Hanns Johst
Hanns Johst was a German playwright born in 1890 in Seerhausen, Saxony. Initially interested in becoming a missionary and later a physician, he transitioned into writing, producing thirteen plays between 1915 and 1933. His early works exhibited expressionistic themes with pacifist and antimilitaristic sentiments, but these were overshadowed by his later plays, which aligned with Nazi ideology. A known supporter of Adolf Hitler, Johst advocated for a theater that embodied the ideals of the Nazi Party and expressed disdain for various groups he viewed as internal enemies, including Jews and Communists. His notable play, "Der Einsame: Ein Menschenuntergang," gained recognition, particularly for prompting a response from fellow playwright Bertolt Brecht. Johst's last work, "Schlageter," celebrated a Nazi martyr and premiered on Hitler's birthday in 1933, garnering significant support from Nazi officials. Following World War II, he faced repercussions for his affiliations, receiving a sentence that included asset confiscation and time in a work camp. Johst passed away in 1978 in Ruhpolding, Bavaria.
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Subject Terms
Hanns Johst
Playwright
- Born: July 8, 1890
- Birthplace: Seerhausen bei Riesa, Saxony, Germany
- Died: November 23, 1978
- Place of death: Ruhpolding, Bavaria, Germany
Biography
The German playwright Hanns Johst had thirteen plays produced between 1915 and 1933. Johst’s early expressionistic plays, containing pacifist and antimilitaristic sentiments, were suppressed by the Nazis, who glorified Johst’s later plays for their party line nationalism. A supporter of Adolf Hitler, Johst believed Germany needed a leader-artist who would create a cult theater based on the ideals of the Nazi Party. Johst deplored those he considered internal enemies of the state: Jews, Social Democrats, and Communists.
Johst was born in Seerhausen bei Riesa, Saxony, Germany, in 1890. His father was a teacher, and his mother was descended from a family of Saxony farmers. Johst’s mother raised him after his father died, and he and his mother spent considerable time on his grandmother’s farm. At seventeen, Johst decided to become a missionary and took a job in a hospital for epileptics to prepare himself for this career. He changed his mind and decided to become a physician, entering the University at Leipzig to study medicine, but he later switched his concentration to the history of languages, studying at the Universities of Munich, Vienna, and Berlin.
When World War I erupted, Johst entered military service. His military background provided the basis for his first expressionistic play, Die Stunde der Sternbenden. He filled the stage with soldiers who had been badly wounded and used them to exemplify the types of people who, in their final hours, muse over the purpose of their lives. In the end, all are dead, save for one soldier who represents the ascendancy of the human will. The play presented no individuals, only stereotypical characters who represented different classifications of people. The play was not produced, largely because its staging would have been nightmarish; it called, among other things, for a dying horse to appear on stage.
Johst’s Der Einsame: Ein Menschenuntergang turned out to be the playwright’s best-known play, largely because fledgling playwright Bertholt Brecht felt compelled to respond to it in his play, Baal. Johst and Brecht were both promising expressionists. With the rise of totalitarianism in Germany in the 1920’s, Brecht veered to the political left, Johst to the right.
Johst’s last play, Schlageter, extols the martyrdom of Albert Leo Schlageter, a Nazi hero. Johst dedicated the play to Hitler, and the drama opened in Berlin on Hitler’s birthday, April 20, 1933, attended by Nazi officials who rose to sing the German national anthem at the play’s conclusion. The Nazis awarded Johst numerous literary prizes and he rose to positions of great power in Hitler’s Germany. At war’s end, he was tried by the denazification court in Munich and was punished by having half of his assets confiscated and by receiving a three-year work camp sentence. He died in Ruhpolding, Bavaria, in 1978.