Carl Sternheim (born William Adolph Carl Francke; 1 April 1878 – 3 November 1942) was a German
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just
Readin ...
and
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
writer. One of the major exponents of German
Expressionism
Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
, he especially
satirized the moral sensibilities of the emerging German
middle class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...
during the
Wilhelmine period.
Early life and education
Sternheim was born 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 ...
, the son of Rosa Marie Flora (née Francke) (1856–1908) and Carl Julius Sternheim (1852–1918), a banker. His parents married two years after he was born. His father was
Jew
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
ish, and his mother was a Lutheran from a working-class family. Sternheim grew up in
Hannover
Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
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 ...
. Between 1897 and 1902, he studied
philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
,
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
, and
jurisprudence
Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...
intermittently at the Universities of
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
,
Göttingen
Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...
, and
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 ...
, but never graduated.
Family and career
In 1900, he began working as a
freelance
''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
writer 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 ...
, where he met and married his first wife Eugenie Hauth the same year. Their union ended in 1906 and he married the writer
Thea Löwenstein (née Bauer) in 1907, with whom he had two children. Their daughter Dorothea ("Mopsa") was a resistance fighter during the Second World War and was imprisoned by the Nazis in the
Ravensbrück concentration camp
Ravensbrück () was a Nazi concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure of 1 ...
.

The wealth brought by Thea from her rich manufacturing family enabled the couple to build the Schloss Bellemaison in
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
. Here, Sternheim worked in the company of fellow artists such as
Mechtilde Lichnowsky,
Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his radically innovative and avant-gard ...
, and
Frank Wedekind
Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 – March 9, 1918) was a German playwright. His work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes (particularly towards sex), is considered to anticipate expressionism and was influential in the developme ...
. In 1908, he collaborated with
Franz Blei
Franz Blei (pseudonyms: Medardus, Dr. Peregrinus Steinhövel, Amadée de la Houlette, Franciscus Amadeus, Gussie Mc-Bill, Prokop Templin, Heliogabal, Nikodemus Schuster, L. O. G., Hans Adolar; January 18, 1871 July 10, 1942) was an essayist, play ...
to launch the Expressionist literary journal ''
Hyperion'', which published the first eight prose works by
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...
. He also contributed occasionally to the Expressionist journal ''
Die Aktion''.
In 1912, he relocated with his family to
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
and in 1918, they fled the fighting of
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 ...
and temporarily moved to
St. Moritz
St. Moritz ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the administrative region of Maloja in the Swiss ...
and
Uttwil in
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. Sternheim and Thea divorced in 1927. His next marriage, to actress and singer
Pamela Wedekind, took place in 1930 and lasted until 1934, after which he lived with Henriette Carbonara. Sternheim died in
Ixelles
(French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Pentagon (Brussels), Brusse ...
(
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
) during
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 ...
and was buried in the
Ixelles Cemetery. A friend of his,
Marcel Hastir (1906–2011), was buried in the same tomb.
Sternheim's circle of prominent friends included
Gottfried Benn,
Carl Einstein,
Franz Pfemfert,
Walther Rathenau
Walther Rathenau (; 29 September 1867 – 24 June 1922) was a German industrialist, writer and politician who served as foreign minister of Germany from February 1922 until his assassination in June 1922.
Rathenau was one of Germany's leading ...
,
Ernst Stadler,
Hugo von Tschudi,
Fritz von Unruh, and
Otto Vrieslander. In 1915, he presented the prize money for the
Fontane Prize to the then largely unknown Kafka. The
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 ...
authorities banned Sternheim's work not only because of his partial Jewish descent but also because of his savage
comedic assaults on the perceived moral corruption of the German bourgeoisie.
Art collection
Carl Sternheim collected art. An early admirer of
Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...
, in 1912 he lent several paintings from his collection to the International Art Exhibition in Cologne known as the
1912 Sonderbund. The Van Goghs lent by Sternheim included "Still life with coffee pot, dishes and fruit", "Street in Saintes-Maries", and "L'Arlésienne", and "Entrance to the Public Park in Arles".
Adaptations
Sternheim's works remain popular in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, but English language productions of them are rare, especially in the
UK where there is a long tradition of ignoring plays not first written in English or adapting them in order to lose any foreign cultural specificities. Academics have also argued that Sternheim's works are sometimes hard to sell to the market in foreign languages due to the difficulty in categorising his style as belonging to any one specific movement.
As a result, Sternheim's plays have rarely been produced in a major venue. One notable exception occurred when
Simon Callow
Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (born 15 June 1949) is an English actor. Known as a character actor on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Olivier Award and Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for two BAFT ...
made his West End debut in a version of ''
Bürger Schippel'' (re-titled as ''The Plumber's Progress'') alongside
Harry Secombe in the 1970s. However, in August 2011, both ''
Paul Schippel Esq.'' (an alternative title often given to ''
Bürger Schippel'') and ''
The Fossil'', another of Sternheim's comedies, were performed as a double-bill at the
Charing Cross Theatre, London, with Kieran E. Sims and Alex Corbet Burcher in the respective
title role
The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...
s. In December 2018, a new adaptation of three of the short plays from ''Aus dem bürgerlichen Heldenleben'' by
David Ives premiered at the
Shakespeare Theatre Company
The Shakespeare Theatre Company is a Regional theater in the United States, regional theatre company located in Washington, D.C. The theatre company focuses primarily on plays from the William Shakespeare, Shakespeare canon, but its seasons inc ...
in Washington, D.C. ''The Panties, The Partner, and The Profit'' were adapted from ''
Die Hose'', ''Der Snob'' and ''1913,'' and produced with the subtitle ''Scenes From the Heroic Life of the Middle Class''.
Bibliography
*''Aus dem bürgerlichen Heldenleben'' (''From the Heroic Life of the Bourgeois''),
play cycle (1911–22):
**''
Die Hose'' (''The Trousers'', also ''
The Underpants'')
[ Steve Martin's ''The Underpants'', production study guide for an adaptation of Sternheim's play at the Capital Repertory Theatre (3 November – 2 December 2006), "About the Original Playwright", p. 8.]
**''Der Snob'' (''The Snob'')
**''1913''
**''
Das Fossil'' (''The Fossil'')
**''Die Kassette'' (''The Cartridge'')
**''
Bürger Schippel'' (''Citizen Schippel'', also ''Paul Schippel, Esq.'')
*''Schuhlin, Eine Erzahlung'' (''Schuhlin, A Narrative'') (1915)
*''Kampf der Metapher'' (''Struggle of Metaphor''),
essay
An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...
(1917)
*''Chronik von des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts Beginn'' (''Chronicle of the Beginning of the Twentieth Century''), short stories, 1918
*''Die Marquise von Arcis'' (''The Mask of Virtue''), drama (1918)
*''Europa'', novel, 2 vol. (1919/1920)
*''Manon Lescaut'', drama (1921)
*''Oscar Wilde: His Drama'', drama (1925)
*''Vorkriegseuropa im Gleichnis meines Lebens'' (''Prewar Europe in the Parable of My Life''),
memoir
A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...
(1936)
References
Steve Martin's ''The Underpants'' production study guide for an adaptation of Sternheim's play at the Capital Repertory Theatre (3 November – 2 December 2006), "About the Original Playwright", p. 8.
External links
Carl Sternheim Society, Frankfurt (in German)*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sternheim, Carl
1878 births
1942 deaths
Writers from Leipzig
Writers from the Kingdom of Saxony
German Expressionist writers
Jewish dramatists and playwrights
Converts to Protestantism from Judaism
Jewish German writers
Modernist theatre
Burials at Ixelles Cemetery
German male dramatists and playwrights
20th-century German dramatists and playwrights
German emigrants to Belgium
Belgian refugees
Suicides by Jews during the Holocaust