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123-605: Die Weltbühne (‘The World Stage’) was a German weekly magazine for politics, art and the economy. It was founded in Berlin in 1905 as Die Schaubühne (‘The Theater’) by Siegfried Jacobsohn and was originally a theater magazine only. In 1913 it began covering economic and political topics and for the next two decades was one of the leading periodicals of Germany’s political left. It was renamed to Die Weltbühne on 4 April 1918. After Jacobsohn's death in December 1926, leadership of

246-701: A Jewish family, Jacobsohn decided at the age of 15 to become a theatre critic. In October 1897 he left school without gaining any diplomas and began studying at Friedrich-Wilhelm-University as it was then called. At the time it was still possible to gain entrance to university without any formal qualification. Among his teachers at university were Erich Schmidt , Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff and Max Herrmann . However, he seemed to have learnt more by studying reviews written by Maximilian Harden , Fritz Mauthner and Paul Schlenther , whose reviews he considered exemplary. He also consulted actors such as Albert Bassermann , Jakob Tiedtke and Richard Leopold . When he

369-538: A "debating club". Soon after that the Weltbühne began examining the cooperation between social democracy and the old army, as well as the inadequate purge of monarchist and anti-republican officials from the judiciary and administration. In March 1919 Tucholsky defended himself in the programmatic text "We the Negatives" against accusation that he did not view the new republic positively enough: "We cannot say yes to

492-465: A 'slice of life.'" According to Walter H. Sokel, "The lighting apparatus behaves like the mind. It drowns in darkness what it wishes to forget and bathes in light what it wishes to recall. Thus the entire stage becomes a universe of [the] mind, and the individual scenes are not replicas of three-densional physical reality, but visualizes stages of thought." Reinhardt's production of the play, which he had meticulously planned ever since he had purchased

615-412: A Moral Institution’): “As surely as visual representation has a more powerful effect than lifeless letters and cold narrations, just as surely does the theater have a deeper and longer lasting effect than morals and laws.” This was an indication of how Jacobsohn wanted his enterprise to be understood: as enlightenment in the spirit of classicism. The great importance attached to artistic debates at that time

738-646: A Social Democratic paper's criticism of the Weltbühne : Volksblatt für Halle [' Halle People’s Paper']: "You are annoyed with us and now write: 'In the Weltbühne , which calls itself a Weekly Journal for Politics, Art, and Economics , a certain Carl von Ossietzky polemicizes against the Kiel party congress [of the SPD ]. Although he is forced to make the statement that the party is on unshakable ground, in revenge he calls it unintellectual. Even if we do not consider as politics

861-402: A bitter conflict erupted with Theodor Lessing . Jacobsohn had printed Lessing's review of Hermann Sudermann's play Der gute Ruf whereupon Sudermann went to court. After he had already fallen out with Stefan Großmann in 1918, Jacobsohn claimed in 1920 that artistic directors would pay Großmann in order to receive positive reviews for their productions. Jacobsohn had to retract in 1922. Based on

984-657: A directive to this effect from the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany soon after the currency union." In cases of doubt, the editors decided in favor of current political requirements and against the magazine’s tradition, as can be seen from an internal statement from the mid-1950s: "In the past – before 1933 – the Weltbühne , especially under the leadership of Carl von Ossietzky and Kurt Tucholsky, had unfortunately embraced pacifist trends unconditionally. Since our weekly magazine

1107-476: A lagoon in moonlight. Isle of the Blessed attracted attention due to its erotic nature. Its ancient mythical setting included sea gods, nymphs, and fauns, and the actors appeared naked. However, the film also fit in with the strict customs of the late German and Austrian empires. The actors had to live up to the demands of double roles. Wilhelm Diegelmann and Willy Prager played the bourgeois fathers as well as

1230-614: A long and distinguished career, "inspired by the example of social participation in the ancient Greek and Medieval theatres ", of seeking, "to bridge the separation between actors and audiences". In 1935, Reinhardt directed his first and only motion picture in the United States through Warner Brothers , the Expressionist film adaptation of William Shakespeare 's A Midsummer Night's Dream , starring Mickey Rooney , Olivia De Havilland , and James Cagney . The film

1353-449: A moral institution ). Among the most important contributors to Die Schaubühne were Julius Bab , Willi Handl , Alfred Polgar , Lion Feuchtwanger (in 1908), Herbert Ihering (in 1909), Robert Breuer (in 1911) and Kurt Tucholsky (in 1913). From 1913 onwards Jacobsohn gradually opened up the "rag," as he like to call his magazine, to include political topics. In April 1918 he changed the name to Die Weltbühne and developed it into

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1476-858: A pacifist forum for the German Left . With the new political orientation the collaborators changed as well. Even though Alfred Polgar and Kurt Tucholsky still belonged to the inner circle of contributors, they were joined by publicist Kurt Hiller (in 1915), economist Alfons Goldschmidt , satirist Hans Reimann (both in 1917), the founder of the German Peace Society Otto Lehmann-Russbüldt (in 1918), Social-Democrat politician Heinrich Ströbel (in 1919), art critic Adolf Behne , writer Walter Mehring (both in 1920), editor on economic affairs Richard Lewinsohn , publicist Friedrich Sieburg (both in 1921) and as political editor Carl von Ossietzky (in 1926). As

1599-606: A party or advertisers. Jacobsohn also paid little heed to the demands of his readers. "They have only one right: not to read my paper" was the credo of his mentor that Tucholsky often quoted. Characteristic of this was an answer Jacobsohn gave to a reader toward the end of the First World War: "You complain about the tone of my paper? I have a sure remedy for you: rid me of your readership, and that as quickly as possible. (...) But if this filthy mess [press censorship] should ever come to an end, and if I should live to see it, then

1722-502: A people which, even today, is in a condition which, had the war by chance ended favorably, would have led us to fear the worst. We cannot say yes to a country obsessed with collectivity, and to which the corporation stands far above the individual.” In the following years the Weltbühne took a strictly pacifist and anti-militarist course, calling for a harsh reaction by the Republic to the numerous political assassinations and even during

1845-500: A permanent fight against the annexation demands of the Pan-German League . After 1916 Jacobsohn, who had made a passionate pacifist commitment in 1915 after the death of his youngest brother at the front, regularly printed advertisements for the subscription of war bonds. It is still not clear whether these advertisements were paid and thus possibly contributed materially to ensuring the magazine's survival. The overall tone of

1968-864: A private stage in Vienna with the stage name Max Reinhardt (possibly after the protagonist Reinhard Werner in Theodor Storm 's novella Immensee ). In 1893 he performed at the re-opened Salzburg City Theatre . One year later, Reinhardt relocated to Germany , joining the Deutsches Theater ensemble under director Otto Brahm in Berlin. Reinhardt was one of the contributors of the Swedish avant-garde theatre magazine Thalia between 1910 and 1913. In 1918 Reinhardt purchased Schloss Leopoldskron castle in Salzburg. In October 1922 Reinhardt

2091-403: A racial objection against the authors of the Weltbühne because it is quite obvious that their viewpoint, chosen without regard to racial struggles and accepted by members of all races, is a viewpoint devoid of all responsibility, and it is precisely this irresponsibility – for which, incidentally, Judaism never forgives its racial members – that is the object of our criticism. In addition to this,

2214-668: A stroke in New York City in 1943 and is interred at Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson , Westchester County , New York. He was 70 years old. His papers and literary estate are housed at Binghamton University (SUNY) , in the Max Reinhardt Archives and Library. His sons by first wife Else Heims (m. 1910–1935), Wolfgang and Gottfried Reinhardt , were well-regarded film producers. One of his grandsons (by adoption), Stephen Reinhardt ,

2337-422: A student of Karl Kraus and Leon Trotsky , served as the director of the Vienna branch. The editorial contract between Schlamm and Edith Jacobsohn provided that Carl von Ossietzky take over the editorship of the exile journal in the event of his emigration. But that did not happen. Edith Jacobsohn and her son Peter managed to escape to Switzerland together. From there she tried to continue to exercise influence on

2460-536: A theatre critic Siegfried Jacobsohn was the antagonist of Alfred Kerr since he was firmly critical of naturalism in the theatre and valued the work of Max Reinhardt as theatre director higher than that of Otto Brahm who was advocated by Kerr. However, Reinhardt's turn towards arena theatre by converting the Circus Schumann into a theatre resulting in the Großes Schauspielhaus in 1919,

2583-460: A tip off by Tucholsky, Jacobsohn accused Heinrich Fischer of plagiarism in 1925. This accusation was unfounded but led to a falling out with Karl Kraus . Indeed, Jacobsohn's attacks, some of which were premature since they were not verified by sufficient research, led to about 40 court cases against him. Many, but by no means all, of these court cases Jacobsohn won. Siegfried Jacobsohn also contributed to other newspapers and magazines among which were

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2706-468: A tone will be whistled here, a little tone that will take your hearing and sight away." -- “Answers” in the Weltbühne , 21 October 1918, p. 424. Such independence was also a reason why, despite the not exactly opulent fees, an author like Tucholsky kept returning to the Weltbühne and published works there that he could not get printed in middle-class papers like the Vossische Zeitung or

2829-511: Is allowed to calmly write that the 'Kahr government is laughable', but if he comes down to us and says something like that, he’ll get such an old-fashioned Bavarian face-slapping that the fat he's stored up will be beaten right into butter. That's a secret we tell Teiteles." -- Anonymous ( Ludwig Thoma ) in the Miesbach Anzeiger , 2 February 1921 The Weltbühne was not only closely followed – and attacked – by representatives of

2952-422: Is arguably the most important German-language acting school, was installed implementing his ideas. Reinhardt took a greater interest in film than most of his contemporaries in the theater world. He made films as a director and from time to time also as a producer. His first staging was the film Sumurûn in 1910. After that, Reinhardt founded his own film company. He sold the film rights for the film adaptation of

3075-496: Is called the Weltbühne and also carries the name of Carl von Ossietzky, it is important to make the aura that these names carry and the tradition of the Weltbühne as useful as possible to the progressive aspirations of today […] without slipping into unconditional pacifism. The 1954 Weltbühne supports the policies of the German Democratic Republic , which means that it naturally and consistently represents

3198-531: Is regarded as one of the most prominent stage directors of the early 20th century. For example, Reinhardt's 1917 stage premiere of Reinhard Sorge 's Kleist Prize -winning stage play Der Bettler almost single-handedly gave birth to Expressionism in the theatre and ultimately in motion pictures as well. In 1920, Reinhardt established the Salzburg Festival by directing an open air production of Hugo von Hofmannsthal 's acclaimed adaptation of

3321-500: Is seen as a major reason for his becoming politically active in 1913. He was also extremely critical regarding the stage efforts of expressionist writers. However, he made an exception for Georg Kaiser and Ernst Toller both of whom he esteemed highly. During the Weimar Republic , Jacobsohn belonged to the few critics who immediately saw the potential of Bertolt Brecht , Arnolt Bronnen and Carl Zuckmayer even though he

3444-614: Is shown by the following reaction in an editorial by its satirical prototype, which is marked by extreme anti-Semitism: "Travelers, avoid Bavaria! That is the title of a piece of tripe what has written Chaim Wrobel, alias Teiteles Tucholsky, alias Isak Achselduft [‘armpit odor’], in the Weltbühne in the Spree city Berlin. He is, like all new Berliners, from Krotoschin in Galicia , where you scratch your butt with your left hand and bore into your schnozz with your right. (...) In Berlin, Teiteles

3567-578: The Berliner Tageblatt . One result of the radicalism was the accusations that the paper had to deal with at the beginning of 1919. Tucholsky summarized them as follows: "We staff members of the Weltbühne are accused of saying no to everything and of not being positive enough. We do nothing but reject and criticize and even foul our own German nest. And we fight – and this they say is the worst – hatred with hatred, violence with violence, fist with fist." -- Kurt Tucholsky: “ Wir Negativen ” [We

3690-559: The Deutsche Montagszeitung (Berlin), Frankfurter Nachrichten , Weser-Zeitung ( Bremen ), Prager Presse , Prager Tagblatt and Zeit im Bild (Vienna). Jacobsohn was buried in Stahnsdorf , southwest of Berlin. Kurt Tucholsky briefly assumed editorship of Die Weltbühne until May 1927. His task was then taken over by Carl von Ossietzky until the last edition was published on 7 March 1933, when it

3813-669: The Everyman Medieval mystery play in the square before the Cathedral with the Alps as a background. This remains an annual custom at the Salzburg Festival to this day. Toby Cole and Helen Krich Chinoy have dubbed Reinhardt, "one of the most picturesque actor-directors of modern times", and write that his eventual arrival in the United States as a refugee from the imminent Nazi takeover of Austria followed

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3936-549: The Berliner Tageblatt as a "seat of artistic corruption" in the controversy surrounding Hermann Sudermann 's polemic Die Verrohung in der Theaterkritik ( The Brutalisation of Theatre Criticism ) in 1902. Two years later the editors of the feuilleton at the Berliner Tageblatt took revenge by accusing Jacobsohn of plagiarism in two cases. Jacobsohn explained the similarities of his texts with those of

4059-538: The Großes Schauspielhaus (after World War II renamed into Friedrichstadtpalast ) in 1919, following its expressionist conversion by Hans Poelzig . By 1930, he ran eleven stages in Berlin and, in addition, managed the Theater in der Josefstadt in Vienna from 1924 to 1933. In 1920, Reinhardt established the Salzburg Festival with Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal , always directing

4182-557: The Reichstag Erkelenz recently characterized the Weltbühne very accurately when he wrote: "Whatever men may rule in Germany at any given time, after the shortest possible interval they will all, without distinction of party, be made so worm-eaten by the Weltbühne that no dog will take a piece of bread from them." Let this be the introduction to the following article." The article that follows begins: The Social Democrats as

4305-826: The Schall und Rauch (Sound and Smoke) Kabarett stage in Berlin. Re-opened as Kleines Theater (Little Theatre) it was the first of numerous stages where Reinhardt worked as a director until the beginning of Nazi rule in 1933. From 1903 to 1905, he managed the Neues Theater (present-day Theater am Schiffbauerdamm ) and in 1906 acquired the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. In 1911, he premiered with Karl Vollmöller 's The Miracle in Olympia , London, gaining an international reputation. In 1910, Siegfried Jacobsohn wrote his book entitled Max Reinhardt . In 1914, he

4428-637: The Social Democratic Party (SPD) in particular of having betrayed the ideals of the November Revolution and of not having broken vigorously enough with the traditions of the German Empire. The radicalism and openness of the Weltbühne's positions was also a reason why they were watched very attentively within journalism and politics. The paper’s class of readers was the cause of a ‘multiplier effect’ that ensured that

4551-537: The Weltbühn e. From December 1989 until the paper's discontinuation in July 1993, Helmut Reinhardt took over the two roles. The magazine had to be discontinued in part because Peter Jacobsohn claimed the rights to the magazine’s title following German reunification . Jacobsohn lost an initial lawsuit before the state court at Frankfurt am Main. In the subsequent appeal proceedings before the regional high court at Frankfurt,

4674-571: The Weltbühne had a relatively low circulation of about 15,000 copies. It nevertheless made a name for itself in the journalistic world, including through its exposure of the Feme murders by the Black Reichswehr paramilitary groups as well as reports about the secret rearmament of the Reichswehr , which later led to the so-called Weltbühne Trial . The foundation of Die Schaubühne

4797-595: The Weltbühne had with the Ministry of the Reichswehr because of its anti-militarism reporting also attracted attention beyond its circle of readers. The climax of these conflicts was the so-called Weltbühne trial , as a result of which von Ossietzky and the journalist Walter Kreiser were sentenced to 18 months in prison for espionage. Toward the end of the Weimar Republic, the paper's full concentration

4920-425: The Weltbühne publishing house had fully acknowledged Jacobsohn's claims. The acknowledgment was not withdrawn, and publisher Helmut Reinhardt had assumed until the very end that the case before the regional high court would be won. The editors of the paper were therefore completely surprised by Lunkewitz's unilateral action and added their own statement to his declaration: "The cast of the Weltbühne stands stunned at

5043-490: The Weltbühne seems to have provided a model for some nationalist papers. Also noteworthy is a comment by the young conservative publisher Heinrich von Gleichen-Rußwurm, who combined his criticism of the Weltbühne's stance with a sharp disapproval of anti-Semitic rabble-rousing: "We refuse to defame the authors we oppose as Jews. We refuse to do so not only because we reject anti-Semitic agitation as morally tainted and politically unwise. Rather, we believe that we may not raise

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5166-491: The Weltbühne thus appeared on 7 March 1933 (No. 10) and ended with the defiant assurance: "For the spirit shall prevail.” The publisher of the Weltbühne was prepared for the ban on the journal. On 29 September 1932, an offshoot of the journal appeared in Vienna , the Wiener Weltbühne (‘Viennese World Stage’). Various Berlin emigrants were already writing for issues 11–13 of 1933. The journalist Willi Schlamm ,

5289-616: The Weltbühne was able to have such a substantial impact despite its small circulation can likely be explained only through the person of Siegfried Jacobsohn. Over a period of two decades he succeeded in bringing important representatives of the intellectual left to his paper and ensuring a consistently high quality of writing. "The man was the most ideal editor our generation has seen," wrote Tucholsky after Jacobsohn's unexpected death in December 1926. Unlike in Karl Kraus's Fackel (‘Torch’) and Maximilian Harden's Zukunft (‘Future’),

5412-548: The Weltbühne was seen as a bridge to intellectual circles in the West, as well as a way to influence those circles. An application for the reissue of a license certificate in 1962 stated: "It should be particularly emphasized that among these matters, one of the tasks that was considered and accepted was the influencing of intellectual circles at home and abroad, especially in West Germany. The signer of this application received

5535-487: The Weltbühne’s positions were disseminated in other papers, even if they were often abbreviated and distorted. "The Weltbühne has always had two significant opposing poles: the parties and the big print media companies," Tucholsky wrote in "Twenty-Five Years”. Characteristic of the Weltbühne's reception and impact, as well as of the tone and content of the debates at the time, is the following ‘Answers’ column that quotes

5658-557: The occupation of the Ruhr urging fulfillment of the peace terms laid down in the Treaty of Versailles . For this reason the paper also resolutely advocated reconciliation with the opponents of the war. The Weltbühne did a special service by drawing attention to the Feme murders within the Black Reichswehr . Although Jacobsohn knew that he was exposing himself to great personal danger, he began on 18 August 1925 to publish manuscripts about

5781-652: The Communists and the Social Democrats for their role in the Nazi seizure of power . Under the influence of Budzislawski, an economic journalist close to the communists who had been an occasional contributor to the Weltbühne in Berlin, Edith Jacobsohn made a break with Schlamm. In March 1934 Budzislawski took over the editorial office in Prague. Even though he immediately changed the magazine’s political stance, he

5904-567: The Nazis' increasing anti-Semitic aggressions. The castle was seized following Germany's Anschluss annexation of Austria in 1938. After the war, the castle was restored to Reinhardt's heirs, and subsequently the home and grounds became famous as the filming site for the early scenes of the Von Trapp family gardens in the movie The Sound of Music . In 1901, Reinhardt together with Friedrich Kayßler and several other theatre colleagues founded

6027-472: The Negatives], in: Die Weltbühne , 13 March 1919, p. 279. The background to the criticism was probably the fact that from the very beginning of the Weimar Republic, the Weltbühne did not allow itself to be pinned down to the particular political position of any party and did not see its ideas of a democratic and social Germany realized by any of them. Until the end of the Weimar Republic, the paper accused

6150-454: The Poet and Friend converse in front of a closed curtain, behind which voices can be heard. It appears that we, the audience, are backstage and the voices are those of the imagined audience out front. It is a simple, but disorienting trick of stagecraft, whose imaginative spatial reversal is self-consciously theatrical. So the audience is alerted to the fact that they are about to see a play and not

6273-615: The Theatre in Hollywood ). Reinhardt won the school, Ben Bard Drama (a playhouse on Wilshire Boulevard), from Ben Bard in a poker game. Reinhardt opened the Reinhardt School of the Theatre in Hollywood, on Sunset Boulevard . Several notable stars of the day received classical theater training, among them actress Nanette Fabray . Many alumni of these schools made their careers in film. Edward G. Kuster , for two years,

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6396-692: The US, A Midsummer Night's Dream . He founded the drama schools Hochschule für Schauspielkunst "Ernst Busch" in Berlin, Max Reinhardt Seminar , the Max Reinhardt Workshop ( Sunset Boulevard ), and the Max Reinhardt Junior Workshop. Max Reinhardt Seminar trained Kurt Kasznar . Max Reinhardt's Workshop of Stage, Screen, and Radio ( Sunset Boulevard ) ( Reinhardt School of the Theatre ) trained Ann Savage . Joan Barry , and Nanette Fabray ( Reinhardt School of

6519-705: The annual production of Hoffmansthal's acclaimed adaptation of the Medieval Dutch morality play Everyman , in which the Christian God sends Death to summon an archetype of the Human Race to Judgment Day. In the United States, he successfully directed The Miracle in 1924, and a popular stage version of Shakespeare 's A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1927. From the 1910s to the early 1930s, one of Reinhardt's most frequent collaborators

6642-563: The aspirations of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, without becoming outwardly recognizable as a party organ." "If the Weltbühne always came across as somewhat more intellectual than other East German magazines, it was still basically faithful to the party line," is Petra Kabus' summary. Its circulation of 170,000 copies was, however, more than ten times that of the original Weltbühne . From 1967 to 1971, Hermann Budzislawski again served as publisher and editor-in-chief of

6765-462: The assessment: "Only the international proletariat can overcome the crisis of capitalism dressed up in national garb." The Schaubühne was banned because of the article, but Jacobsohn was able to ensure the continued appearance of the paper by agreeing to pre-censorship. Transformed into ‘Germanicus’, Breuer returned to the paper in January 1916 as a commentator and, in spite of his pseudonym, led

6888-645: The authorities banned the paper, and it appeared for the last time on 31 August 1939. Budzislawski has often been accused of having taken over the Neue Weltbühne merely as a communist agent in order to be able to continue running it in the interests of the Communist Party of Germany and the Communist International . More recent research, based on an evaluation of the editorial archive, assumes that Budzislawski wanted to take over

7011-533: The authors of the Weltbühne deny us the easier possibility which the second rank of this race offers, namely, the possibility of dismissing them by pointing out their linguistic incapacity, in short, their 'jabbering'; Peter Panter, Theobald Tiger – alias Kurt Tucholsky – and also Weinert and Kaminski jabber at most in excitement; otherwise they write a German which we would like to wish on the National Socialist press chiefs and student councils along with

7134-599: The banning of the Weltbühne would follow. On the night of the Reichstag fire of 27–28 February 1933, Ossietzky and other staff members were arrested. After Hellmut von Gerlach fled, Walther Karsch, later co-founder of the Berlin Tagesspiegel (‘Berlin Daily Mirror’), took over as editor-in-chief of the Weltbühne . The issue planned for March 14 was printed but could not be delivered. The last issue of

7257-588: The basis of purely idealistic and aesthetic values without any interest in exposing concrete abuses. Jacobsohn took a high personal risk when he published the reports on the Feme murders by patriotic associations in 1925. According to Ossietzky, Jacobsohn is said to have seen this as his most important journalistic achievement: "And if I had done nothing other than uncover the Feme murders, that would have been enough for me." Siegfried Jacobsohn Born in Berlin into

7380-411: The company, I offered to buy it from him for 1 DM. He refused. I then proposed a settlement that was intended to reconcile the morally sound resolution of Mr. Jacobsohn's claims with the interests of the magazine's readers and employees. (...) He decided not to take the publishing house, only the title rights; therefore the magazine can no longer be published." As an advance concession for the settlement,

7503-478: The construction of the Großes Schauspielhaus (‘Great Theater’) in Berlin. On 9 January 1913 the first article by the 23-year-old law student Kurt Tucholsky appeared in the Schaubühne . During his first year of collaboration with Jacobsohn, Tucholsky became his most important associate. In order to keep the paper from appearing too "Tucholsky-heavy", he adopted three pseudonyms in 1913 which he retained until

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7626-432: The course of theatrical history with its revolutionary staging techniques." According to Michael Paterson, "The genius of the 20-year old Sorge already showed the possibilities of abstract staging, and Reinhardt in 1917, simply by following Sorge's stage directions, was to become the first director to present a play in wholly Expressionist style." According to Michael Paterson, "The play opens with an ingenious inversion:

7749-523: The death of his mentor Jacobsohn, Tucholsky gave up his position as correspondent in Paris, returned to Berlin and became – as he derisively called it – "editor-publisher-in-chief" of the Weltbühne . Jacobsohn's widow Edith took over management of the publishing house in 1927. It soon became apparent that Tucholsky was not comfortable with his position as editor. Ossietzky therefore took over the post in May 1927 and

7872-454: The departure of ‘Germanicus’. During the German Revolution of 1918–1919 , the Weltbühne did not allow itself to be committed to a party course. From March 1919 to October 1920, the Social Democrat Heinrich Ströbel wrote the political editorials. On 21 November 1918 Jacobsohn published the program of the Council of Intellectual Workers to which he briefly belonged but which he left because he did not want to have his editorial time taken up by

7995-453: The difficult conditions. From August 1914 he opened every issue with a political editorial advocating a "patriotic" point of view. In November 1915, under the pseudonym ‘Cunctator’ (Procrastinator), journalist Robert Breuer launched a series of articles critical of the policies of the German government and the political state of the Reich. The series culminated on 23 December with an article entitled “The Crisis of Capitalism”, which concluded with

8118-414: The editor's writing even at the beginning did not dominate the Weltbühne . Jacobsohn always saw himself as the "director of a printed stage", as he wrote in a letter in May 1905. The low circulation does not contradict the Weltbühne's special position but can rather serve to explain it. In contrast to larger newspapers, the Weltbühne did not have to take into account the interests of a publishing house,

8241-641: The editorial director and did his job well. Tucholsky praised him especially in a letter to Heinz Pol, saying that he thought Schlamm's articles were "first-rate". In 1934 the leadership of the paper was taken out of Schlamm’s hands. He spoke of "extortion and a targeted coup by the communists”. According to historian Alexander Gallus, the events surrounding the change of editorship from Schlamm to Hermann Budzislawski are disputed. Gallus considers Schlamm's supposition plausible because such takeovers were not uncommon under Stalin's form of communism and because Schlamm had made himself unpopular by harshly criticizing both

8364-499: The end of his publishing career: Ignaz Wrobel, Theobald Tiger and Peter Panter (‘panther’). Under the influence of Tucholsky's collaboration, the character of the Schaubühne changed rapidly. In March 1913 the first "Answers" appeared, a column in which the magazine commented on real or fictitious letters to the editor. More important, however, was Jacobsohn's decision to open his paper to topics from politics and business. On 25 September business lawyer Martin Friedlaender reported under

8487-453: The faculty for German studies." -- " Kulturbolschewisten [Cultural Bolshevists]," in Der Ring , 30 October 1931, p. 830f., here p. 830. The assessment by Reichstag member Anton Erkelenz quoted above can also be found in similar form in works that deal with the Weltbühne from a historical perspective. Rudolf Augstein , for example, criticized the paper's excessive demands on politicians: "In their intellectual and aesthetic sphere,

8610-683: The film because of the Jewish ancestry of both Reinhardt and Felix Mendelssohn, whose music (arranged by Erich Wolfgang Korngold ) was used throughout the film. After the Anschluss of Austria to Nazi-governed Germany in 1938, he emigrated first to Britain, then to the United States. In 1940, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. At that time, he was married to his second wife, actress Helene Thimig , daughter of actor Hugo Thimig . By employing powerful staging techniques, and integrating stage design , language , music and choreography , Reinhardt introduced new dimensions into German theatre. The Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna, which

8733-437: The former Weltbühne employee Heinz Pol (nine percent). In July 1935 Nathan-Ludwig sold his shares to Budzislawski's friend Helene Reichenbach, daughter of a Chinese diplomat and businessman. Pol also relinquished his shares in November 1935, so that Seidler-Stein owned two-thirds of the shares and Reichenbach one-third. Since Seidler-Stein tried to replace Budzislawski with another editor, Budzislawski eventually forced him out of

8856-441: The front of the stage, takes off its hat, bows to its loyal audience and lets it be known: We can think of nothing more to say about this dirty trick!" Because of the acknowledgement of the plaintiff’s claim, it was never legally clarified whether the title rights had been granted to Jacobsohn's heirs. Although Jacobsohn secured the title rights in the interim, they were never subsequently used. In August 1993 Lunkewitz finally sold

8979-461: The greatest intellectual current of the present time ... One can make nothing of such stuff." -- “Answers,” in the Weltbühne , 7 June 1927, p. 920. In spite of the constant criticism of the SPD, it was always clear to the Weltbühne that the true enemies of the Republic were to be found on the other side of the political spectrum. A poem by Tucholsky at the end of 1919 stated: "Now I stand up. I am in

9102-454: The highly influential drama schools Hochschule für Schauspielkunst "Ernst Busch" in Berlin, Max Reinhardt Seminar , the Max Reinhardt Workshop ( Sunset Boulevard ), and the Max Reinhardt Junior Workshop. Even though Reinhardt did not live long enough to witness the end of Nazism in 1945, his formerly expropriated estate at Schloss Leopoldskron near Salzburg was restored to his widow and his legacy continues to be celebrated and honoured in

9225-553: The incidental music for Hofmannsthal's Jedermann . Reinhardt followed that success by directing a film version of A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1935 using a mostly different cast, that included James Cagney , Mickey Rooney , Joe E. Brown and Olivia de Havilland , amongst others. Rooney and de Havilland had also appeared in Reinhardt's 1934 stage production, which was staged at the Hollywood Bowl . The Nazis banned

9348-412: The individualistic-anarchistic coffeehouse literacy that makes itself at home in the magazine, it is nevertheless important to occasionally draw attention to the imputations against everyone and everything that as a result of an astonishing intellectual licentiousness also make themselves at home there, since the magazine is strangely enough also read here and there in union circles. The democratic member of

9471-589: The initial successes of the German spring offensive in 1918, Jacobsohn's editorialist Robert Breuer moved away from his hitherto anti-annexation position and abandoned the paper's previous line in other areas as well. The differences between Breuer, a supporter of the Majority Social Democratic Party , and Jacobsohn, who was moving more and more toward the position of the more radical Independent Social Democratic Party , eventually led to

9594-591: The journal's characteristic balance and liberality. In 1946 the Weltbühne was re-founded by Maud von Ossietzky and Hans Leonhard and published by the Weltbühne Publishers in East Berlin. From the U.S. both Peter Jacobsohn and Budzislawski raised objections to the re-founding. In the years after the war, the magazine found many customers in the Western occupation zones. In the 1950s and 1960s,

9717-499: The journal, which had been forced to move its editorial headquarters to Prague after the Austrian Parliament was deprived of power by Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuß . Since the original Berlin paper had in the meantime been banned, the journal changed its name to Die neue Weltbühne (‘The New World Stage’). Between 6 April 1933 (No. 14) and 31 August 1939 (No. 35), nearly 4,000 articles appeared. Willi Schlamm became

9840-605: The know: / After that tiny, great time / Let this be the judgment of the race: / The enemy is on the right! The enemy is on the right!" -- Kaspar Hauser: " Morgenpost ", in Die Weltbühne, 27 November 1919, p. 674. The paper did not shy away from calling on readers to no longer take vacations in Bavaria in protest against the anti-Jewish policies of the Kahr government. The campaign "Travelers, avoid Bavaria!" made waves, as

9963-468: The leadership of the Neue Weltbühne for reasons of personal reputation and as a staunch opponent of Hitler. It must nevertheless be noted that under his editorship, German communists such as Walter Ulbricht and Franz Dahlem who had emigrated to Moscow found a forum in the paper. Moreover, Budzislawski avoided reporting on Stalin's great purge . In 1937 Kurt Hiller, a staff member of the Weltbühne since 1915, appealed in vain to Budzislawski to restore

10086-531: The magazine passed to Kurt Tucholsky , who turned it over to Carl von Ossietzky in May of 1927. The Nazi Party banned the publication shortly after it came to power, and the magazine's last issue appeared on 7 March 1933. It continued from exile as Die neue Weltbühne (‘The New World Stage’) until 1939. After the end of World War II, it appeared again under its original name in East Berlin, where it survived until 1993. The magazines Ossietzky (since 1997) and Das Blättchen (‘The Leaflet’, 1998) have followed in

10209-457: The magazine, which was by no means pacifist and could at best be described as politically changeable, later earned Jacobsohn criticism from among others the journalists Franz Pfemfert and Karl Kraus . On 4 April 1918 Jacobsohn finally took account of the Schaubühne’s change from a purely theatrical journal to a "journal of politics, art, and economics" and renamed it the Weltbühne . After

10332-409: The media and theater. Having failed professionally for the time being, Jacobsohn set out on a journey through Europe that lasted several months. On his return he decided to launch his own theater magazine. The journal went through several phases of development during its existence from 1905 to 1933. Until 1913 its focus was on "all the interests of the theater", as stated in the newspaper's subtitle. In

10455-419: The modern Germanosphere for his many radically innovative contributions to the performing arts . Reinhardt was born Maximilian Goldmann in the spa town of Baden bei Wien , the son of Rachel Lea Rosi "Rosa" Goldmann and her husband Wilhelm Goldmann, a merchant from Stupava, Slovakia . Having finished school, he began an apprenticeship at a bank, but already took acting lessons. In 1890, he gave his debut on

10578-497: The murders provided by the former Freikorps member Carl Mertens. Leading the way in the further development of the magazine was the commitment of the political journalist Carl von Ossietzky , who was employed by Jacobsohn in April 1926 as editor and lead editorialist. With Jacobsohn's sudden death on 3 December 1926, the continued existence of the Weltbühne , which at the time had a circulation of around 12,500, came in doubt. After

10701-422: The opening article of its first issue, titled Zum Geleit (‘In Preface’), Jacobsohn wrote of his conviction that "the character of a nation and a specific time is expressed more vividly in drama than in any other form of literature". The motto displayed on the cover of the first four issues was a quote from Friedrich Schiller 's essay Die Schaubühne als moralische Anstalt betrachtet (‘The Theater Viewed as

10824-470: The play Das Mirakel ( The Miracle ) to Joseph Menchen , whose full-colour 1912 film of The Miracle gained world-wide success. Controversies around the staging of Das Mirakel , which was shown in the Vienna Rotunde in 1912, led to Reinhardt's retreat from the project. The author of the play, Reinhardt's friend and confidant Karl Gustav Vollmoeller , had French director Michel Carré finish

10947-600: The protagonists of the Weltbühne were personalities, this without a doubt. But this seduced them into an exaggerated search for personality in the political sphere, where, as is well known, the facts are not made of ethereal stuff. A ruling Social Democrat always had the advantage of falling flat as a personality. He was then called, for example, "fountain pen owner Hermann Müller ". -- Rudolf Augstein: " Eine Republik und ihre Zeitschrift " [A Republic and its Newspaper], in: Der Spiegel , 1978, 42, p. 239–249, here p. 249. The Weltbühne cannot however be accused of acting on

11070-526: The pseudonym 'Vindex' on monopoly structures in the American tobacco industry. Jacobsohn commented in a fabricated "Answer": "If for nine years the theater and only the theater has been considered here, I have not forfeited the right to consider other things and to have them considered. To plow a field apart from all others has its charms, its advantages, but also its dangers.” During World War I Jacobsohn managed to have his magazine published regularly despite

11193-403: The publisher's interim owner, Bernd F. Lunkewitz, attempted to reach an out-of-court settlement with Jacobsohn. When the attempt failed, he discontinued the highly loss-making magazine on 6 July 1993. His reasoning: "I do not want to quarrel with Mr. Peter Jacobsohn, heir to the founder of the publishing house. He was racially persecuted in Germany, expropriated and had to emigrate. In order to save

11316-506: The publishing house and its subscriber list to Peter Großhaus, who at the time also published the former Free German Youth newspaper Junge Welt . In December 1993 the publishing house changed hands once again and was renamed Webe Publishers and Holding Company. Three years later, in November 1996, Titanic publisher Erik Weihönig bought the publishing house. Webe was deleted from the commercial register on 29 November 2001. The fact that

11439-725: The publishing house. Although Budzislawski had no financial reserves, Reichenbach, who lived in Moscow, agreed to a contract in August 1936 that assured both of them equal ownership of the publishing house. Under these conditions, the magazine was able to survive for three more years. In June 1938 the editorial staff moved from Prague to Paris, since the New Weltbühne had already been confiscated several times in Czechoslovakia because of articles critical of Germany. In France as well

11562-511: The radical political right but also admired for its concept and linguistic standards. The nationalist Franz Schauwecker wrote to Ernst Jünger in January 1926: "You don’t know the Weltbühne ? And the very similar Tagebuch ? Then I urgently advise you to read these two small, splendidly edited weeklies of left-wing democracy. Urgently!" -- Cited by: Ulrich Fröschle: "Stefanie Oswalt: Siegfried Jacobsohn (rec.)"; in: Wirkendes Wort , nr. 3, December 2000, p. 463–466, here: p. 463. Indeed,

11685-507: The return of Ebert. He also remarked that Ebert had succeeded in the dissolution of the Reichstag which meant that he would be with Tucholsky for some time yet and be able to pay his salary whereas under a new government Tucholsky would have to look for him and his money in a mass grave. Jacobsohn had an extremely pugnacious personality. In the answer column of his magazine as well as in articles and serials he attacked opponents of whom one would expect they were deserving of his support. In 1913

11808-434: The rights from Sorge in 1913, proved enormously popular and productions immediately began to be staged in other German cities, such as Cologne . After the 1918 Armistice, newspapers in the German language in the United States also published articles highly praising Reinhardt's production of the play, which singlehandedly gave birth to Expressionism in the theatre. After the November Revolution of 1918 , Reinhardt re-opened

11931-640: The sea gods, Ernst Matray  [ de ] a bachelor and a faun, Leopoldine Konstantin the Circe . The shooting for Eine venezianische Nacht by Karl Gustav Vollmoeller took place in Venice. Maria Carmi played the bride, Alfred Abel the young stranger, and Ernst Matray Anselmus and Pipistrello. The shooting was disturbed by a fanatic who incited the attendant Venetians against the German-speaking staff. In 1935, Reinhardt directed his first film in

12054-556: The shooting. Reinhardt made two films, Die Insel der Seligen ( Isle of the Blessed ) and Eine venezianische Nacht ( Venetian Nights ), under a four-picture contract for the German film producer Paul Davidson . Released in 1913 and 1914, respectively, both films received negative reviews from the press and public. The other two films called for in the contract were never made. Both films demanded much of cameraman Karl Freund because of Reinhardt's special shooting needs, such as filming

12177-420: The son of the future President of Germany Paul von Hindenburg , and noted reactionary. Jacobsohn reported these contacts to Tucholsky at Paris and when Tucholsky intensified his attacks on the then President of Germany Friedrich Ebert , a ( Social Democrat ), by calling him a "traitor of his class". Jacobsohn replied in 1924 that Tucholsky should lay off Ebert since, under his successor, he would be yearning for

12300-641: The theater critic Herbert Ihering , also joined the enterprise. In November 1908 after only 15 issues, Feuchtwanger's magazine Der Spiegel (‘The Mirror’) merged with the Schaubühne . As a theater critic, Jacobsohn was the antithesis of the "culture pope" Alfred Kerr . Unlike Kerr he was a resolute critic of naturalism and held Max Reinhardt 's achievements as a theater director and manager in far higher esteem than those of Otto Brahm . Jacobsohn, however, disapproved of Reinhardt's turn to mass theater in circus arenas, which began in 1910 and eventually led to

12423-560: The theatre critic Alfred Gold that following working on his book Das Theater der Reichshauptstadt ( The Theatre of the Imperial Capital ) in his memory there "slumbered words, images, sentences and whole paragraphs of other authors, memories that could be awakened by the slightest association." Even though Maximilian Harden and Arthur Schnitzler spoke up for Jacobsohn since they did not believe in plagiarism in view of similarities with regards to common place expression, Jacobsohn

12546-403: The tradition of their famous role model. Appearing in the form of a small red booklet, the Weltbühne was considered the forum for the radical-democratic bourgeois left during the Weimar Republic . About 2,500 authors wrote for the paper between 1905 and 1933. Contributors included many prominent writers and journalists in addition to Jacobsohn, Tucholsky and Ossietzky. Even at its high point,

12669-603: Was a labor lawyer who served notably on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from his appointment by Jimmy Carter in 1980 until his death in 2018. Another grandson, Michael Reinhardt , is a successful fashion photographer. In 2015 his great-granddaughter Jelena Ulrike Reinhardt was appointed as researcher at the University of Perugia in German literature . On 18 November 2015,

12792-577: Was a phenomenon. His first contribution in Die Welt am Montag was published in March 1901. In June 1902 he became editor of the magazine, his contract lasting for three years. In September 1902 he also assumed the role of theatre critic in Berlin for the Viennese daily Die Zeit . Jacobsohn distinguished himself quickly as a harsh critic of dilettantism on the stage, and did not shrink from attacking

12915-656: Was a resolutely opposed to Wagner. Towards the end of World War I, Jacobsohn became politically closer to the socialist USPD . In 1918 he became briefly involved in the Rat der geistigen Arbeiter ( Council of Intellectual Workers ) founded by Kurt Hiller. However, he left this organisation shortly afterwards as it seemed more important to him to concentrate his efforts on Die Weltbühne . He also did not wish that political parties would make demands of him. Furthermore, he fundamentally abhorred dogmatic positions. Jacobsohn had no qualms to socialise with people such as Oskar von Hindenburg ,

13038-544: Was already plagued by theatre fatigue. Jacobsohn also expanded the horizon of the criticism of his magazine by taking on new art forms such as film. He managed to obtain the collaboration of film critics such as Hans Siemsen , Frank Warschauer , Roland Schacht and Rudolf Arnhe . Even in music criticism he managed to put forward new accents by employing the Social-Democrat Wagnerian Klaus Pringsheim Sr. even though Jacobsohn

13161-534: Was an indirect result of plagiarism involving Siegfried Jacobsohn, the 23-year-old theater critic for the Welt am Montag (‘World on Monday’). On 12 November 1904, the Berliner Tageblatt reported parallels between reviews written by Jacobsohn and Alfred Gold. Due to the ensuing public outrage, the Welt am Montag decided to dismiss Jacobsohn, whose pugnaciousness had already made him disliked by some in

13284-575: Was banned by the Ministry of Propaganda in an infamous example of censorship in Nazi Germany . This was due not only to Joseph Goebbels ' belief that Expressionism was degenerate art , but even more so due to the Jewish ancestry of director Max Reinhardt, Classical music composer Felix Mendelsohn , and soundtrack arranger Erich Wolfgang Korngold ; whose work was already banned by Goebbels as allegedly degenerate music . Reinhardt also founded

13407-498: Was banned by the Nazi Party . The archives were confiscated and have subsequently disappeared without a trace. Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt ( German: [maks ˈʁaɪnhaʁt] ; born Maximilian Goldmann ; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born theatre and film director , intendant , and theatrical producer . With his radically innovative and avant-garde stage productions, Reinhardt

13530-471: Was due in part to the fact that the arts were less subject to repression in the German Empire under Emperor Wilhelm II than politics and journalism. Among the most important contributors during the early phase of the Schaubühne were the theater critics Julius Bab, Willi Handl, and Alfred Polgar. In subsequent years writers such as Lion Feuchtwanger , Robert Walser and Harry Kahn, as well as

13653-478: Was fired by Die Welt am Montag. Following a journey through Europe lasting for several months during which he visited Vienna, Rome and Paris he returned to Berlin planning to establish a theatre magazine. The first edition of this magazine solely specialised in the theatre was published on 7 September 1905. Jacobsohn decided to name it Die Schaubühne as a reference to Friedrich Schiller 's essay Die Schaubühne als moralische Anstalt betrachtet ( The stage as

13776-659: Was in the audience when The Dybbuk was staged by the Vilna Troupe at the Roland Theater in Vienna . Reinhardt rushed backstage and congratulated the actors. At the time he was already recognized in Austria as distinguished theater director. A couple of months before his endorsement for The Dybbuk , Reinhardt had again successfully staged Jedermann (Everyman) for the Salzburg Festival . Reinhardt fled due to

13899-402: Was known as Geller Theatre Workshop , Hollywood School of Acting , and Theatre of Arts Hollywood Acting School . In 2000, the school, Theatre of Arts , was associated with Campus Hollywood, which included, Musicians Institute , and Los Angeles College of Music . In 2009, James Warwick was appointed President. Max Reinhardt Junior Workshop trained Mala Powers . Reinhardt died of

14022-542: Was not able to increase circulation significantly. This was in part due to the fact that when Austria and soon after the Saar region became part of Germany, important markets for the exile magazine were lost. As a result, Edith Jacobsohn was forced to sell the publishing house and title rights in June 1934. The buyers were the physicist Albrecht Seidler-Stein (60 percent of the shares), the lawyer Hans Nathan-Ludwig (31 percent) and

14145-485: Was officially named publisher in October 1927, "with the collaboration of Kurt Tucholsky", as the title page read until 1933. Although von Ossietzky was a completely different kind of editor than Jacobsohn, the fundamental nature of the journal was maintained. From Tucholsky's letters to his wife Mary Gerold, however, it is clear that in 1927 and 1928 he was anything but satisfied with the working methods of his successor. It

14268-499: Was on the fight against the "journey to the Third Reich " (Tucholsky), although cultural life was not completely sidelined. By the beginning of 1932, Tucholsky had resigned and was only sporadically publishing his own works. In May 1932, Hellmut von Gerlach temporarily took over as editor, since Ossietzky had to serve out his prison sentence. During this time the journalist Walther Karsch acted as so-called ‘sitting editor’, i.e. he

14391-560: Was only in later years that the two became closer both personally and in their ideas about the content of the paper. In May 1932 Tucholsky finally admitted that Ossietzky had given the paper a "tremendous boost". This boost was reflected in the circulation, which reached its maximum of 15,000 copies in the early 1930s. The importance of the Weltbühne is shown by the readers' circles that formed in numerous German cities and even in South America. The almost continuous legal disputes that

14514-633: Was persuaded to sign the Manifesto of the Ninety-Three , defending the German invasion of Belgium . He was signatory 66; he later expressed regret at signing. From 1915 to 1918, Reinhardt also worked as director of the Volksbühne theatre. On 23 December 1917, Reinhardt presided over the world premiere of Reinhard Sorge 's Kleist Prize -winning stage play Der Bettler , which had long been, "a succès de scandale , an innovation, changing

14637-560: Was still a student, Jacobsohn was hired by Hellmut von Gerlach as a theatre critic for the Berlin weekly Die Welt am Montag . In an interview with the Frankfurter Zeitung published on 8 November 1926, von Gerlach remembered that this sapling had spent literally every evening of his school days at the theatre. He knew every actor in every part and he knew the complete stage literature. Accompanied by an accurate sense of judgment hardly to be imagined by someone of his age. It

14760-670: Was strongly criticised by Jacobsohn. After World War I, Jacobsohn promoted the work of Leopold Jessner , the artistic director of the State Theatre in Berlin. He also followed closely the productions by Ludwig Berger , Jürgen Fehling , Heinz Hilpert , Berthold Viertel and Erwin Piscator . Apart from the classic authors, particularly William Shakespeare , Jacobsohn initially promoted authors such as Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Arthur Schnitzler . However, he soon became disillusioned with neo-romantic authors. This disillusionment

14883-630: Was the Swedish-born American composer and conductor Einar Nilson  [ sv ] , whom he employed as the music department head of his theaters; during international trips, Nilson would also serve as an advance man for Reinhardt, traveling ahead to the next performance location to audition singers and actors. Reinhardt, moreover, often would utilize existing music by famous composers (for example, Mozart and Mendelssohn ) for his productions, which Nilson would arrange to meet Reinhardt's needs. Nilson also composed original music, such as

15006-625: Was the personal assistant to Reinhardt, taught classes and directed plays. In 1938, Walden Philip Boyle, later, a founding faculty of the Department of Theater Arts at UCLA, worked with the Max Reinhardt Theatre Academy in Hollywood . Students include Alan Ladd , Jack Carson , Robert Ryan , Gower Champion , Shirley Temple , Angie Dickinson , Frank Bonner , Anthony James , Greg Mullavey , Charlene Tilton , and Cliff Robertson In 1943, Reinhardt departed. It later

15129-414: Was the sole person liable in legal disputes and lawsuits, thus protecting the journal’s editors. In the summer Ossietzky, who was still in prison, was also charged on account of Tucholsky’s " soldiers are murderers " statement. A court acquitted him, and he was released from prison at Christmas 1932 under an amnesty. With the seizure of power by the Nazi Party on 30 January 1933, it was to be foreseen that

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