Conditio Judaica 33 Studien und Quellen zur deutsch-jüdischen Literatur- und Kulturgeschichte Herausgegeben von Hans Otto Horch in Verbindung mit Alfred Bodenheimer, Mark H. Gelber und Jakob Hessing Ena Pedersen Writer on the Run German-Jewish Identity and the Experience of Exile in the Life and Work of Henry William Katz Max Niemeyer Verlag Tübingen 2001 Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme Pedersen, Ena: Writer on the Run : German-Jewish identity and the experience of exile in the life and work of Henry William Katz / Ena Pedersen. - Tübingen : Niemeyer, 2001 (Conditio Judaica ; 33) Zugl.: Diss. ISBN 3-484-65133-4 ISSN 0941-5866 © Max Niemeyer Verlag GmbH, Tübingen 2001 Das Werk einschließlich aller seiner Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung außerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist ohne Zustimmung des Verlages unzulässig und strafbar. Das gilt insbesondere für Vervielfältigungen, Übersetzungen, Mikroverfilmungen und die Einspeicherung und Verarbeitung in elektronischen Systemen. Printed in Germany. Gedruckt auf alterungsbeständigem Papier. Druck: Weihert-Druck GmbH, Darmstadt Einband: Nadele Verlags- und Industriebuchbinderei, Nehren Contents Introduction German-Jewish Writers in Exile 1933-1945 1 Chapter I Henry William Katz: A Tour Through the Twentieth Century 15 Chapter II Katz's Journalism: Spokesman of the Proletariat 41 a) Political Involvement in the Social Democratic Cause 45 b) The Fate of the Proletariat in Short Stories and Reportagen 48 c) Anti-Extremist Articles and Poetry 62 d) Exile 66 e) Conclusion 69 Chapter III Die Fischmanns: >Man verfolgt nicht nur die Juden aus Strody< 71 a) Narrative Perspective and Style 71 b) The Shtetl 77 c) The Jews and the Austrian Authorities 87 d) Jewish Identity and Jewish Fate 89 e) Assimilation 98 f) Die Fischmanns and Exile Writing 105 g) Die Fischmanns in Context 110 Chapter IV Schloßgasse 21: German or Jew? The Question of Identity 127 a) Narrative Technique and Perspective 128 b) A Society in Crisis 130 c) The Jewish Response 146 d) Schloßgasse 21 in Context 169 Conclusion 181 Bibliography 185 Index 195 Introduction German-Jewish Writers in Exile 1933-1945 The main focus of this book is the life and work of the German-Jewish exile writer, Heniy William Katz. Although he was awarded the first Heinrich-Heine- Prize in exile by the >Schutzverband deutscher Schriftsteller im Exil< in 1937, Katz has largely been forgotten by scholars and critics for the past fifty years. Indeed, this is the first scholarly treatment of his work. Through an analysis of Katz's works, it is further my hope to shed light on aspects of German-Jewish exile literature, such as the writings of and about Eastern European Jews, which have only been treated marginally in the existing body of research. In which ways is Katz distinctive, why did he disappear into obscurity for so long, and to what extent is he representative of German-Jewish writers in exile? This intro- duction will seek to give an overview of the cultural, religious, and political demography of the German exiles, focussing, in particular, on the problems faced by Jewish emigrants. Are there any major differences between the Jewish and the non-Jewish exile experience and its reflection in the literature of the period, and, if so, how can these differences be explained? The mass emigration following Hitler's assumption of power early in 1933 was on an unprecedented scale. Never before had so many members of Germany's in- tellectual elite left the country in such a short time, thereby making an overtly poli- tical statement against the new regime. However, their aversion towards Nazi Ger- many and the experience of exile were virtually the only common denominators to this otherwise very diverse group of German exiles. Politically and religiously they were as scattered as they had been during the Weimar Republic, unwilling to resolve their previous differences despite the common experience of expatriation. This diversity was shown not least by the failed attempt to create a > Volksfront uniting all exiles of all political colours in a common battle against the Nazi regime, under the leadership of Heinrich Mann. Its aim was summarised as follows in 1937: Die Volksfront will keine neue Partei sein. Sie soll ein Bund aller derer werden, die entschlossen sind, ihre Kraft für Freiheit und Wohlstand des deutschen Volkes ein- zusetzen. Alle in ihr vereinten Parteien und Gruppen bleiben ihren besonderen wei- terreichenden Zielen treu.1 1 Alexander Stephan: Die deutsche Exilliteratur 1933-1945. Eine Einfuhrung. Mün- chen: Beck 1979 (Beck'sche Elementarbücher), p. 125. 2 Introduction Yet only a few months later, the initial enthusiasm had given way to the old political battles, leaving the believers in the effectiveness of a people's front deeply disillusioned. When one examines the background and composition of the German exiles, the difficulty in creating a bond across political and religious differences be- comes obvious. One main division is that between Jewish and political refu- gees. According to Hans-Albert Walter, 350.000 to 360.000 of the 400.000 Ger- man emigrants were of Jewish descent, having fled primarily because of their Jewish heritage.2 The remaining 40-50.000 refugees were people who left be- cause their political, artistic, or intellectual activities were in direct or indirect confrontation with the ideology of the Nazi regime. There were, of course, overlaps between the two groups such as German-Jewish writers, scientists, and intellectuals who fled because of their Jewish heritage, their political ac- tivities, and their critical publications.3 Although the Jews thus formed the majority of German emigrants, they did not form a homogeneous group. Instead, they largely maintained the mixed eth- nic and social structure that had characterised the Jewish minority in Germany. Out of 500.000 German Jews in 1933, it is estimated that 76% were born in Germany and 80 % were German citizens. Approximately 20 % were immi- grants, mainly from Eastern Europe.4 Apart from the recently arrived Eastern European Jews, most of the German Jews were assimilated to the German popu- lation to the point where they were indistinguishable from non-Jewish Germans, something which was a matter of pride to most Jewish families. Socially, most of them belonged to the middle class, and politically, they represented all parties from the Communist to the German National Party. Yet, according to Hans- Albert Walter, most German Jews were apolitical and, apart from the Zionist and Marxist minorities, certainly not active opponents of Fascism.5 Martin Gumpert, a German-Jewish doctor and writer who stayed in Germany until 1936, even made the following claim based on his observations at the time, »[...] manche glaubten sogar an Hitler, und viele reiche Juden hatten eine heimliche Liebe zu ihm, sie wären gern dabeigewesen, wenn man sie gelassen hätte«6. Similar 2 Hans-Albert Walter: Öfter als die Schuhe die Länder wechselnd... Ein Überblick Uber die deutsche Emigration nach 1933. In: Sie flohen vor dem Hakenkreuz. Selbst- zeugnisse der Emigranten. Ein Lesebuch für Deutsche. Ed. by Walter Zadek. Rein- bek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt 1981 (rororo, 4836; rororo aktuell), p. 10-22, p. 11. 3 By >German-Jewish< I am referring to any German-speaking Jewish writer or intel- lectual in exile, thus making a distinction on the basis of language rather than national- ity. The latter would presuppose German citizenship and thus exclude important Jewish exile writers such as the Austrian Joseph Roth, the Czech Hans Natonek, and the Pole Manès Sperber among others. 4 Hans-Albert Walter: Deutsche Exilliteratur 1933-1950, Vol. 1: Bedrohung und Verfol- gung bis 1933. Darmstadt: Luchterhand 1972 (Sammlung Luchterhand, 76), p. 199-200. 5 Ibid., p. 201. German-Jewish Writers in Exile 1933-1945 3 claims have been made by other contemporaries of Gumpert, and have since been confirmed by Walter's research.7 In retrospect, such a statement may seem drastic, considering the later fatal consequences of Hitler's ascension to power for the Jewish people. It can, how- ever, only be applied to a minority of German Jews, such as the members of the >Verband nationaldeutscher Juden<, who under the leadership of Max Naumann asserted their close affiliation with the German people and their deep roots in German society and histoiy, often at the expense of the Eastern European Jewish emigrants. The vast majority of German Jews were not as radical. In order to understand their position, it is therefore important to bear in mind the enormous admiration of the Jews for Germany and German culture, the very admiration and idolisation which led thousands of Eastern European Jews to flee to Ger- many from pogroms and wars in the East. Germany was considered the country of humanistic ideals and enlightenment, thus offering liberation to the suppres- sed and persecuted Eastern European Jews who flooded Germany from 1880 on- wards. This idolisation of Germany and German >Bildung< is demonstrated ex- tremely well, for example, in Abraham Meyer Goldschmidt's speech »Rede zur Lessingfeier in Leipzig« from 1860. Like most Jews at the time, especially in Eastern Europe, Goldschmidt (rabbi of Leipzig, 1812-1889) praises Lessing as the man who through his drama Nathan der Weise and through his friendship with Moses Mendelssohn brought German culture, manners, education, and hu- manity to the suppressed Jewish people in Eastern Europe. The enormous enthu- siasm in these lines illustrates the hope of liberation and personal freedom with which the Eastern European Jews embraced the whole concept of Germany which, to them, was represented by a few enlightened writers: Und waren auch nicht alle Schranken auf einmal niedergerissen, und waren auch nicht alle Hemmnisse auf einmal überwunden, so hoffte man doch - und der Erfolg hat die Hoffnung gerechtfertigt -, daß das Land, das einen Lessing erzeugen konnte, auch der Boden sei, in welchem der Same der Humanität, den einer seiner edlesten Söhne gestreut, tiefe Wurzeln schlagen, sich entfalten und gedeihen müsse. [...] Die Toleranz, die er gepredigt, sie ist zur Tat geworden; ja noch mehr, die sogenannte Duldung, sie ist zur gleichberechtigten Anerkennung geworden.8 The attitude expressed by Rabbi Goldschmidt was certainly the prevailing one among Eastern European Jews at the time, although, as has recently been pointed out by Ritchie Robertson, a more critical reading of Lessing's plays would question the actual extent of Lessing's tolerance of the Jews.9 Mean- 7 Walter, Bedrohung und Verfolgung (p. 2, note 4), p. 201-202. 8 Abraham Meyer Goldschmidt: Rede zur Lessingfeier in Leipzig (1860). In: Lessing - ein unpoetischer Dichter. Dokumente aus drei Jahrhunderten zur Wirkungsgeschich- te Lessings in Deutschland. Ed. by Horst Steinmetz. Frankfurt a. M.: Athenäum 1969, (Wirkung der Literatur, 1), p. 346-348. 9 Ritchie Robertson: »Dies hohe Lied der Duldung«? The Ambiguities of Toleration in Lessing's »Die Juden« and »Nathan der Weise«. In: The Modern Language Re- view 93 (1998), No. 1, p. 105-120. 4 Introduction while, the already assimilated German Jews rose within German society, gaining not only wealth but also distinguished positions. Indeed, in the Weimar Repub- lic, many of the most prominent artists, scientists, journalists, writers, and bank- ers were Jewish. Such positions, however, had not been achieved without an indefatigable struggle for recognition and serious attempts to demonstrate that they were worthy to participate in German cultural and political life. For the most part, the German Jews were more than willing to >earn< their acceptance by the German people, considering their citizenship a matter of both privilege and responsibility. By involving themselves in all aspects of German society, apart from higher positions within the army, the legal profes- sion, and academia to which they were generally denied admission except when serving as token Jews, they wanted to show their enthusiasm and make their contribution to the country they loved. Their deep admiration for Ger- many, the years of struggle to assimilate, and their largely financially secure positions in society thus constituted serious impediments to a swift decision for exile when Hitler became Chancellor. Indeed, most German Jews could and would not believe that Nazi anti-Semitism would escalate to a point worse than other anti-Semitic experiences in the past which, after all, the Jewish people had survived. Their emigration therefore proceeded extremely slowly, count- ing only 37.000 Jews in 1933, 60.000 in 1934, 81.000 in 1935, 106.000 in 1936, and 129.000 in 1937. The Jewish exodus reached its peak with the pogrom of 9 November 1938 by which time, however, emigration had been rendered increasingly difficult by financial matters and by a decline in the number of countries willing to accept the refugees.10 In other words, most Jewish emigrants did not leave until a continuation of their German-Jewish existence had been made absolutely impossible by the Nazi regime. However, having made the decision to leave, most Jews did not expect to return to Germany. The symbiosis they believed they had with Germany had been destroyed, leaving no other op- tion than emigration and assimilation to another country, be it Palestine or any other open and friendly nation. It was indeed as Hans-Albert Walter has pointed out an »Auswanderung mit dem Character der Endgültigkeit«11. Unlike the Jewish emigrants, the non-Jewish political exiles left Germany almost immediately after Hitler's appointment as Chancellor. Most members of this group were left-wing writers and journalists whose political activity during the Weimar Republic made them obvious targets when the Nazis came to power. Whereas most Jews abandoned the idea of a return to Germany after their emigration, the political exiles believed that the new regime would quickly be overthrown, enabling them to return within a few months or years. Meanwhile, they considered themselves representatives of the >true< Germany, struggling to enlighten the world and the German people about the threat of Hitler's policy not only to Germany's future but to all of Europe. They thus 10 Walter, Bedrohung und Verfolgung (p. 2, note 4), p. 202-203. 11 Ibid., p. 205.