Hanns Heinz Ewers (3 November 1871 – 12 June 1943) was a German actor, poet, philosopher, and writer of short stories and novels. While he wrote on a wide range of subjects, he is now known mainly for his works of horror, particularly his trilogy of novels about the adventures of Frank Braun, a character modeled on himself. The best known of these is ''

Alraune ''Alraune'' (German language, German for ) is a novel by German novelist Hanns Heinz Ewers published in 1911. It is also the name of the female lead character. The book originally featured illustrations by Ilna Ewers-Wunderwald. Legend The bas ...

'' (1911).Henry and Mary Garland, ''The Oxford companion to German literature''.Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1997. (pp.221–222).Mary Ellen Snodgrass,''Encyclopedia of Gothic Literature''. New York, Facts on File (2004). (p.106-7)

Career

Early works

Born in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, Ewers started to write poetry when he was 17 years old. His first noticed poem was an obituary tribute to the German Emperor Frederick III. Ewers earned his

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

in March 1891. He then volunteered for the military and joined the '' Kaiser-Alexander-Gardegrenadier-Regiment Nr. 1'', but was dismissed 44 days later because of

myopia Myopia, also known as near-sightedness and short-sightedness, is an eye condition where light from distant objects focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina. As a result, distant objects appear blurry, while close objects appear normal. ...

. Ewers' literary career began with a volume of satiric verse, entitled ''A Book of Fables'', published in 1901. That same year, he collaborated with

Ernst von Wolzogen Ernst von Wolzogen (23 April 1855 – 30 August 1934) was a cultural critic, a writer and a founder of Cabaret in Germany. Biography Wolzogen came from a noble Austrian family; he studied Literature, Philosophy, and the history of art in Strasb ...

in forming a literary vaudeville theatre before forming his own such company, which toured Central and Eastern Europe before the operating expenses and constant interference from censors caused him to abandon the enterprise. A world traveler, Ewers was in South America at the beginning 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 relocated to New York City, where he continued to write and publish. Ewers' reputation as a successful German author and performer made him a natural speaker for the Imperial German cause to keep the United States from joining the war as an ally of Britain. Ewers toured cities with large ethnic German communities and raised funds for the

German Red Cross The German Red Cross (GRC) ( ; DRK) is the national Red Cross Society in Germany. During the Nazi era, the German Red Cross was under the control of the Nazi Party and played a role in supporting the regime's policies, including the exclusion ...

. During this period, he was involved with the " Stegler Affair". American shipping companies sympathetic to the fight against Imperial Germany reportedly aided the British in identifying German-descended passengers traveling to Germany to volunteer for the Kaiser's army. Many were arrested and interned in prison camps by the

British Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

; eventually, German volunteers often required false passports to reach Europe unmolested. Ewers was implicated as a German agent by one of these ethnic Germans, Richard Stegler. After the United States joined the war, he was arrested in 1918 as an "active propagandist," as the US government, as well as British and French intelligence agencies, asserted that Ewers was a German agent. They evidenced his travels to Spain during 1915 and 1916, both with an alias using a falsified Swiss passport. E. F. Bleiler, "Ewers, Hanns Heinz" in Sullivan, Jack, (ed.) ''The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural''. (pp. 145–6). Viking, New York. 1986. Later, a travel report in the archives of the German Foreign Office was discovered indicating that he may have been traveling to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, perhaps to encourage

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...

to hamper the U.S. military by an attack on the United States. Ewers is associated with the pro-German George Sylvester Viereck,"Ewers, Hanns Heinz" by

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (25 July 1948 – 24 February 2024) was a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who published a hundred novels and over a hundred volumes of translations. His earlier books were published under the name Br ...

David Pringle David Pringle (born 1 March 1950) is a Scottish science fiction editor and critic. Pringle served as the editor of '' Foundation'', an academic journal, from 1980 to 1986, during which time he became one of the prime movers of the collective whi ...

, ''St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic Writers''. London : St. James Press, 1998, (pp. 665–66). son of the German immigrant and reported illegitimate

Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. ...

offspring Louis Sylvester Viereck (a

Social Democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

famous for sharing a prison cell with

August Bebel Ferdinand August Bebel (; 22 February 1840 – 13 August 1913) was a German socialist activist and politician. He was one of the principal founders of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Bebel, a woodworker by trade, co-founded the Sa ...

), who was a member of the same Berlin student corps (fraternity) as Ewers. Ewers' activities as an "Enemy Alien" in New York were documented by J. Christoph Amberger in the German historical journal ''Einst & Jetzt'' (1991). Amberger indicates arrival records which demonstrate that Ewers entered the United States in the company of a "Grethe Ewers," who is identified as his wife. Enemy Alien Office records refer to a recent divorce. The identity of this otherwise undocumented wife has never been established, with reference to her missing from most biographies. As a German national he was sent to the internment camp at Fort Oglethorpe,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Ewers was never tried as a German agent in the United States. In 1921, he was released from the internment camp and returned to his native Germany.

Frank Braun trilogy

Ewers's first novel, ''Der Zauberlehrling'' (''

The Sorcerer's Apprentice "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" () is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe written in 1797. The poem is a ballad in 14 stanzas. Story The poem begins as an old sorcerer departs his workshop, leaving his apprentice with chores to perform. Tired of ...

''), was published in 1910, with an English translation published in America in 1927. It introduces the character of Frank Braun, who, like Ewers, is a writer, historian, philosopher, and world traveler with a decidedly

Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche became the youngest pro ...

an morality. The story concerns Braun's attempts to influence a small cult of

Evangelical Christians Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian g ...

in a small Italian mountain village for his own financial gain, and the horrific results which ensue. This was followed in 1911 by ''

'', a reworking of the

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

myth, in which Braun collaborates in creating a female

homunculus A homunculus ( , , ; "little person", : homunculi , , ) is a small human being. Popularized in 16th-century alchemy and 19th-century fiction, it has historically referred to the creation of a miniature, fully formed human. The concept has root ...

or android by impregnating a prostitute with the semen from an executed murderer. The result is a young woman without morals, who commits numerous monstrous acts. ''Alraune'' was influenced by the ideas of the

eugenics Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...

movement, especially the book '' Degeneration'' by

Max Nordau Max Simon Nordau (born Simon Maximilian Südfeld; 29 July 1849 – 23 January 1923) was a Hungarian Zionism, Zionist leader, physician, author, and Social criticism, social critic. He was a co-founder of the Zionist Organization together with Theo ...

. ''Alraune'' has been generally well received by historians of the horror genre; Mary Ellen Snodgrass describes ''Alraune'' as "Ewers' decadent masterwork",

argues ''Alraune'' "deserves recognition as the most extreme of all "femme fatale" stories" and E. F. Bleiler states the scenes in ''Alraune'' set in the Berlin underworld as among the best parts of the novel. The novel was filmed several times, most recently in a German version with

Erich von Stroheim Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim (born Erich Oswald Stroheim, ; September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was an Austrian-American director, screenwriter, actor, and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of ...

in 1952. Bleiler notes "Both ''Alraune'' and ''The Sorcerer's Apprentice'' are remarkable for the emotion the author can arouse" and that Ewers' writing is, at its best, "very effective". However, Bleiler also argues Ewers' work is marred by "annoying pretentiousness, vulgarity, and a very obtrusive and unpleasant author's personality". The third novel of the sequence, ''

Vampyr ''Vampyr'' () is a 1932 Gothic horror film directed by Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer. It was written by Dreyer and Christen Jul based on elements from Sheridan Le Fanu's 1872 collection of supernatural stories '' In a Glass Darkly''. The ...

'', written in 1921, concerns Braun's own eventual transformation into a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

, drinking the blood of his Jewish mistress.

Later works

Another novel, '' Der Geisterseher'' (The Ghost-Seer), Ewers' completion of the

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

novel, was published in 1922; Ewers' version was received badly. Ewers also wrote the novel '' Reiter in deutscher Nacht'' (Riders in the German Night) published in 1932. Ewers wrote numerous short stories, those in ''Nachtmahr'' ("Nightmare") largely concern "pornography, blood sport, torture and execution". Stories translated into English include the often anthologised "The Spider" (1915), a tale of

black magic Black magic (Middle English: ''nigromancy''), sometimes dark magic, traditionally refers to the use of Magic (paranormal), magic or supernatural powers for evil and selfish purposes. The links and interaction between black magic and religi ...

based on the story "The Invisible Eye" by Erckmann-Chatrian; "Blood", about knife fights to the death; and "The Execution of Damiens", a story about the execution of the 18th-century French criminal

Robert-François Damiens Robert-François Damiens (; surname also recorded as ''Damier'', ; 9 January 1715 – 28 March 1757) was a French domestic servant whose attempted assassination of King Louis XV in 1757 culminated in his public execution. He was the last per ...

that achieved some notoriety for its violence. Ewers also published several plays, poems, fairy tales, opera librettos, and critical essays. These included ''Die Ameisen'', translated into English as '' The Ant People'', ''Indien und ich'', a travelogue of his time in India, and a 1916 critical essay on

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

, to whom he has often been compared. Indeed, Ewers is still considered by some as a major author in the evolution of the horror literary genre, cited as an influence by American horror writers such as

H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...

and Guy Endore. Students of the occult are also attracted to his works, due to his longtime friendship and correspondence with

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...

. Ewers also translated several French writers into German, including Villiers de l'Isle-Adam. Ewers also edited the eight-volume ''Galerie der Phantasten'' anthologies of horror and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

literature, featuring work by Poe, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Oskar Panizza,

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...

Alfred Kubin Alfred Leopold Isidor Kubin (10 April 1877 – 20 August 1959) was an Austrian artist, printmaker, illustrator, and occasional writer. Kubin is considered an important representative of Symbolism and Expressionism. Biography Kubin was born i ...

, Ewers' friend Karl Hans Strobl,

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer Gustavo Adolfo Claudio Domínguez Bastida (17 February 1836 – 22 December 1870), better known as Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (), was a Spanish Spanish Romance literature, Romantic poet and writer (mostly short stories), also a playwright, columni ...

and Ewers himself. During the time Ewers was writing his major horror stories, he was also giving lectures (between 1910 and 1925) on the topic ''Die Religion des Satan'' (''The Religion of Satan''), inspired by Stanisław Przybyszewski's 1897 German book ''Die Synagoge des Satan'' (''The Synagogue of Satan''). He died on June 12, 1943, in his

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 ...

apartment. His ashes were buried on October 15 of the same year in the Düsseldorf North Cemetery (Nordfriedhof, Field Nr. 78, 55235-WE).

Movie work

Ewers was one of the first critics to recognize cinema as a legitimate art form, and wrote the scripts for numerous early examples of the medium, most notably '' The Student of Prague'' (1913), a reworking of the

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

legend which also included the first portrayal of a

double role A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...

by an actor on the screen. Nazi martyr

Horst Wessel Horst Ludwig Georg Erich Wessel (9 October 1907 – 23 February 1930) was a member of the Sturmabteilung (SA), the paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party, who became a propaganda symbol in Nazi Germany following his murder in 1930 by two members ...

, then a member of the same corps (student fraternity) of which Ewers had been a member, acts as an extra in a 1926 version of the movie, also written by Ewers. Ewers was later commissioned by Adolf Hitler to write a biography of Wessel ("Horst Wessel- ein deutsches Schicksal"), which also was made into a movie.

Nazi involvement

During the last years of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

, Ewers became involved with the burgeoning

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 ...

, attracted by its nationalism, its Nietzschean moral philosophy, and its cult of Teutonic culture, and joined the

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

in 1931. He did not agree with the party's

anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

(his character Frank Braun has a Jewish mistress, Lotte Levi, who is also a patriotic German) and this and his homosexual tendencies soon ended his welcome with party leaders. In 1934 most of his works were banned in Germany, and his assets and property seized.

Alfred Rosenberg Alfred Ernst Rosenberg ( – 16 October 1946) was a Baltic German Nazi theorist and ideologue. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart and he held several important posts in the Nazi government. He was the head o ...

was his main adversary in the party, but after submitting many petitions Ewers eventually secured the rescission of the ban. His last book ''Die schönsten Hände der Welt'' ("The most beautiful hands in the world") was published by the Zinnen Verlag (Munich, Vienna, Leipzig) in 1943. Ewers died from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in the same year. Despite his great influence on 20th century

and horror literature, Ewers remains out of favor in bourgeois literary circles (especially in the English-speaking world and Germany) because of his association with the Nazis. As a result, post-

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 ...

editions of his works are often difficult to find, and earlier editions can command a premium price from collectors.

Twenty-first-century translations

''Blood'' is a chapbook collection published in 1977 by Valcour and Krueger (San Diego, CA). It contains three stories: "The Mamaloi," "The White Maiden," and "Tomato Sauce." In March 2009, Side Real Press issued an English language collection of short stories including some newly translated material. This was followed by a new uncensored translation of ''Alraune'' translated by Joe Bandel which sold out after one year. The Alraune Centennial Edition by Bandel Books Online was released in March 2011. The centennial edition translated by Joe Bandel contains an essay by Dr. Wilfried Kugel, noted Ewers biographer. "Sorcerer's Apprentice", The First Volume in the Frank Braun trilogy was translated by Joe Bandel and published by Bandel Books Online in September 2012. This is the first uncensored English translation of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". It includes an Introduction by Dr. Wilfried Kugel; the poems, "Prometheus" by Goethe, and "Hymn to Satan" by Carducci; "The Satanism of Hanns Heinz Ewers", "Duality-The Male", "Duality-The Female", and "Duality-Sexual Alchemy" by Joe Bandel and the complete text of "Synagogue of Satan" by Stanisław Przybyszewski also translated by Joe Bandel. In 2016 Ajna Offensive published Markus Wolff's English translation of Ewers' 1922 novel ''Die Herzen der Könige'' (The Hearts of Kings).Ewers, H. H.
''The Hearts of Kings''
(

Jacksonville, Oregon Jacksonville is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States, approximately west of Medford, Oregon, Medford. It was named for Jackson Creek, which flows through the community and was the site of one of the first placer deposit, placer gold cl ...

: Ajna Offensive, 2016).

In popular culture

Ewers appears in

Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. He is interested in film history and horror fiction – both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula'' at the age of eleven & ...

's novel ''

The Bloody Red Baron ''Anno Dracula: The Bloody Red Baron'', or simply ''The Bloody Red Baron'', is a 1995 alternate history/Horror fiction, horror novel by British author Kim Newman. It is the second book in the Anno Dracula series, ''Anno Dracula'' series and take ...

'', as a predatory

who travels briefly with

Filmography

* 1913: :de:Der Student von Prag (1913) * 1913: :de:Der Verführte * 1913: :de:Die Augen des Ole Brandis * 1913: :de:Die Eisbraut * 1913: Die ideale Gattin * 1913: :de:Ein Sommernachtstraum in unserer Zeit * 1914: Evinrude * 1914: :de:Die Launen einer Weltdame * 1918:

by :de:Mihály Kertész und Ödön Fritz * 1918: :de:Alraune, die Henkerstochter, genannt die rote Hanne by :de:Eugen Illés * 1919: :de:Alraune und der Golem by :de:Nils Chrisander * 1926: :de:Der Student von Prag (1926) (Remake) * 1928:

by :de:Henrik Galeen, with :de:Brigitte Helm * 1930: :de:Fundvogel * 1930:

by :de:Richard Oswald, with Brigitte Helm * 1952:

by :de:Arthur Maria Rabenalt, with :de:Hildegard Knef

Notes

External links

* * *
Hanns Heinz Ewers
listing librarything.com
Alraune

Blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

Vampire

Hanns Heinz Ewers

Hanns Heinz Ewers .com
*
Die toten Augen
an opera with: :music by Eugen d'Albert :poetry by Ewers :Vocal Score from Sibley Music Library Digital Scores Collection
"The Spider"

Comic a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicat ...

"The Spider"
Online Text {{DEFAULTSORT:Ewers, Hanns Heinz 1871 births 1943 deaths 20th-century German novelists 20th-century German short story writers German gay writers German erotica writers German fantasy writers German horror writers German male novelists German male poets German male short story writers German short story writers German male stage actors German National People's Party politicians German nationalists German poets LGBTQ people in the Nazi Party German LGBTQ poets Writers from Düsseldorf Writers from the Rhine Province Actors from the Rhine Province 20th-century German male writers Tuberculosis deaths in Germany 19th-century German military personnel