments during the second decade of the twentieth century. Such a look has now been undertaken, and its findings constitute the subject of the present book. Following a summarizing review of the charges against Nietzsche and the Expressionists as forerunners of German fascism, Taylor presents a systematic analysis of major Expressionists' (including also Dadaists') understanding of Nietzsche's philosophy. Since the stress here is obviously on philosophical connections and influences, the names we encounter are not those of the more popular writers of Expressionist poems and dramas, such as Heym, Stramm, Toller, or Kaiser, but those of the theoretical exponents and practitioners of the Expressionist, as well as Dadaist, movements, above all: Kurt Hiller, Otto Gross, Salomo Friedlander, Anselm Ruest, Hugo Ball, and Richard Huelsenbeck. Thus both the more political branch of Expressionism (Hiller, Gross, and the Berlin Dadaists) and its apolitical side (Friedlander and Ruest) are seen in their relationships to Nietzsche, as well as Expressionism's debt to other German thinkers, either directly or via Nietzsche, e.g. Sigmund Freud (in the case of Gross), Immanuel Kant (in the case of Friedlander), or Max Stirner (in the case of Anselm Ruest). As Taylor is able to demonstrate convincingly, the end of Expressionism in Germany coincided with the end of the left-wing Nietzsche vogue, thus leaving only the representatives of German nationalism and militarism - who, however, distanced themselves from Expressionism - to make their continuing claims upon Nietzsche. But since they also claimed to be the only true heirs of that German culture which had consistently been the object of Nietzche's attacks, they missed the essence of this thinking. Ironically the reason why the Expressionists and especially the Dadaists abandoned Nietzsche was exactly that they, too, considered him too closely tied to the German cultural tradition. The politics of World War I and of the failed postwar revolution caused the Expressionists to take a stand on the question of their becoming politically active or retreating into complete intellectual isolation. Although the lure to either of these positions can be seen in Nietzsche's works, neither the Expressionists nor the philosopher himself was able to harmonize the two polarities of his thinking, and both Lukacs's and the Nazis' attacks against the Expressionists were unwarranted. It is a pity that a book containing so much good information about an important period of German intellectual history is marred by so many flaws. While some of them are simply the result of unsatisfactory proofreading many typographical errors, but also carelessness with names, such as Giinter, instead of Gunter, Martens (61), Hoffmannsthal instead of Hofmannsthal (39), and inconsistent capitalization of "Dionysian" - others seem to reflect the author's all too limited knowledge of German. The latter becomes evident in his retention of the German word Geist in his English translations with both abstract ("spirit of a movement") and concrete ("mind") meanings, but with inconsistent usage of the plural form (cf. 68, 79, 83, 222), or in such phrases as "the Das Forum" and "the Die WeiBen Buecher Verlag." Also Taylor's use of both Burger and "bourgeois" in the English text seems to suggest less a distinction in meaning than an inconsistent usage of the two words. Considering the dilemma that any translator faces with foreign words never having the exact same meaning in another language, would it not be more useful to the reader to explain a word in translation and then use it consistently, rather than to intersperse the English translation with such German words as Geist, geistig, Burger, buergerlich, der Einzige, etc.? If the author of a book on German Expressionism does not assume that his readers will understand his quotations in German, he should also not count on their better understanding if he leaves important key words untranslated. Acknowledgements 6 Table of Contents 7 Introduction 9 Georg Lukacs' Critique of Expressionism 15 1. The Nietzsche Vogue in Germany, 1890-1910 24 The Origins of the Nietzsche Vogue in Germany 26 Heinrich Mann's Ambiguous Repudiation of Nietzsche 37 2. Expressionism and Nietzsche 45 Der Sturm and Die Aktion 50 Politicization and the Effects of the War 63 3. Nietzschean Politics: Kurt Hiller and the Philosopy of Goal 68 Hiller's Road to Activism 70 The Zeil Anthologies 77 A Council of Geistig Workers 88 Hiller and Nietzsche: Will to Power in the Service of Reason 92 4. Nietzschean Communism: The Psychological Theories of Otto Gross 97 The Early Years of Otto Gross 98 Gross and the Psychoanalytic Movement 102 Otto Gross, Nietzsche, and Expressionism 105 Gross' Last Years: Psychology in the Service of Communism 121 5. The Rejection of Politics I: The Creative Indifference of Salomo Friedlaender 127 Kant and Nietzsche: The way to Creative Indifference 132 The Repudiation of Nietzsche 142 The Politics of Creative Indifference 148 6. The Rejection of Politics II: Anselm Ruest and Der Einzige 152 From Stirner to Nietzsche 153 The Early Years of Anselm Ruest 157 Der Einzige 159 The Organization of Individualism 169 7. The End of Individualism: Nietzsche and Dada 174 Hugo Ball and Nietzsche 175 The Origins of Dada in Zurich 187 Richard Huelsenbeck and the Founding of Berlin Dada 196 Dada Politics: The Rejection of Nietzschean Individualism 205 8. The End of the Left-Wing Nietzsche Vogue in Germany 217 The Struggle for Nietzsche's Legacy 217 The End of a Left-Wing Nietzsche Vogue in Germany 227 Conclusion 235 Bibliography 243 Index 259 Georg Lukacs' Critique of Expressionism I. The Nietzsche Vogue in Germany, 1890-1910 -Origins of the Nietzsche Vogue in Germany -Heinrich Mann's Ambiguous Repudiation of Nietzsche II. Expressionism and Nietzsche -Der Sturm and Die Aktion -Politicization and the Effects of the War III. Nietzschean Politics: Kurt Hiller and the Philosophy of Goal -Hiller's Road to Activism -The Ziel Anthologies -A Council of Geistig Worke -Hiller and Nietzsche: Will to Power in the Service of Reason IV. Nietzschean Communism: The Psychological Theories of Otto Gross -The Early Years of Otto Gross -Gross and the Psychoaoalytic Movement -Otto Gross, Nietzsche, and Expressionism -Gross' Last Years: Psychology in the Service of Communism V. The Rejection of Politics I: The Creative Indifference of Salomo Friedlaender -Kant and Nietzsche: The Way to Creative Indifference -The Repudiation of Nietzsche -The Politics of Creative Indifference VI. The Rejection of Politics II: Anselm Ruest and Der Einzige -From Stirner to Nietzsche -The Early Years of Anselm Ruest -Der Einzige -The Organization of Individualism VII. The End of Individualism: Nietzsche and Dada -Hugo Ball and Nietzsche -The Origins of Dada in Zurich -Richard Huelsenbeck and the Founding of Berlin Dada -Dada Politics: The Rejection of Nietzschean Individualism VIII. The End of the Left-Wing Nietzsche Vogue in Germany -The Struggle for Nietzsche Legacy -The End of a Left-Wing Nietzsche Vogue Conclusion

Friedrich Nietzsche has emerged as one of the most important and influential modern philosophers. For several decades, the book series Monographien und Texte zur Nietzsche-Forschung (MTNF) has set the agenda in a rapidly growing and changing field of Nietzsche scholarship. The scope of the series is interdisciplinary and international in orientation reflects the entire spectrum of research on Nietzsche, from philosophy to literary studies and political theory. The series publishes monographs and edited volumes that undergo a strict peer-review process.

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The Monographien und Texte zur Nietzsche-Forschung (MTNF) presents outstanding monographic interpretations by scholars, active in various academic fields, of Nietzsche's work as a whole or of specific themes and aspects. These works are written mostly from a philosophical, literary, communication science, sociological or historical perspective. The publications reflect the current state of research on Nietzsche's philosophy, on his sources, on his relationship with his predecessors and contemporaries and on the influence of his writings. The volumes are peer-reviewed. Die Reihe Monographien und Texte zur Nietzsche-Forschung (MTNF) setzt seit mehreren Jahrzehnten die Agenda in der sich stetig verndernden Nietzsche-Forschung. Die Bnde sind interdisziplinr und international ausgerichtet und spiegeln das gesamte Spektrum der Nietzsche-Forschung wider, von der Philosophie ber die Literaturwissenschaft bis zur politischen Theorie. Die Reihe verffentlicht Monographien und Sammelbnde, die einem strengen Peer-Review-Verfahren unterliegen. Die Buchreihe wird von einem internationalen Redaktionsteam geleitet.