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Adolf Bartels (15 November 1862 – 7 March 1945) was a German journalist, writer and poet, known today mainly for his antisemitic and national-socialist stance.Roderick Stackelberg, "Bartels, Adolf", in ''Antisemitism : a historical encyclopedia of prejudice and persecution'', edited by Richard S. Levy. ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, 2005, (p. 59-60). Bartels was born at Wesselburen, in

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

, and educated at

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. An artisan's son, Bartels studied literature. After 1895 a free-lance journalist in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

, he gained a reputation as a Hebbel scholar. In 1897 he wrote a history of German literature that was marked by racist evaluations and rabid antisemitism; it became a pioneering work for National Socialist literary reviews. According to Bartels, even authors whose names sounded Jewish, who wrote for the "Jewish press", or who were friendly with Jews were "contaminated with Jewishness". The noblest task of ''völkisch'' cultural policy would therefore be a radical de-Jewing of the arts, and thus the "salvation of National Socialist Germany" (; 1924). Bartels led a successful campaign to prevent the unveiling of a statue of

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

in 1906. After World War One, Bartels' work experienced an upsurge in popularity, with his followers forming the ''Bartelsbund'' (Bartels Society) to promote his ideas; the Bartelsbund later merged with Erich Ludendorff's Tannenbergbund group. Bartels' work achieved "quasi-official" status in Nazi Germany, and Hitler personally awarded Bartels the Adlerschild medal, Nazi Germany's highest civilian honour, in 1937. Bartels died in Weimar on 7 March 1945. Bartels's further literary productions included ''Die Dithmarscher'' (1898), a historical novel based on his native region advocating ruralism, which sold over 200,000 copies by the 1920s, Richard J. Evans, '' The Coming of the Third Reich''. 2004, Penguin Books, London. (p. 122). and ''

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

'' (1903).

Works

Poetic and dramatic works

* ''Gedichte'' (1889) * ''Dichterleben'' (1890) * ''Aus der meerumschlungenen Heimat'' (1895) * ''Der dumme Teufel'', a mock epic (1896) * ''

'', a

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...

(1903)

Criticism and literary history

* ''Friedrich Gessler'' (1892) * ''Die deutsche Dichtung der Gegenwart'' (1897) * ''Geschichte der deutschen Litteratur'' (two volumes, 1901-02) * '' Adolf Stern'' (1905) * ''

'' (1906) * '' Gerhart Hauptmann'' (1906) * ''Deutsche Literatur. Einsichten und Aussichten'' (1907) * ''Deutsches Schrifttum'' (1911)

Notes

References

* Fuller, Steven Nyole. ''Nazis' Literary Grandfather: Adolf Bartels and Cultural Extremism, 1871-1945'', Peter Lang Pub Inc, 1996 (). * Rees, Philip. '' Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'', 1991, (). * Christian Zentner, Friedemann Bedürftig (1991). '' The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich''. Macmillan, New York. *

External links

* 1862 births 1945 deaths People from Wesselburen People from the Duchy of Holstein Nazi Party members German poets Writers from Schleswig-Holstein German male journalists German journalists German male poets {{Germany-journalist-stub