Beyond Catastrophe: German Intellectuals and Cultural Renewal After World War II, 1945-1955Beyond Catastrophe examines the post-World War II leadership efforts of four major German intellectuals: Karl Jaspers, Thomas Mann, Friedrich Meinecke, and Bertolt Brecht. Clark focuses on the symbolic, practical, and theoretical contributions of these men to post-war cultural reconstruction, and pays special attention to their key works of the period -- The German Catastrophe, Doctor Faustus, The Question of German Guilt, and Turandot -- in which they addressed the key issues of the period including responsibility and guilt for the National Socialist regime, German distinctiveness, the possibility of a renewed humanism, and the relationship of intellectuals to the broader society. Addressing an important lacuna in twentieth-century intellectual history, Beyond Catastrophe will appeal to scholars of history and German studies. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Guardian of the Past Friedrich Meinecke | 15 |
A Prophet Without Honor Karl Jaspers | 49 |
The Insider as Outsider Thomas Mann | 83 |
Hero or Villain? Bertolt Brecht in the GDR | 129 |
Conclusion | 167 |
179 | |
189 | |
About the Author | |
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Academy Adorno Alexander Abusch argued artistic Ausgewählter Briefwechsel Bauer Becher believed Berlin Bertolt Brecht Bildung Bismarck bourgeois Burckhardt claimed create critical cultural and political cultural crisis democracy democratic denazification deutsche deutschen Deutschland Doctor Faustus East Germany Eisler elite essays European Frankfurt Free University freedom Friedrich Meinecke German Catastrophe German culture German history German intellectuals Germany's GKBF Goethe Golo Mann Hanns Eisler Heidegger Heidelberg University historians Hitler Huchel human Ibid ideas important June Karl Jaspers letter Lukacs mandarins Mann's masses Meinecke's moral Moreover National Socialism Nazi Nazism needed Neue party past Penham philosophy play pointed Politische Schriften position post-war period professors Rabinbach recognized regime responsibility role Schriften und Reden socialist society Soviet speech Suhrkamp theater Theodor Adorno Thieß Third Reich Thomas Mann tion tradition understanding Universität University Press Verlag Walter Wandlung Weimar Republic Werke West Western wrote York Zeitblom Zeitung