Jakob Wassermann (; 10 March 1873 – 1 January 1934) was a German writer and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

Life

Born in

Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is the Franconia#Towns and cities, s ...

, Wassermann was the son of a shopkeeper and lost his mother at an early age. He showed literary interest early and published various pieces in small newspapers. Because his father was reluctant to support his literary ambitions, he began a short-lived

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...

with a businessman in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

after graduation. He completed his military service in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

. Afterward, he stayed in southern Germany and in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. In 1894, he moved to

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 ...

where he worked as a secretary and later as a

copy editor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material (" copy") to improve quality and readability, as well as ensuring that a text is free of errors in grammar, style, and accuracy. ''The Ch ...

at the paper ''

Simplicissimus :''Simplicissimus is also a name for the 1668 novel ''Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus, Simplicius Simplicissimus'' and its protagonist.'' ''Simplicissimus'' () was a German language, German weekly satire, satirical magazine, founded by Albert ...

''. Around this time he also became acquainted with other writers such as

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet and novelist. Acclaimed as an Idiosyncrasy, idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as ...

Hugo von Hofmannsthal Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal (; 1 February 1874 – 15 July 1929) was an Austrian novelist, libretto, librettist, Poetry, poet, Playwdramatist, narrator, and essayist. Early life Hofmannsthal was born in Landstraße, Vienna, th ...

, and

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

. In 1896, he released his first novel, ''Melusine'' (his surname means "water-man" in German, while a "

Melusine Mélusine () or Melusine or Melusina is a figure of European folklore, a nixie (folklore), female spirit of fresh water in a holy well or river. She is usually depicted as a woman who is a Serpent symbolism, serpent or Fish in culture, fish fr ...

" (or "Melusina") is a figure of European legends and folklore, a feminine spirit of fresh waters in sacred springs and rivers). From 1898 on he was a theater critic in

. In 1901, he married Julie Speyer, whom he divorced in 1915. Three years later, he married again and wedded Marta Karlweis. After 1906, he alternated between Vienna and

Altaussee Altaussee (; Central Bavarian: ''Oid Aussee'') is a municipality and spa town in the district of Liezen in Styria, Austria. The small village is nestled on the shores of the Lake Altaussee, beneath the Loser Plateau. Occupying an area of 92&n ...

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

. In 1926, he was elected to the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts () was a state arts academy first established in 1694 by prince-elector Frederick III of Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg in Berlin, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and later king in Kingdom of ...

. He resigned in 1933, narrowly avoiding expulsion by the

Nazis 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 ...

. In the same year, his books were banned in Germany owing to his Jewish ancestry. He died on 1 January 1934 at his home in Altaussee of a heart attack. Wassermann's work includes poetry, essays, novels, and short stories. His most important works are considered the novel ''The Maurizius Case'' (''Der Fall Maurizius'', 1928) and the autobiography, ''My Life as German and Jew'' (''Mein Weg als Deutscher und Jude'', 1921), in which he discussed the tense relationship between his German and Jewish identities.Scharfstein S
''Jewish History and You''

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

: Ktav Publishing House, page 123. Accessed 18 December 2008. .

Works

* ''Melusine'' (Novel, 1896) * ''Die Juden von Zirndorf'' (English title: ''The Dark Pilgrimage) ''(Novel, 1897) * ''Schläfst du, Mutter?'' (Novella, 1897) * ''Die Geschichte der jungen Renate Fuchs'' (Novel, 1900) * ''Der Moloch'' (Novel, 1902) * ''Der niegeküsste Mund'' (Stories, 1903) * ''Die Kunst der Erzählung'' (Essay, 1904) * ''Alexander von Babylon'' (Novel, 1905) * ''Donna Johanna von Castilien'' (Narrative, 1906) * ''Die Schwestern'' (Novellas - ''Donna Johanna von Castilien, Sara Malcolm, Clarissa Mirabel ''- 1906) * ''Caspar Hauser oder Die Trägheit des Herzens'' (Novel, 1908) * ''Die Gefangenen auf der Plassenburg'' (Narrative, 1909) * ''Die Masken Erwin Reiners'' (1910) * ''Der goldene Spiegel'' (Novella, 1911) * ''Geronimo de Aguilar'' (Story, 1911) * ''Faustina'' (Narrative, 1912) * ''Der Mann von vierzig Jahren'' (Novel, 1913) * ''Das Gänsemännchen'' (Novel, 1915) * ''Christian Wahnschaffe'' (Novel, 1919) (English translation under the title: ''The World's Illusion'') * ''Die Prinzessin Girnara, Weltspiel und Legende'' (Play, 1919, libretto for the Wellesz opera '' Die Prinzessin Girnara'') * "Golowin" (Novel, 1920) * ''Mein Weg als Deutscher und Jude'' (Autobiography, 1921) * ''Imaginäre Brücken'' (Studies and Essays, 1921) * ''Sturreganz'' (Narrative, 1922) * ''Ulrike Woytich'' (Novel, 1923) * ''Faber, oder die verlorenen Jahre'' (Novel, 1924) * ''Laudin und die Seinen'' (Novel, 1925) * ''Das Amulett'' (Novella, 1926) * ''Der Aufruhr um den Junker Ernst'' (Novella, 1926) * ''Das Gold von Caxamalca'' (Stories, 1928) * ''Columbus: Don Quixote of the Seas'' (Biography, 1929) * ''Selbstbetrachtungen'' (Reflections, 1931) * Novel trilogy: ** ''Der Fall Maurizius'' (''The Maurizius Case'') (1928) ** ''Etzel Andergast'' (published in the U.S. as "Dr. Kerkhoven") (1931) ** ''Joseph Kerkhovens dritte Existenz'' (1934)

Filmography

*'' Christian Wahnschaffe'', directed by

Urban Gad Peter Urban Bruun Gad (12 February 1879 – 26 December 1947) was a Denmark, Danish film director, stage actor, screenwriter, and author. He directed 40 films between 1910 and 1927. His wife Asta Nielsen starred in 30 of his films, also in his d� ...

(1920, based on the novel ''Christian Wahnschaffe'') *''

The Masks of the Devil ''The Masks of the Devil'' is a lost film, lost 1928 American drama film, drama synchronized sound film directed by Victor Sjöström and written by Marian Ainslee, Ruth Cummings, Svend Gade, and Frances Marion. While the film has no audible dia ...

'', directed by

Victor Sjöström Victor David Sjöström (; 20 September 1879 – 3 January 1960), also known in the United States as Victor Seastrom, was a pioneering Swedish film director, screenwriter, and actor. He began his career in Sweden, before moving to Hollywood, ...

(1928, based on the novel ''Die Masken Erwin Reiners'') *'' On Trial (L'affaire Maurizius)'', directed by

Julien Duvivier Julien Duvivier (; 8 October 1896 – 29 October 1967) was a French film director and screenwriter. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930–1960. Amongst his most original films, chiefly notable are ''La Bandera (film), La Bandera'', ...

(1954, based on the novel ''Der Fall Maurizius'') *', directed by

Anton Giulio Majano Anton Giulio Majano (5 July 1909 – 12 August 1994) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. His career spanned from 1937 to 1986. Selected filmography Director and screenwriter * ''The Eternal Chain'' (1952) * ''Good Folk's Sunday'' ...

(1961, TV miniseries, based on the novel ''Der Fall Maurizius'') *', directed by (1981, TV miniseries, based on the novel ''Der Fall Maurizius'')

Notes

References

* John Carl Blankenagel: ''The writings of Jakob Wassermann''. Boston, The Christopher publishing house, 1942. *

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, so ...

: ''Reflections on The Maurizius case: a humble appraisal of a great book''. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Capra Press, 1974. * Alice Cohn Hanberg: ''The humanism of Jakob Wassermann''. Thesis-University of California. Microfilm. Los Angeles, University of California, Library Photographic Service, 1953. * Stephen H. Garrin: ''The concept of justice in Jakob Wassermann’s trilogy''. Bern: Lang, 1979.

External links

* * *
Guide to the Jakob Wassermann Autographs Collection
at the

Leo Baeck Institute, New York The Leo Baeck Institute New York (LBI) is a research institute in New York City dedicated to the study of German-Jewish history and culture, founded in 1955. It is one of three independent research centers founded by a group of German-speaking J ...

. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wassermann, Jakob 1873 births 1934 deaths Jewish German writers 20th-century German novelists German expatriates in Austria People from Fürth German male novelists 20th-century German male writers German emigrants to Austria-Hungary Young Vienna