Moritz Hartmann (15 October 1821 – 13 May 1872) was a
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
n-
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
poet, politician and author.
Biography
Hartmann was born of
Jewish parentage at Duschnik (now
Trhové Dušníky
Trhové Dušníky is a municipality and village in Příbram District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 400 inhabitants. It lies on the Litavka river.
Notable people
*Moritz Hartmann (1821–1872), poet, politician ...
) in
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
. His maternal grandfather,
Isaac Spitz, served as ''
av beit din
The ''av beit din'' ( ''ʾabh bêth dîn'', "chief of the court" or "chief justice"), also spelled ''av beis din'' or ''abh beth din'' and abbreviated ABD (), was the second-highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period, ...
'' in
Bunzlau.
As a young man, Hartmann abandoned Judaism although he never formally converted to Christianity.
Having studied
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
at
Prague and
Vienna, he travelled in south Germany,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and
Italy, and became tutor in a family at
Vienna.
In 1845, he proceeded to
Leipzig and there published a volume of patriotic poems, ''Kelch und Schwert'' (1845).
Fearing in consequence prosecution at the hands of the authorities, he abided events in
France and
Belgium, and after issuing in ''Leipzig Neuere Gedichte'' (1846) returned home, where he suffered a short term of imprisonment.
In 1848, he was elected member for
Leitmeritz district in the short-lived
German parliament at Frankfurt-am-Main,
in which he sided with the extreme radical party.
He took part with
Robert Blum
Robert Blum (10 November 1807 – 9 November 1848) was a German democratic politician, publicist, poet, publisher, revolutionist and member of the National Assembly of 1848. In his fight for a strong, unified Germany he opposed ethnocentrism a ...
in the
revolution of that year in Vienna.
On its collapse, he joined the “rump parliament” (a remnant of the Frankfurt parliament) in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, and finally escaped to
London and Paris.
In 1849, he published ''Reimchronik des Pfaffen Mauritius'', a satirical political poem in the style of
Heine
Heine is both a surname and a given name of German origin. People with that name include:
People with the surname
* Albert Heine (1867–1949), German actor
* Alice Heine (1858–1925), American-born princess of Monaco
* Armand Heine (1818–1883) ...
. During the
Crimean War (1854–56) Hartmann was correspondent of the ''Kölnische Zeitung''. In 1860, he settled in
Geneva as a teacher of German literature and history, became in 1865 editor of the ''Freya'' in Stuttgart and in 1868 a member of the staff of the ''Neue Freie Presse'' in Vienna.
He died at
Oberdöbling, near Vienna, in 1872.
Works
Among Hartmann's numerous works may be especially mentioned ''Der Krieg um den Wald'' (The War over the forest; 1850), a novel, the scene of which is laid in Bohemia; ''Tagebuch aus Languedoc und Provence'' (Diary from Languedoc and Provence; 1852); ''Erzählungen eines Unsteten'' (Tales of a restless person; 1858); and ''Die letzten Tage eines Konigs'' (The last days of a king; 1867). He also produced an idyll, ''Adam and Eva'' (1851), and a collection of poetical tales, ''Schatten'' (Shadows; 1851).
His ''Gesammelte Werke'' (collected works) were published in 10 vols. in 1873–1874, and a selection of his ''Gedichte'' in the latter year. The first two volumes of a new edition of his works contain a biography of Hartmann by O. Wittner. See also E. Ziel, "Moritz Hartmann" (in ''Unsere Zeit'', 1872); A. Marchand, ''Les poètes lyriques de l'Autriche'' (1892);
Brandes Brandes is a German surname and Jewish surname, and may refer to:
* Bernd Jürgen Armando Brandes (1961-2001), German cannibalism victim
* Bruno Brandes (1910–1985), German lawyer and politician (CDU), MdB, MdL Niedersachsen
* Charles Brandes, A ...
, ''Das junge Deutschland'' (Charlottenburg, 1899).
Evaluation
Notes
References
*
*
*''Jewish Encyclopedia''
“Hartmann, Moritz”by Isidore Singer & Frederick Haneman (1906).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartmann, Moritz
German poets
Members of the Frankfurt Parliament
Charles University alumni
People from Příbram District
1821 births
1872 deaths
19th-century German Jews
Jewish poets