Fritz von Unruh (; 10 May 1885 – 28 November 1970) was a German

expressionist 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 ...

dramatist, poet, and novelist.

Biography

Unruh was born in

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

, Germany. A general's son, he was an officer in the German army until 1912, when he left to pursue his writing career. Two of his earliest important works, the play ''Offiziere'' ("Officers"; 1911) and the poem ''Vor der Entscheidung'' ("Before the Decision"; 1914) established his anti-war beliefs and his belief that the social order must be based not on authority, but on the integrity and responsibility of the individual towards humanity. Unruh's works were anti-militaristic and called for world peace and brotherhood. Some of his more notable works include ''Der Opfergang'' ("Way of Sacrifice"), a powerful anti-war piece written during the siege of Verdun and published in 1919, ''Ein Geschlecht'' ("A Family"; 1916) and its sequel ''Platz'' (1920), and ''Heinrich von Andernach'' (1925). Unruh was a staunch opponent of 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 ...

Party and wrote several works warning of the consequences of Nazi dictatorship, including ''Bonaparte'' (1927), ''Berlin in Monte Carlo'' (1931), and ''Zero'' (1932). He left Germany for France in 1932, later immigrating to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He finally returned to Germany in 1962 and died in the town of Dietz at age 85.

Honors and awards

*1914

Kleist Prize The Kleist Prize is an annual German literature prize. The prize was first awarded in 1912, on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the death of Heinrich von Kleist. The Kleist Prize was the most important literary award of the Weimar Rep ...

for ''Louis Ferdinand Prinz von Preußen'' *1923 Grillparzer Prize *1947 Wilhelm Raabe Prize *1948

Goethe Prize The Goethe Prize of the City of Frankfurt () is an award for achievement "worthy of honour in memory of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe" made by the city of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was usually an annual award until 1955, and thereafter has been ...

of the City Frankfurt am Main *1955 Goethe Plaque of the City of Frankfurt *1966

Carl von Ossietzky Medal The (ILMR) has awarded the Carl von Ossietzky Medal since 1962. The league has honored personalities, initiatives or organizations who have worked with civil courage and outstanding commitment to the realization of human rights annually since 1962 ...

Works

Source:

Dramas

*''Jürgen Wullenweber'', 1908 *''Offiziere'', 1911 *''Louis Ferdinand Prinz von Preußen'', 1913 *''Ein Geschlecht'', Tragödie, 1917 *''Platz'', 1920 (Fortsetzung von ''Ein Geschlecht'') *''Stürme'', Schauspiel, 1922 *''Rosengarten'', 1923 *''Bonaparte'', Schauspiel, 1927 *''Phaea'', Komödie, 1930 *''Zero'', Komödie, 1932 *''Gandha'', 1935 *''Charlotte Corday'', 1936 *''Miss Rollschuh'', 1941 *''Der Befreiungsminister'', 1948 *''Wilhelmus'', 1953 *''Duell an der Havel'', Schauspiel, 1954 *''Bismarck oder Warum steht der Soldat da?'', 1955 *''Odysseus auf Ogygia'', Schauspiel, 1968

Novels

*''Opfergang'', 1918 *''Der nie verlor'', 1948 *''Die Heilige'', 1952 *''Fürchtet nichts'', 1952 *''Der Sohn des Generals'', 1957

Lectures

*" Vaterland und Freiheit. Eine Ansprache an die deutsche Jugend", 1923 *" Politeia", hrsg. von Ernst Adolf Dreyer, 1933 *" Europa erwache!", gehalten am Europa-Tag in Basel, 1936 *" Friede auf Erden! Peace o Earth!", Frankfurt/M., 1948 *" Rede an die Deutschen", Geleitwort von Eugen Kogon, 1948 *" Seid wachsam", Goethe-Rede, Frankfurt/M., 1948 *" Universitätsrede", in: Was da ist. Kunst und Literatur in Frankfurt/M., 1952 *" Schillerrede", hrsg. von der Fritz von Unruh-Gesellschaft, Gießen, 1955 *" Mächtig seid ihr nicht in Waffen", Begleitwort von Albert Einstein, 1957 *" Mahnruf zum Frieden", in: Konkret 7(1961), 1960 *" Wir wollen Frieden", Geleitwort von Hanns Martin Elster, 1961 *" Sport und Politik", Appell an die Jugend in aller Welt, 1961 *" Die Lebendigen rufe ich ", mit Beitrag von Johannes Urzidil, 1962 *" Rede an die Frankfurter Jugend", hrsg. vom DGB, Kreisausschuss Frankfurt/M., 1964

Collections

*''Vor der Entscheidung'', 1914 *''Flügel der Nike. Buch einer Reise'', 1925 *''Meine Begegnungen mit Trotzki'', 1963 *''Friede in USA? Ein Traum'', 1967

References

External links

Fritz von Unruh
at ''

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'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Unruh, Fritz Von 1885 births 1970 deaths Writers from Koblenz Writers from the Rhine Province German untitled nobility Republican Party of Germany politicians German pacifists German Expressionist writers German Army personnel of World War I Kleist Prize winners German male writers