Rudolf Huch
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Rudolf Huch (28 February 1862 – 13 January 1943) was a Brazilian- born
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
jurist, essayist and author, primarily of satirical novels and short stories. He also produced a number of educational novels. A theme to which he returned repeatedly in his writing was upward social mobility from the ranks of the provincial petty bourgeoisie. He is sometimes identified in sources by his pseudonym as "A. Schuster".


Life


Provenance and early years

Rudolf Huch was born in
Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...
, but spent most of his childhood and indeed of his adult life in and around the
Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...
region of
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 ...
. At the time of his birth his father, Richard Huch (1830–1887) was running a wholesale importing business in
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
which he had acquired following the death of an older brother. However, when Rudolf was approximately eighteen months old the family returned to Germany, and it was here, in
Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...
, that the child grew up and attended school, while his father pursued his business career, trading in "
colonial goods In economics, colonial goods are goods imported from European colonies, in particular coffee, tea, spices, rice, sugar, cocoa and chocolate, and tobacco. At a time when food and agriculture represented a relatively large proportion of overall ec ...
" from, in particular,
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. The younger sister of Rudolf Huch, the author-historian Ricarda Octavia Huch, by whose career his own was always, to some extent, overshadowed, was born in
Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...
in 1864. The boy was enrolled at the prestigious Martino-Katharineum (secondary school) in the early summer of 1871. As teenagers, at the recommendation of the family doctor, Rudolf and Ricarda Huch took lengthy annual holidays at the
spa resort A destination spa or health resort is a resort centered on a spa, such as a mineral spa. Historically, many such spas were developed at the location of natural hot springs or mineral springs. In the era before modern biochemistry and pharmacoth ...
of Bad Suderode in the
hill country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ameri ...
between
Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...
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 ...
. From his later writing it is clear that Rudolf Huch would always look back on those childhood vacations in the Harz "paradise" with particular affection. On leaving school he studied jurisprudence at the universities of Heidelberg and
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 ...
, passing Parts I and II of his state law exams respectively in 1883 and 1887. At
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 ...
he joined the Corps Brunsviga (student fraternity).


Lawyer

Huch remained in
Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...
for some months, employed as a "Gerichtsassessor" (''loosely, "trainee judge"''), but the bankruptcy of his father's business ruled out any immediate possibility of a career in the government justice service. He then relocated in 1888 to nearby
Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...
, where he lived until 1897, working as a
lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
and
notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...
. In 1897 he moved again, settling in
Bad Harzburg Bad Harzburg (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Bad Harzborch'') is a spa town in central Germany, in the Goslar (district), Goslar district of Lower Saxony. It lies on the northern edge of the Harz mountains and is a recognised saltwater spa ...
. Here he would live for the rest of his life, apart from a five-year hiatus between 1915 and 1920, during which he made his home in
Helmstedt Helmstedt (; Eastphalian: ''Helmstidde'') is a town on the eastern edge of the German state of Lower Saxony. It is the capital of the District of Helmstedt. The historic university and Hanseatic city conserves an important monumental heritage o ...
.


Writer

During the 1890s Huch seems to have found work as a small town lawyer less than fulfilling, and he embarked on a parallel career as a writer. His work betrays an underlying pessimism and melancholy, possibly driven by a belief that as a writer he would always be overshadowed by more confident relatives who would leave their own larger footprints on literary history. His first published work involved literary criticism. He found wider prominence with his aphoristic volume "Mehr Goethe" (''"More Goethe"''), published in 1899, which he described as "a high spirited cavalry charge against the diverse literary nonsenses of modern life". in which he employed his satirical wit to uncover the contradictions in the book business, and to ridicule the fashionable
superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
archetypes of the time and the accompanying Nietzsche cult. He also railed against the nineteenth century revival of Naturalism and took delight in deriding its manifestations on the theatre stage. As a writer of fiction Huch came to be seen as a writer of stories in
the tradition The Tradition (known as the Regions Tradition for sponsorship reasons) is an event on the PGA Tour Champions. First staged in 1989 Senior PGA Tour, 1989, the PGA Tour recognizes the event as one of the five senior major golf championships. Unlik ...
of
Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
and, more recently, of Keller and
Raabe The last name Raabe specifically originates from Prussia, derived from a Prussian warrior clans' symbol: a raven, which was one of the four beasts of war. During Prussia's decimation, most of these warriors intermarried with the Danish, and slowly m ...
. He himself was particularly conscious of his self-appointed role as an heir to
Wilhelm Raabe Wilhelm Raabe (; September 8, 1831November 15, 1910) was a German novelist. His early works were published under the pseudonym of Jakob Corvinus. Biography He was born in Eschershausen (then in the Duchy of Brunswick, now in the Holzminden Dist ...
, describing himself on at least one occasion as a "Romantiker von Geblüt" (''"romantic by blood"''). His mostly satirical narratives, critical of contemporary society, including a number of autobiographical pieces, found a wide readership during the first part of the twentieth century. His first novel, "Tagbuch eines Höhlenmolchs" (''literally "Diary of a Giant Salamander"'') was probably written during 1894. It was published under the pseudonym "A. Schuster" in 1896, and reprinted in 1900, this time under the author's real name. The book is a brutal satirical assault against the social customs he had observed among the townsfolk of
Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...
and
Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...
. During this first phase of his creativity Huch also wrote a number of stage plays. Most of these were comedies. An early exception was "Menschenfreund" (''"Philanthropist"''), a stage tragedy published in 1895. Of the thirty or so mostly satirical novels that Rudolf Huch produced two, in particular, stand out for the way in which they retained the support of critics and readers, even after the author's death. These were both, in their ways, sociological studies, "Die Beiden Ritterhelm" (''"Both the Knights' Helmets"'') and "Die Familie Hellmann" (''"The Hellmann Family"''), published in 1908/09 and 1909. The second of these was reprinted more than twenty times. It differs from earlier works in the extent to which the author moves beyond simple caricatures and stereotypes, demonstrating a hitherto undisclosed skill in respect of careful character development and an understanding of the positive nature of "true humanity" with all its overlapping elements. Also worth picking out for special mention is the 1911
picaresque novel The picaresque novel ( Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for ' rogue' or 'rascal') is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish but appealing hero, usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corrup ...
, "Wilhelm Brinkmeyers Abenteuer, von ihm selbst erzählt" (''"Wilhelm Brinkmeyer's Adventure, as related by himself"''), structured as a series of adjusted memories cloaked in the hypocritical gestures of an honest man, which even today merits high praise as a timeless gem. The book's appeal and humour are driven by a tension between the reader's perception of reality and the way in which that reality is presented. Among his more noteworthy short stories is "Der tolle Halberstädter" (''loosely, "The Superman of Halbertadt"'': 1910) which bases its central figure of "Super Christian" on the military commander
Christian the Younger of Brunswick Christian the Younger of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (20 September 1599 – 16 June 1626), known as ''der tolle Halberstädter'' (the daredevil from Halberstadt), was a German Protestant military leader during the early years of the Thirty Years' War ...
(1599–1626), a previously little remembered younger son of
Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Henry Julius (; 15 October 1564 – 30 July 1613), a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruling Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1589 until his death. He also served as administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of ...
(1564–1613). Also worthy of mention and particularly popular with readers were his "Lied der Parzen" (''"Song of the Parzen"'': 1920), drawing inspiration from
Iphigenia in Tauris ''Iphigenia in Tauris'' (, ''Iphigeneia en Taurois'') is a drama by the playwright Euripides, written between 414 BC and 412 BC. It has much in common with another of Euripides's plays, ''Helen (play), Helen'', as well as the lost play ''Andromed ...
by
Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...
(and, subsequently, by
Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
) and the
Bad Honnef Bad Honnef () is a spa town in Germany near Bonn in the Rhein-Sieg district, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the border of the neighbouring state Rhineland-Palatinate. To the north it lies on the slopes of the Drachenfels (Siebengebirge), ...
story "Spiel am Ufer" (''loosely, "Game on the River Bank"'': 1927). In addition to his books, Huch remained active as a culture and arts critic and as an essayist. Like his sister, he continued to contribute articles of literary scholarship. In particular,
Aphorism An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tra ...
was a device with which he was identified. Sympathetic commentators insist that despite the occasional savagery of his social and cultural criticism, there was always an underlying positivity shaped by the author's inherent
humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...
. "Sincerity, boldness, love and spirituality" were all core elements in Huch's version of the true human condition (''"... wahres Menschentum"''). In 1925 Huch also produced a new edition of
Rudolf von Jhering Caspar Rudolph Ritter von Jhering (; also Ihering; 22 August 1818 – 17 September 1892) was a German jurist. He is best known for his 1872 book ''Der Kampf ums Recht'' (''The Struggle for Law''), as a legal scholar, and as the founder of a mo ...
's respected 1872 work "Der Kampf ums Recht" (''loosely, "The Fight over Law and Justice"'') for the
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 ...
-based Reclam-Verlag publishing house. The final decade of Rudolf Huch's life, between
1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...
and 1943, was lived under
National Socialism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequ ...
. It has done nothing for Huch's posthumous reputation that after they came to power the National Socialists exploited the social criticism of the petty bourgeoisie the ooze from the pages of his novels to denigrate their political adversaries and infer endorsement of their state-mandated
antisemitism 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 ...
. It is, however, hard to see Huch's books as inherently antisemitic, given the popularity they enjoyed within the German-Jewish community during the years of the republic. As political polarisation spilled onto the streets and the Reichstag became deadlocked, Huch was nevertheless one of those who moved towards Hitlerism. In 1933 he was accepted into 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 ...
(Poetry section) shortly after 40 members considered politically undesirable had been resigned from the institution. Those excluded in 1933 included his sister, who had been an academician since 1926. In October 1933 Huch's was one of 87 signatures on the infamous proclamation of loyalty to Adolf Hitler from German writers, which appeared in the
Vossische Zeitung The (''Voss's Newspaper'') was a nationally known Berlin newspaper that represented the interests of the liberal middle class. It was also generally regarded as Germany's national newspaper of record. In the Berlin press it held a special role d ...
. A number of those who signed, when later they were moved to understand in greater depth the sheer inhumanity of Hitler's vision for Germany, recanted with varying levels of openness and conviction. Rudolf Huch (who was 71 when the declaration was published) did not. In 1934 he published the 76 page propaganda booklet "Israel und wir". Although there is no record of further public endorsement of the government on this level by Huch, his novels continued to be popular with readers through the twelve Hitler years. After he died at the start of 1943 work began on a tribute publication to be entitled "im Einvernehmen mit dem Dichter". Nevertheless, despite the abundance of his own published output, it never reached before two volumes, and after the war ended two years later work on it ceased. With the western two thirds of Germany divided and under
military occupation Military occupation, also called belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is temporary hostile control exerted by a ruling power's military apparatus over a sovereign territory that is outside of the legal boundaries of that ruling pow ...
after 1945, three of Huch's later works, published during the twelve Hitler years, were placed on the "Liste der auszusondernden Literatur" (''loosely, "List of Literature to be weeded out"'') in the
Soviet occupation zone The Soviet occupation zone in Germany ( or , ; ) was an area of Germany that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a communist area, established as a result of the Potsdam Agreement on 2 August 1945. On 7 October 1949 the German Democratic Republ ...
.


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huch, Rudolf 19th-century German male writers 20th-century German male writers German male essayists German male novelists Jurists from Lower Saxony Corps students Heidelberg University alumni University of Göttingen alumni German satirists German satirical novelists Nazi Party members Writers from Porto Alegre Writers from Braunschweig 1862 births 1943 deaths Brazilian emigrants to Germany