Kurt Tucholsky
Kurt Tucholsky was a notable German-Jewish writer and political satirist born in 1890 in Berlin. He studied law but turned his focus to literature and journalism, achieving early success with his novel *Rheinsberg, ein Bilderbuch für Verliebte* in 1912. Tucholsky became a key figure in the Weimar Republic's literary scene, contributing over 1,800 articles to the newspaper *Die Weltbühne*, where he used multiple pseudonyms to critique the political landscape and advocate for social justice. His works often targeted the rise of reactionary politics and the threats posed by right-wing elements, particularly during the unsettling post-World War I era.
In 1924, he moved to Paris and later settled in Sweden, where he remained in exile as his works were banned in Germany under the Nazi regime. Tucholsky's writings continued to resonate, and after his death in 1935, his satirical voice regained popularity, influencing future generations. His life reflects a complex interplay of creativity, political engagement, and personal struggles, making him a significant figure in the history of German literature and political thought.
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Kurt Tucholsky
Journalist
- Born: January 9, 1890
- Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
- Died: December 21, 1935
- Place of death: Hindas, Göteborg, Sweden
Biography
Kurt Tucholsky was born in 1890 in Berlin, Germany, to Jewish parents. He was the eldest of three children born to Alex Tucholsky, a bank cashier, and Doris Tucholski, his cousin. He spent his earliest childhood in Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin, Poland), but returned to Berlin in 1899. He attended several high schools before finishing his secondary education with a private tutor. After his father died in 1905, he received a sizeable sum of money for further education, and he began studying law in Berlin in 1909.
His novel Rheinsberg, ein Bilderbuch für Verliebte, a pastoral love story full of witty and playful dialogue, was published in 1912. The book quickly became a classic. In 1913, he started writing for the stage newspaper Die Schaubühne. Tucholsky completed his legal studies in Jena, earning his law degree in 1915. He never practiced law, however, because he was more interested in writing and literature. He was enlisted into the German army and sent to the Eastern Front during World War I, where he managed to obtain administrative work to avoid the fighting. He gave up his Jewish religion in 1914, and in 1918 was baptized as a Protestant Christian while he was performing military service in Romania.
After the war, the newspaper Die Schaubühne became a news and opinion journal, renamed Die Weltbühne. Tucholsky returned to the newspaper and began to develop his brand of political satire, targeting the reactionary forces of the postwar Weimar Republic. He wrote his satires under four pseudonyms, producing more than 1,800 articles for the journal under one name or another during his lifetime. Tucholsky was a member of the Social Democratic Party, but he often satirized the party’s increasingly ineffectual leadership. As a trained lawyer, he was especially concerned about the right-wing bias of the judiciary and the many assassinations of left-wing politicians. He also wrote satiric songs for the burgeoning Berlin cabaret scene. Many of his newspaper articles and songs were collected and published in the 1920’s, including Mit 5 PS (1928), a reference to his pseudonyms.
In 1920 he married a doctor, Else Weil, but Tucholsky’s relationships with women were always fragile and the couple divorced in 1924. That same year he married Mary Gerold, with whom he had corresponded since they met in Romania. In 1924, Die Weltbühne sent him to Paris and he never returned to Germany. When the journal’s editor died in 1926, Tucholsky briefly took over as editor before passing that job on to Carl von Ossietsky.
When Paul von Hindenburg became president of Germany, Tucholsky foresaw clearly the rise of Nazism and the likelihood of further war. His book Deutschland, Deutschland über alles (1929), became his strongest denunciation of contemporary Germany, although in a final chapter he declared movingly what he continued to love about the country. In 1930, Tucholsky moved to the small town of Hindas, Sweden. He did not return to Germany for the trial of Ossietsky, who had been charged with espionage for publishing an article on illegal German aircraft production. Ossietsky was sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment. Tucholsky campaigned for Ossietsky to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, and Ossietsky received the prize in 1935.
By then, Tucholsky had ceased to write, distancing himself from Germany and realizing the power of his pen was to no avail. He divorced his second wife, who had returned to Germany rather than accompany him to Sweden. When Adolf Hitler came to power, Tucholsky’s books were banned and ceremonially burned. Tucholsky, who was suffering from a debilitating illness, took an overdose of sleeping tablets and died on December 21, 1935. His works regained popularity after World War II and were collected and reissued in a number of editions.