Rudolf Pannwitz (27 May 1881 in Crossen/Oder,

Province of Brandenburg The Province of Brandenburg () was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1947. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg (excluding Altmark) and ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

– 23 March 1969 in

Astano Astano is a former Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Lugano (district), Lugano in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 6 April 2025, the former municipalities of Astano, Bedigliora, Curio, ...

, Ticino,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

) was a German writer, poet and philosopher. His thought combined nature philosophy,

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 opposition to

nihilism Nihilism () encompasses various views that reject certain aspects of existence. There have been different nihilist positions, including the views that Existential nihilism, life is meaningless, that Moral nihilism, moral values are baseless, and ...

and

pan-European Pan-European can refer to: * Pan-European identity * Pan-European corridors ** Pan-European Corridor X ** Pan-European Corridor Xa * Pan European Game Information * Pan-European Institute * Pan-European nationalism * Pan-European Oil Pipeline * ...

internationalism:

Life

Pannwitz was educated at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

before moving to

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 ...

to continue studying. Through Gertrud Kantorowicz, a cousin of

Ernst Kantorowicz Ernst Hartwig Kantorowicz (May 3, 1895 – September 9, 1963) was a German historian of medieval political and intellectual history and art, known for his 1927 book '' Kaiser Friedrich der Zweite'' on Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, and '' The K ...

and friend of

Georg Simmel Georg Simmel (; ; 1 March 1858 – 26 September 1918) was a German sociologist, philosopher, and critic. Simmel was influential in the field of sociology. Simmel was one of the first generation of German sociologists: his neo-Kantian approach ...

, he was introduced to

Sabine Lepsius Sabine Lepsius (15 January 1864 – 22 November 1942) was a German portrait painter. Life She was born in Berlin as the daughter of portrait painter Gustav Graef and Franziska Liebreich (1824–1893), a lithographer. She studied with her fat ...

and the poetry of

Stefan George Stefan Anton George (; 12 July 18684 December 1933) was a German symbolist poet and a translator of Dante Alighieri, William Shakespeare, Hesiod, and Charles Baudelaire. He is also known for his role as leader of the highly influential liter ...

. Pannwitz's poem 'Das Totengedicht' he Poem of the Deadwas published in George's literary magazine, ''Blätter für die Kunst''. George and

were lasting influences upon Pannwitz. In 1904 Pannwitz cofounded the periodical ''Charon'' with Otto zur Linde, co-editing it until 1906. His 1917 book ''The Crisis of European Culture'' impressed

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 ...

, though Hofmannsthal later distanced himself from Pannwitz.Raymond Furness, ''Zarathustra's children: a study of a lost generation of German writers'', pp.17ff. From 1921 to 1948 Pannwitz lived on the small island of

Koločep Koločep (; locally known as Kalamota () from ) is one of the three inhabited Elaphiti Islands situated near the city of Dubrovnik with an area of . Koločep is the southernmost inhabited island in Croatia. According to the 2021 census, its popul ...

. In 1968 he received the Gryphius Prize.'Pannwitz, Rudolf', in ''The Oxford Companion to German Literature'', ed. Henry & Mary Garland, 3rd ed., 1997, pp.646-7

Works

Prose

* ''Die Erziehung'', 1909 * ''Formenkunde der Kirche'', 1912 * ''Die Krisis der europäischen Kultur'', 1917 * ''Die deutsche Lehre'', 1919 * ''Grundriß einer Geschichte meiner Kultur 1886 bis 1906'', 1921 * ''Kosmos Atheos'', 1926 * ''Die Freiheit der Menschen'', 1926 * ''Logos, Eidos, Bios'', 1930 * ''Der Ursprung und das Wesen der Geschlechter'', 1936 * ''Nietzsche und die Verwandlung des Menschen'', 1940 * ''Weg des Menschen'', 1942 * ''Das Weltalter und die Politik'', 1948 * ''Der Nihilismus und die werdende Welt'', 1951 * ''Nach Siebzig Jahren'', 1951 * ''Beiträge zu einer europäischen Kultur'', 1954

Poetry

* ''Prometheus'', 1902 * ''Dionysische Tragödien'', 1913 * ''Mythen'', 1919-1921, In 9 Parts, including ''Das Kind Aion'', ''Der Elf'', ''Das Lied vom Ehlen'', ''Faustus und Helena'', ''Der Gott'', and ''Logos''. * ''Urblick'', 1926 * ''Hymnen aus Widars Wiederkehr'', 1927 * ''König Laurin'', 1956 * ''Wasser wird sich ballen'', 1963

References

External links