''Aufbau'' () is a term which was used in publications from 1919 to 1947 in the

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

. The term can be translated as "structure", "construction" or as "rebuilding", "reconstruction".

Peter Galison Peter Louis Galison (born May 17, 1955) is an American historian and philosopher of science. He is the Joseph Pellegrino University Professor in history of science and technology, history of science and physics at Harvard University. Biography G ...

advocated its use as a "keyword", in the sense used by

Raymond Williams Raymond Henry Williams (31 August 1921 – 26 January 1988) was a Welsh socialist writer, academic, novelist and critic influential within the New Left and in wider culture. His writings on politics, culture, the media and literature contribu ...

in '' Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society''.

First period

The term was hardly used before 1919, and the use declined after 1947. The first peak occurred between 1919 and 1927, and the term was used to announce the emergence of a new structure from the chaos and disorder arising from the

First World War 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 ...

and the defeat of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. The term was used to advocate a political, philosophical, and aesthetic world view.

has described this use as a left technocratic period. * ''Umsturz und Aufbau'': a series of 8 pamphlets published by

Ernst Rowohlt Ernst Hermann Heinrich Rowohlt (23 June 1887 in Bremen – 1 December 1960 in Hamburg) was a German publisher who founded the Rowohlt publishing house in 1908 and headed it in its repeated incarnations until his death. In 1912, he married actres ...

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 ...

, 1919-1920 :* ''Friede den Hütten! Krieg den Palästen'' by

Georg Büchner Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büchn ...

; :* ''Der politische Dichter'' by

Walter Hasenclever Walter Georg Alfred Hasenclever (8 July 1890 – 22 June 1940) was a German Jewish Expressionist poet and playwright. His works were banned when the Nazis came to power and he went into exile in France. There he was imprisoned as a "foreign e ...

; :* ''Kampf gegen die Waffe!'' by

Rudolf Leonhard Rudolf Leonhard (27 October 1889, in Lissa, German Empire (today Leszno, Poland) – 19 December 1953, in East Berlin) was a German author and communist activist. Life Leonhard came from a family of lawyers and studied law and Philology in Berlin ...

; :* ''Zur Judenfrage'' by

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

; :* ''Der Hochverräter Ernst Toller'' by

Stefan Grossmann Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...

; :* ''Reißt die Kreuze aus der Erden'' by

Georg Herwegh Georg Friedrich Rudolph Theodor Herwegh (31 May 1817 – 7 April 1875) was a German poet,Herwegh, Georg, The Columbia Encyclopedia (2008) who is considered part of the Young Germany movement. Biography He was born in Stuttgart on 31 May 1817, t ...

; :* ''Ewig im Aufruhr'' by Johannes R. Becher; :* ''Der Pariser Frieden und die Jugend Europas'' by George D. Herron * ''Der Aufbau: Sozialistische Wochenzeitung'': Zurich based socialist weekly newspaper, launched on 4 December 1919 * ''Der Aufbau: Flugblätter an Jugend'', ten pamphlets published by

Hermann Schüller Hermann Schüller (1893–1948) was a German people, German writer and Communism, Communist activist. He was one of the founders of the League for Proletarian Culture in 1919. In October 1920, with Erwin Piscator he founded the Proletarian Theatre, ...

. * ''Der logische Aufbau der Welt'' (The Logical Structure of the World) by

Rudolph Carnap Rudolf Carnap (; ; 18 May 1891 – 14 September 1970) was a German-language philosopher who was active in Europe before 1935 and in the United States thereafter. He was a major member of the Vienna Circle and an advocate of logical positivism. ...

. This was submitted as a

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 ...

thesis in 1926 and published in 1928.Christian Damböck (ed.), ''Influences on the Aufbau'', Springer, p. 55.

Second period

The second period is between 1934 and 1937 when the publications come from both right and left. For right, it concerned an organicist approach to developing and empowering the state. For the antifascist, the term was used for organising the opposition to destruction already wrought and that envisaged by the dictatorship. * ''

Aufbau ''Aufbau'' () is a term which was used in publications from 1919 to 1947 in the German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is ...

'' published by the German–Jewish Club,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Third period

The third period is between 1945 and 1947. Here the term was used to promote

liberal democracy Liberal democracy, also called Western-style democracy, or substantive democracy, is a form of government that combines the organization of a democracy with ideas of liberalism, liberal political philosophy. Common elements within a liberal dem ...

to create a literature of cultural renovation following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, with a view to reintegrate Germany into the world community.

References

{{reflist German words and phrases

First period

Second period

Third period

See also

References