Trans Internet-Zeitschrift für Kulturwissenschaften 15. Nr. April 2004
 

5.2. Exile and Literature
HerausgeberIn | Editor | Éditeur: Helmut F. Pfanner (Vanderbilt University in Nashville)

Buch: Das Verbindende der Kulturen | Book: The Unifying Aspects of Cultures | Livre: Les points communs des cultures


The Contributions by German and Austrian Exiles in Free World Magazine

Helmut F. Pfanner (Vanderbilt University in Nashville)
[BIO]

 

In reaction to the rapid rise and wide spread of totalitarian systems in the 1930's and 40's, cosmopolitan thinkers in New York founded an organization whose outlook was from the onset liberal and international. The members included well-known intellectuals and political figures from North and South America, as well as from Asia and Europe. The name of the organization was Free World. Its Honorary Board reads like a Who's Who of mid-20th century liberal thinkers and politicians, among them: former President of Argentina Marcello T. de Alvear, General Secretary of the World Alliance for International Friendship through the Churches Henry A. Atkinson, President of the Czechoslovak Republic Eduard Benez, German exile physicist Albert Einstein, New York City Mayor Fiorella H. LaGuardia, Nobel Prize-winning writer Thomas Mann, German exile theologian and Chairman of the Union for Democratic Action Reinhold Niebuhr, and celebrated American columnist Dorothy Thompson. The journal, which the Free World organization - with the exception of one bimonthly issue - published monthly from October 1941 till December 1946, was appropriately titled Free World (hitherto quoted as FW). Its democratic nature, notwithstanding its high-quality contents, becomes immediately apparent when one, looking for its editor, only finds a list of more than a dozen names serving on the journal's editorial board. These names vary slightly over the course of the journal's five year-period, but they consistently include Louis Dolivet, who later is singled out as the "International Editor." Dolivet had the assistance of a managing editor, whose name also changed a few times. There was a group of editorial writers, who varied slightly over the course of the journal's life span, but whose prominence is exemplified by the five names listed in the journal's final issue: William L. Shirer, Orson Welles, Norman Angel, Max Ascoli, and Lin Yutang.

Under these circumstances it can hardly surprise us that a number of German and Austrian exiles, who had left their home countries under political pressure, also found themselves in the circle of Free World and that several left their imprint on the pages of its journal. The latter is especially noteworthy in view of the fact that the exiles of those days usually arrived in the United States without or with only a rudimentary knowledge of English. This explains why most of them continued to write in German and thus did not reach the American reading audience. With very few exceptions, when their works were published at all, they had to be translated; and even those writing in English were usually dependent upon the editorial work of publishers. It is my assumption that this was especially true in the case of contributions by exile writers to FW magazine in view of its generally sophisticated style of English. Several contributions from exiles are actually listed as having been translated, usually with the translators' names attached.

Before entering into discussion of the contributions by the German-speaking exiles, I feel prompted to state that their writings only constitute a small portion of the entire body of the journal. In its contents, the periodical contains texts in the various genres, with the exception of complete novels and dramas, but all forms of shorter prose and also poems, as well as pictorial illustrations. The journal's international political outlook is reflected in a preponderance of essays dealing with the war in Europe and Asia, the deterioration of moral values in the modern World, and the general threat of totalitarianism to free humanity. Besides frequent texts from the journal's editors, the contributions to FW stemming neither from German or Austrian natives include: Norman Angell (the Nobel Prize recipient), Archibald MacLeish (the American poet), Freda Kirchwey (Editor of The Nation), Julian Huxley (the British biologist), Henry A. Wallace (the American Vice President under F.D.R.), Albert Guerard (the French author and noted Stanford University professor), Jan Masaryk (the son of Thomas M.), Raymond de Saussure (the French psychoanalist), Frank Kingdom (President of the University of Newark), Max Lerner (the Russian-born American thinker), Leon Blum (the former French President), James Roosevelt (son of F.D.R.), Walter Nash (the former Prime Minister of New Zealand), Robert A. Nathan (the American novelist), Mordecai Ezekiel (the Israeli agronomist), William Rose Benét (the American writer), Julian Benda (the French writer), Juan Negrin (the former Republican Prime Minister of Spain), Bertrand Russell (the British historian), Karin Michaelis, Carl Sandburg, Eleanor Roosevelt, Sigrid Undset, Charles de Gaulle, Orson Welles, G.A. Borgese, Benedetto Croce, and Ernest Hemingway. In addition, the journal included regular reports from one or more Underground Reporter(s) in Europe, whose name(s), for obvious reasons, was (were) not listed. It is further noteworthy that FW was subsequently translated into Spanish in Cuba (Mundo Libre), from where it was distributed in the Western Hemisphere, with a Chinese edition later to follow in East Asia and a French edition eventually being published in Canada.

In several of its issues, FW printed the texts of round-table discussions, which were arranged by the organization sponsoring the journal. The second issue of November 1941 contained such a section devoted to the topic "What about Germany's Future?" Thus it made good sense that four of the thirteen discussants of this round table had native backgrounds that were either German or Austrian. These four were: Max Brauer (former Mayor of Altona, Hamburg), Julius Deutsch (former general and Minister of War of the First Republic of Austria), Friedrich Wilhelm Foerster (formerly a Professor of Philosophy in Munich and subsequently the German Minister Plenipotentiary to Switzerland), and Emil Julius Gumbel (a former Professor of Mathematics in Hamburg and later Professor of Statistics at the New School for Social Research in New York). Their opinions about post-war Germany range from placing the country under the tutelage by an international control board for twenty years (Foerster) to the belief that the Germans will gradually learn democracy (Brauer and Gumbel), with Deutsch setting his hopes primarily on the aspirations of the German and Austrian working classes.

During the first year of the journal, Deutsch penned a separate essay, in which he traced the intent of some Germans for their conquest of America back to the beginning of the 20th century. In 1901 Freiherr von Edelsheim, a member of the German General Staff under Count von Schlieffen, advocated such a conquest in a militant pamphlet containing the sentence: "Germany is the only great power which is in the position to conquer the United States." ("Germans Forecast American Conquest Sixty Years Ago," I, 283-86.)(1)

In one of the first texts by a German-speaking exile in FW, Hungarian-born writer Hans Habe related his experiences as a captured French POW with German enemy troops. Habe mentioned as one of the reasons for the French defeat the better treatment of the German soldiers when compared to that of the French in terms of pay and daily food rations (I, 263-267). Habe's autobiographical book about the drôle de guerre and the fall of France was titled A Thousand Shall Fall (German, Ob Tausende fallen). It had previously been advertised in FW as "the 'All Quiet' of the Second World War" in an obvious comparison to Erich Maria Remarque's famous novel on World War I (I, 117). A more detailed comparison between Germany's war expenditures and those of the Western Allies was untertaken by Fritz Sternberg, an exiled economist and socialist journalist. ("A Comparison of Army Budgets," I, 256-262.)

In another article, Robert H. W. Kempner, an exiled German lawyer and journalist, warned his American readers that they put themselves into danger if they went against Hitler's criminal code. What the latter forbade, among much else, was the signing of anti-Nazi petitions, the joining of anti-Nazi organizations, or criticizing the activities of leaders of the foreign section of the Nazi Party in the U.S. ("Hitler's Criminal Code", I, 395-97.) The tone and intent of this article were certainly meant to be rhetorical and may have been aimed at arousing anti-Hitler sentiments. But the author cited examples from the "Third Reich" and the German-occupied countries in Europe, where people experienced severe punishment as the result of their breaking such absurd Nazi laws. Hilda (recte Hilde) Walter paid a tribute to the former editor of Die Weltbühne and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Carl von Ossietzky, who died as a result of his tortures in Nazi prisons. She depicted her subject not only with great biographical insight, but also as "one of the great heroic figures of the free Germany to come." ("Victims of Fascism: Carl von Ossietzky," II, 146-51.)

In the same series of articles, Klaus Mann gave a very sympathetic portrait of the internationally famous Austrian writer Stefan Zweig, following Zweig's voluntary death in the Brazilian capital of Petropolis. What is perhaps the most memorable sentence in Mann's analysis of Zweig's life and works is that Zweig's works typify the Austrian element in the Viennese literature of the fin-de-siècle more so than the works of non-Jewish writers. The only principle Zweig accepted was that of "civilization, which exists for the sake of man." Therefore, Mann refrained from any moral judgment of Zweig's suicide; and his respective sentence applies no less to his own death seven years thereafter: "He who renounces life automatically overcomes a morality that loses its relevance in the vacuum of eternity." ("Victims of Fascism: Stefan Zweig," II, 274). However, the editors of FW seem to have felt compelled to acquaint their readers also with another side of the same occurrence when, in the following issue, they published Carl Zuckmayer's "Appeal to Life" in English translation. His text, which had originally appeared in German in the New York Jewish periodical Aufbau, cautioned other exiles from following Zweig's example since suicide in exile, if propagandistically exploited, might work into the enemy's hands, thus necessitating the order of the day as long as Hitler was alive. ("Appeal to the Living," III, 40-41.)

The fact that their fate could be both used and misused for propagandistic purposes was well recognized by some of the more politically astute exiles. For example, Alfred Kantorowicz, a former fighter in the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War, made specific recommendations to the Allies for their propaganda broadcasts into the "Third Reich." Realizing that the Nazis were skilled in propaganda, Kantorowicz called for an even "more skilled and more imaginative counter-propaganda." He particularly admonished the Allies to observe the line between active Nazis and the German people as a whole by urging them to use such slogans as, "Die Nazis sind Deutschlands Unglück! ("The Nazis are Germany's misfortune!") and "Hitler muß vergehn - soll Deutschland bestehn" ("Hitler must go - that Germany may remain"). Another effective means of counter-propaganda suggested by Kantorowicz was reminding the German people of Hitler's broken promises, for example, that the war would end in 1941 with a victory for Germany. ("The Strategy of Anti-Nazi Propaganda," II, 144-47.)

The exiles were, of course, well suited to inform their American readers about the state of affairs in Nazi-occupied Europe, from which they had fled only recently. Therefore the editors of FW printed articles by such eyewitnesses as Erwin Lessner, a former major in the Austrian Army, who had participated in several missions in the Balkans before escaping from Nazi imprisonment and torture to America. ("The Fight of the Chetniks [i.e. Yugoslav guerrillas]," II, 299-02.) In another article, Rudolf Selke, a former Editor of the Frankfurter Zeitung, described the sinister atmosphere in Vichy France ("A French Town Today," III, 252-56); the town that Selke used for his description is Mende, where another German exile, Alfred Döblin, had barely escaped the advancing German Army.

Adrienne Thomas related an encounter with a Japanese spy, who had undertaken a study visit to Nazi concentration camps before she met him in 1940 on her voyage across the Atlantic. ("Japanese Traveling Companion," III, 358-60.) Along the same line, Otto Zoff undertook a study of Japanese schoolbooks and came up with a grim picture of the early indoctrination of Japanese youth with fascist propaganda. ("What Japanese School Children Learn," IV, 253). In a scathing attack upon German intellectuals, Leo Lania depicted them as specialists in their fields but without possessing a political conscience, as compared to figures like Emile Zola in France and Maxim Gorki in Russia. ("Reminiscences of the Time When a Poet Could Not Be a Sergeant," II, 345-46.) Karl Otto Paetel used his close connections to the illegal circles in Germany to write about the internal battles between the different military groups in Germany, including SS and SA as well as German resistance groups ("Nazi Army of Civil War," 324-30.)

Understandably, top-ranking Nazi figures were also of interest to the readers of FW. Subsequent to an essay on Hitler by French exile scholar Raymond de Saussure stands an article by Henry Michaelis, former contributor to several Berlin newspapers, on Heydrich ("Reinhard Heydrich: The Hangman of Europe," III, 36-39). The psychology of a man, who over his frustration at not being able to make others bend to his lofty ideals becomes a dictator, is the subject of a short story by Franz Werfel. His text was translated from the German and is entitled "Weissenstein: World Reformer" (III, 129). Though the story had been written in 1939 ("Weissenstein, der Weltverbesserer"), it appeared in FW for the first time in English; it was not printed in German until after the war (Erzählungen aus zwei Welten, Stockholm 1948-, Vol. 3).

Remembering another Hitler figure in a work by an Austrian exile writer, the editors of FW published an essay by Stefan Zweig. Here the author speaks of an early reading experience, the full significance of which he saw only much later, i.e. in the close analogy between one of the characters in the book with Hitler. The work in question was Los quatro jinetes del Apocalipsis ("The Four Riders of the Apocalypse") by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, a once popular novel, in which a German history professor by the name of Julius Hartrott anticipates the Nazi dream of world domination, as expressed by Hitler in Mein Kampf.

Other articles by German and Austrian exiles deal with the strength of the Allied Forces and the anticipated defeat of the Axis. Fritz Kaufmann, a political scientist from Austria at the University of Chicago, wrote about the defense of French Africa under its black leader Felix Eboué. ("Defender of Free French Africa," III, 87-90.) Julius Deutsch advocated the participation of liberated Austria in a Danubian Federation along republican principles and within the framework of a larger European organization. ("Central European Problem," III, 74-77.)

Such plans for post-war Europe must also be seen in the light of the journal's liberal stance on the political role, which the United States was to play in a World freed from totalitarian oppression. During the journal's entire lifespan, its editors never tired of stressing their belief that America was to play an equal role in the family of nations. As late as October 1945, a high-level American politician, United States Senator Glen H. Taylor from Idaho, tried to convince both Houses of Congress to accept his Resolution 183 calling for a "World Republic." (Cf. Glen H. Taylor, "Why a World Republic?" Dec. 1945, 27-31.) Although his efforts remained unsuccessful, they reflect the kind of liberal spirit in American politics which was the legacy of the Roosevelt era, and which brought both the members of the Free World organization and German-speaking exiles into one camp. As a case in point: among the many congratulatory letters FW received from liberal intellectuals all over the world on the occasion of its first anniversary in October 1942, there was one by Thomas Mann commending the periodical for its helping to bring about world peace. (IV, 12).

During the year 1943, in which Hitler's military successes were halted and Nazi strategy turned from offense to defensive, the tone of the journal's articles can be characterized as increasing in political optimism. The exiles expressed their growing confidence in the coming Allied Forces' victory even in ways in which, as seen in hindsight, they had an exaggerated view. For example, Alfred Kantorowicz wrote that German resistance was so strong that it would "help speed up the end and save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers." ("The Third Front: A Report on the German Underground," V, 127-33.) The same author, who in 1933 had been instrumental in setting up and administering the Library of Burned Books in Paris, ended his article on the ten-year anniversary of the Nazi book burnings with the conclusion that the Nazis' attempt to violate the human free spirit had failed. ("The Burning of the Books," V, 421-25.)

Ferdinand Czernin, who had been the Austrian Foreign Minister during the final two years of the Monarchy and then lived in exile in the U.S., advocated the betterment of social conditions for the people of Central Europe after the war. Such action, Czernin concluded, would prevent the totalitarianism of the Right from being replaced with a totalitarianism of the Left. ("Let's not Fear that Revolution," V, 503-05.) In the same line of thought, Hans Habe interpreted the Nazi leaders' attempts at discrediting the Allies' peace plans for post-war Europe as a sign of their having been driven onto the defensive. ("Saboteurs of the Peace," V, 208-210.)

Though it did not come as a direct statement by one of the exiles, an editorial of 1943 expressed an opinion, which was also held by leftist writers from Austria. It amounted to a denouncement of Otto von Hapsburg for having made himself head of the Military Committee that called for the formation of an Austrian Battalion to fight Hitler. "... he and his aspirations contribute a tremendous threat to the people of Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Romania, and to the Free Italians," is how the editor expressed his/her views on this subject. This editorial also called attention to the activities of the Austrian Labor Committee, which, as was stated, had much more authority then Hapsburg to speak in the name of the Austrian people. ("Mr. Otto von Hapsburg," V, 5-6.) Hapsburg also became the direct target of an attack by an Austrian exile almost two years later. Julius Deutsch blamed him for having repeatedly changed his identity since coming to the United States. First posing as a quasi Belgium diplomat (since he arrived with a Belgium passport), he then made himself the President of the Austrian Military Committee, and finally took on the position of an "enemy alien" of Hungarian extraction, which saved him from having to serve in the American military forces. ("Otto the Weathervane," 511-12.)

FW"s discussions about post-war Europe became more frequent the more the Allies' victory became likely. Fritz Kaufmann, who served on the staff of the World Encyclopedia Institute in New York, advocated a close "Anglo-Russian-American cooperation" for the administration of Central Europe. ("Central Europe after the War," VI, 359-63). Hans-Ernst Fried, a former Austrian lawyer now teaching at the New School in New York, recommended that Europe be administered by a joint board comprised of members from various countries, whose jurisdiction would reach across borders. He thus anticipated the European Coal and Steel Union and other international European organizations. ("The Frontiers of the Future," VI, 166-71.) In an article that was ostensibly written in reaction to Arthur Koestler's book about exile intellectuals titled Knights in Rusty Armor, Leo Lania warned against German and Austrian intellectuals' dwelling on their romantic past. He advocated the European intellectuals' active participation in post-war politics, without which they would "have little say about the shaping of the future." ("Pilgrims without a Shrine," VI, 440-42.)

Other exiles voiced their opinions about post-war Europe in round-table discussions, whose minutes were published in the journal. Julius Deutsch expressed his confidence that the Catholic Church of Austria, following bad experiences under Nazi rule, "will recognize that democracy is the imperative form of government in our time." Kurt Rosenfeld, a former member of the German Reichstag and then the Chairman of the German-American Emergency Conference, warned against the propagation of too much influence of the American government over German post-war politics, for it might "dishearten" the German Underground, which got its instructions from Soviet authorities.

The journal's focus turned fully on Moscow soon thereafter when Alfred Kantorowicz penned an article on the "Free Germany" movement, which had been called into life by German exiles in the Soviet capital in the winter of 1943-44 and then spread to the West. ("'Free Germany' in Moscow: A Weapon of Psychological Warfare," VII, 149-52.) With an eye on post-war Germany, Fritz Sternberg called for a complete restructuring of the German labor hierarchy, especially the stripping of heavy industry of its monopolistic power and the elimination of the reactionary forces that had heaved Hitler into power. ("Political Warfare and German Labor," VII, 453-58.) As if to make a case in point, Albert Norden, who despite his former contributions to Die neue Weltbühne, was probably an American and no exile, penned and published a very critical article on the chauvinist and imperialist practices of the firm Mannesmann. ("The History of the Mannesmann Concern," VII, 223-30.) What makes for very grim reading are the articles by the Underground Reporter coming out of the "Third Reich" about Nazi atrocities, especially one on Auschwitz previously published by the Polish Underground. ("Osciecim: The Camp of Death," VI, 271-84.)

Of specific interest during the autumn of 1944 is the short transcript of an interview, which Albert Einstein granted FW and in which the German exiled scientist expressed himself in favor of establishing an international body that would have personnel and the military force to guarantee the World's lasting peace. Moreover, and in line with the goals of this conference, Einstein proclaimed the humanistic use of the more exact sciences. He said: "Physics and mathematics are important for the community, firstly, because they fecundate technological development and, secondly, because like all finer cultural endeavors, they are efficient counter-weights against the dangers of sinking into an odious materialistic attitude toward life which leads in the predominance of unrestrained selfishness." ("Our Goal Unity: But Germans Are Unfit," VII, 370-71.)

The first half of 1945 shows FW fully anticipating the war coming to an end and also celebrating the Allies' victory. Thomas Mann, whom the editors of the journal called "the greatest living man of letters," wrote what the journal's editors called "the obituary of the evil that overtook the German soul." ("The End," March 1945, 15-18); two months later, on the occasion of F. D. Roosevelt's death on April 4, he contributed a eulogy for the American President, whom he compared to Caesar and saw as a person who understood the plight of the exiles. ("Roosevelt," May 1945, 17-18.)(2) One year later, on the anniversary of Roosevelt's death, Emil Ludwig published his homage to the late President, whom he called a personal friend. ("Roosevelt in War," May 1946, 11-16.)

When the war in Europe was over, FW took a new look at the world situation. The exiles' attention was now also directed to post-war topics. In a short anecdotal text, Leo Lania wrote about two American G.I.s, the one white and the other black. Having just returned to their homes in Georgia, they both insisted on taking seats together in the rear of a public bus, although blacks and whites were then still strictly separated along racial lines in the American South. The author interpreted this insistence of the while soldier to sit with his black wartime buddy as a strong "weapon against the ghost of the past." (May 1945, 66.)

Looking to the other side of the ocean, Julius Deutsch hailed in laudatory terms the new Austrian government under its leader, Social Democrat Karl Renner. ("Austria's Disputed Government," June 1945, 67-68.) The June 1945 issue also contained several articles on the foundation of the United Nations in San Francisco at a meeting from April 25 to June 26, 1945.

During the next year and a half, the purpose of FW's existence seems to have become diminished, as is expressed even visibly in the shrunken size of its remaining issues. Among the few final articles by German and Austrian exiles are the following: Toni Sender, the author of The Autobiography of a German Rebel (New York 1939), advocated the nationalization (meaning socialization) of European industries ("Will Europe Nationalize Industry?" Aug. 1945, 68-71); Tedy Prager, who had returned to Austria from his British exile immediately after the war, sent a report on living conditions in the city of his birth ("Vienna - Today," March 1946, 63-64). This report on Austria was followed by another one by Klaus Mann which also contained an interview with the Austrian Foreign Minister Karl Gruber ("Problem Child of Europe," July-August 1946, 39-44). In FW's final issue Leo Lania appealed to politicians to solve the chaotic situation in Europe not just by dishing out pragmatic advice but by setting an example based on moral principles. ("The Myth of Facts and figures," Dec. 1946, 45-47.)

Also during its final year, the journal published a letter by Albert Einstein to Sigmund Freud, written in 1932, on the causes of war and the possible means of preventing it, together with Einstein's portrait. ("Why War?" March 1946, 23-25.) The following issue contained Freud's answer to Einstein from a psychologist's perspective and included Freud's portrait. ("Why War?" April 1946, 18-24.) Of course, the letters were originally written in German and appeared here in English translation.

With the December 1946 issue FW ceased publication as a separate journal. It merged with two other periodicals, Asia and the Americas, and Inter-American, to form United Nations World. Though FW had had no official connection to the now world organization founded in San Francisco in 1945, it had strongly supported its idea and its charter in all issues prior to and following the foundation of the world organization. During the five years of its lifespan each issue of FW sold for the price of .40 cents (.50 cents in Canada).

This portrait of the liberal journal and its contributions by German-speaking exiles would not be complete without my mentioning the many sketches and drawings by the Austrian exile artist, B.F. (i.e., Benedikt Fred) Dolbin, which are spread out over the journal's lifespan. Moreover, what for lack of time and space has not been a part of my discussion, are the reviews of books by German and Austrian exiles, or reviews written by German-speaking writers.The books by the better known writers encountered in the journal's review section include: Martin Gumpert, First Papers (New York 1941); Egon Erwin Kisch, Sensation Fair (New York 1941); Curt Riess, Total Espionage (New York 1941); F.C. Weiskopf, Dawn Breaks (New York 1942); Leo Lania, Today We Are Brothers (Boston 1942); Joseph Bornstein and Paul R. Milton, Action Against the Enemy's Mind (New York 1942); Peter Drucker, The Future of Industrial Man: A Conservative Approach (New York 1942); Erwin Lessner, Blitzkrieg and Bluff: The Legend of Nazi Invisibility(New York 1943); Konrad Heiden, Der Führer: Hitler's Rise to Power (Boston 1944), Klaus Mann and Hermann Kesten, Heart of Europe: An Anthology of Creative Writing in Europe,1920-1940 (New York 1943); Hans Kohn, The Idea of Nationalism: A Study in Its Origins and Background (New York 1944); Erich Kahler, Man the Measure: A New Approach to History (New York 1943); Arnold Brecht, Prelude to Silence The End of the German Republic (New York 1944); Franz Hoellering, Furlough: A Novel (New York 1944); Ernst Kris and Hans Speier, German Radio Propaganda: Report on Home Broadcasts During the War (London and New York 1944); Emil Ludwig, The Moral Conquest of Germany (Garden City, N.Y. 1945); Heinrich Hauser, The German Talks Back (New York 1945); and Franz Werfel, Star of the Unborn (New York 1946). Also belonging in the context of exile, though not written by an exiled writer but touching on the fate of many, is Varian Fry's Surrender on Demand, a documentary report on his clandestine succor to many endangered refugee intellectuals in Marseilles, France. This book was discussed by Josef Forman, then a member of the Czechoslovak Information Service in New York, who earlier had been on the staff of the Marseilles Czechoslovak Consulate, which ran the underground railroad between France, Portugal and North Africa. (July 1945, 79f).

Maybe not many people who are alive today still remember FW magazine, which more than half a century ago, when the World was in serious danger of succumbing to totalitarian forces, rallied the leading intellectual figures around the Globe to fight the war for freedom and democracy. While today the journal's targets would no longer be the same, new forces are putting free civilizations under attack. Thus the message of FW should still be heeded. This message was expressed succinctly in the four principles of the Association standing behind the periodical, and of which the fourth principle seems to be the most important. Though far from having been universally accepted, it applies to all nations: "International justice and peace should be guaranteed by the association of nations organized according to the principles of collective security and possessing international executive, political, military, economic and educational power." (VI, 513). With their contributions to FW magazine, German and Austrian exiles subscribed to the organization's principles at a time when these principles were stamped trampled underfoot in the exiles' home countries.

© Helmut F. Pfanner (Vanderbilt University in Nashville)


NOTES

(1) During the period of October 1942 till December 1944, FW's pagination ran semiannully starting with number 1 for each new volume comprising one half year; therefore only volume numbers and pages are given for references falling into this period. Thereafter, each month was paginated separately, which is the reason for my listing the months for references starting with the January 1945 issue.

(2) The two mentioned essays by Mann were first published in German as follows: "Das Ende," Die Tat (Zurich), June 30, 1945; and the obituary for Franklin D. Roosevelt titled "Macht und Güte," Aufbau (New York), 11, No. 16 (April 20, 1945). Both articles can be found in Thomas Mann`, An die gesittete Welt: Politische Schriften und Reden im Exil (Frankfurt am Main: S. Fischer: 1986), pp. 683-693.


5.2. Exile and Literature

Sektionsgruppen | Section Groups | Groupes de sections


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For quotation purposes:
Helmut Pfanner (Nashville, USA): The Contributions by German and Austrian Exiles in Free World Magazine. In: TRANS. Internet-Zeitschrift für Kulturwissenschaften. No. 15/2003. WWW: http://www.inst.at/trans/15Nr/05_02/pfanner15.htm

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