Johannes Andreas Jolles, known as André Jolles (August 7, 1874, in

Den Helder Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base. From here the Royal TESO fe ...

, Netherlands – February 22, 1946, in

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 ...

, Germany) was a Dutch-German

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...

critic and

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

who was affiliated with the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

. He is best known for his work on ' ().

Life

Jolles was born on August 7, 1874, in

. His father, Hendrik Jolle Jolles, died on February 25, 1888, in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. Jolles grew up as an only child with his mother Jacoba Cornelia Singles (1847–1901) in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. In the 1890s, he worked on

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

s such as '' Van Nu en Straks'' and ''De Kroniek'' in 1893 and 1895 respectively, and was the editor for art and science at ''

De Telegraaf ''De Telegraaf'' (; ) is the largest Netherlands, Dutch daily morning newspaper. Haro Kraak,Gaat Paul Jansen de crisis bij De Telegraaf oplossen?, ''de Volkskrant'', 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015. Paul Jansen has been the editor-in-chief since ...

'' from 1897 to 1898. He studied

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

and

Semitic languages The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. They include Arabic, Amharic, Tigrinya language, Tigrinya, Aramaic, Hebrew language, Hebrew, Maltese language, Maltese, Modern South Arabian language ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

from 1893 to 1894 and again in 1899 at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...

. In 1896, Jolles met

Johan Huizinga Johan Huizinga (; 7 December 1872 – 1 February 1945) was a Dutch historian and one of the founders of modern cultural history. Life Born in Groningen as the son of Dirk Huizinga, a professor of physiology, and Jacoba Tonkens, who died two ...

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

, who became a long-time friend. On a trip to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

with Huizinga in 1899, he met his future wife Mathilde Tilli Mönckeberg (1879–1958). They married in September 1900. Their first son, Hendrik, was born in June 1901 but died a year later. After that, they had five children: Jeltje, Jacoba, Jan Andries,

Matthijs Matthijs ɑˈtɛi̯s(also Mattijs, Mathijs and Matijs) is a Dutch form of the masculine given name " Matthew". It can also be a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name ;Matthijs/Matthys * Matthijs Accama (1702–1783), Dutch pai ...

and Ruth. Jolles, who became wealthy after his mother's death in 1901, began studying at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau, where he received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

on August 3, 1905, with a thesis on Vitruvian

aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...

with

Otto Puchstein Otto Puchstein (6 July 1856, Labes – 9 March 1911, Berlin) was a German classical archaeologist. From 1875 to 1879 he studied philology, classical archaeology and Egyptology at the University of Strasbourg, where his instructors include ...

. He gave his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

lecture, "On the

narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller ...

and the descriptive element in the

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...

s in

antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...

and the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

" in Freiburg (January 1907), and his habilitation thesis, ''The

- Mycenaean Ceremonial Vessels,'' appeared in 1908. Additionally, he co-wrote the pieces ''Vielliebchen'' and ''Alkestis'' with Carl Mönckeberg, both of which were staged in Hamburg. His family moved to Berlin in 1908, where he taught from 1909 as a private lecturer on ancient art history at

Friedrich-Wilhelm University The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humboldt, ...

. When

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

began, he registered as a 40-year-old and became a Dutch volunteer. An artillery regiment accepted him after several rejections. Jolles was naturalised and initially participated in the First World War as a

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

and finally as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the

Landwehr ''Landwehr'' (), or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national army, armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fo ...

. In 1916, as an officer in the occupying forces, he accepted a

professorship Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

in classical archaeology and art history at the

University of Ghent Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

. In 1920, he was sentenced ''in absentia'' to 15 years of forced labour in Ghent. While in Ghent, he lived with Margarethe Grittli Boecklen (1895–1967). After he divorced Mönckeberg, he married Boecklen in August 1918, shortly after the birth of their first child Barbara. Jolles became a professor in Flemish and Dutch language and literature at

Leipzig University Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

. In 1923 he also became the professor of comparative

history of literature The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment or education to the reader, as well as the development of the literary techniques used in the communication of these pie ...

. In 1930, he published his main work ''Simple Forms'' (''Einfache Formen''), in which he set out a typology of oral narrative forms (myth, legend, fairy tale, memorable, case, riddle, saying, joke). As stated in the preface, the book originated from Jolles' lectures, which Drs. Elisabeth Kutzer and Otto Görner wrote down and edited. Jolles' further considerations about the art forms were not substantial enough to be published. ''Simple Forms'' place Jolles in the company of

Ernst Cassirer Ernst Alfred Cassirer ( ; ; July 28, 1874 – April 13, 1945) was a German philosopher and historian of philosophy. Trained within the Neo-Kantian Marburg School, he initially followed his mentor Hermann Cohen in attempting to supply an idealistic ...

Vladimir Propp Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp (; – 22 August 1970) was a Soviet folklorist and scholar who analysed the basic structural elements of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest irreducible structural units. Biography Vladimir Propp was ...

, and other precursors of

Structuralism Structuralism is an intellectual current and methodological approach, primarily in the social sciences, that interprets elements of human culture by way of their relationship to a broader system. It works to uncover the structural patterns t ...

. Using

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

and

literary theory Literary theory is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for literary analysis. Culler 1997, p.1 Since the 19th century, literary scholarship includes literary theory and considerations of intellectual history, m ...

, they investigated the origins of

. The book was translated into English only in 2017, "too late", in the words of

Fredric Jameson Fredric Ruff Jameson (April 14, 1934 – September 22, 2024) was an American literary critic, philosopher and Marxist political theorist. He was best known for his analysis of contemporary cultural trends, particularly his analysis of postmode ...

.Marta Figlerowicz
How to Do Things with Genres
Los Angeles Review of Books, 30 March 2017 On May 1, 1933, he joined the

, estranging several friends and his children from his first marriage: Jeltje was married to a Jewish engineer, and Jan Andries was forced to go into exile as a communist to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

under a Spanish Passport with the alias ‘Manuel Enrique Cazón Arribar’. In 1937, Jolles joined the

Sicherheitsdienst ' (, "Security Service"), full title ' ("Security Service of the ''Reichsführer-SS''"), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the Schutzstaffel, SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence ...

(SD) – the intelligence agency of the Nazi Party and the SS. He retired in 1941, and from 1942 worked on a study on behalf of the SD on

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. On his 70th birthday, he received the

Goethe Medal for Art and Science Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

from Hitler in 1944. On a questionnaire he filled out in May 1945 about his

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

past, it is noted in handwriting: "is still a Nazi – too old (71 years) to be arrested". André Jolles committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

on February 22, 1946.

Publications (selection)

* ''Vitruvian aesthetics.'' Diss. Freiburg i. Br., 1906
full text
). * ''The Egyptian-Mycenaean ceremonial vessels.'' Habilitation thesis (Freiburg i. Br.). In: ''Yearbook of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute.'' Volume 23, 1908, pp. 209–250. * ''From Schiller to the community stage.'' Leipzig 1919. * ''Bezieling en Vorm.'' Essays about letterkunde. Tjeenk Willink, Haarlem 1923. (Dutch) * ''Simple shapes.'' Legend, legend, myth, riddle, saying, case, memorabilia, fairy tale, joke. Halle (Saale) 1930 (Research Institute for Modern Philology Leipzig: New German Department; 2
Online
Reprint Darmstadt 1958. * ''Freemasonry.'' Essence and customs. First book: The emergence of Freemasonry. Nordland-Verlag, Berlin. (not published) - Sources and representations on the Masonic question; 5.

Literature

* Hermann Bausinger: ''Jolles, André.'' In: Encyclopedia of Fairy Tales Vol. 7, 1993, pp. 623–625. * Hellmut Rosenfeld: ''Jolles, André.'' In: ''New German Biography'' (NDB). Volume 10, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1974, , p. 586 f.

. * Walter Thys (ed.): ''André Jolles (1874-1946), "Educated Vagant".'' Amsterdam / Leipzig 2000, . (Partly German, partly Dutch.) * Mathilde Wolff-Mönckeberg: ''Letters they didn't get. Letters from a mother to her distant children between 1940 and 1946.'' Hoffmann et al. Campe, Hamburg 1980, . (First published as the English translation: ''On the Other Side. To My Children: From Germany 1940-1945.'' Owen, London 1979, .) * Literature by and about Johannes Andreas Jolles in the catalog of the German National Library * Johannes Andreas Jolles in the professor catalog of the University of Leipzig. * Brigitte Emmrich: ''Jolles, André (a.k.a. Johannes Andreas, pseudonym: Karl Andres)''. In: Institute for Saxon History and Folklore (Ed.): ''Saxon Biography''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jolles, Andre 1874 births Dutch art historians People from Den Helder Nazi Party members Academic staff of Leipzig University German Army personnel of World War I 1946 suicides 1946 deaths Naturalized citizens of Germany Nazis who died by suicide in Germany