League for Proletarian Culture
Encyclopedia
The League for Proletarian Culture was a short-lived German left-wing
organisation for the promotion of proletarian
culture
. It was founded in Berlin
in spring 1919
by Alfons Goldschmidt, Arthur Holitscher
, and Ludwig Rubiner and was dissolved in early 1920. It sought to promote "the eternal values bequeathed by the illustrious spirits of the past." Under the auspices of the experimental theatre
the Tribüne (founded in September 1919), it staged Ernst Toller
's Transformation (Die Wandlung), which opened on 30 September 1919 with a cast that included Fritz Kortner
. The production ran into difficulties in mid-October, however, when some of its cast refused to play for metalworkers who were on strike at the time, which led to the termination of the relationship between the League and the Tribüne. The director Karlheinz Martin
and dramaturg
Rudolf Leonhard
, both of whom had worked on the Toller production, formed the "Proletarian Theatre of the League for Proletarian Culture" (Proletarisches Theater des Bundes für proletarische Kultur). It produced Herbert Kranz's Freedom (Freiheit), which opened on 14 December 1919 on the platform of the Philharmonic Hall. Despite the production's success, having filled the auditorium, only one performance was given. The newspaper The Red Flag (Rote Fahne) thought that in its promotion of individual self-realisation through self-sacrifice the play adopted an anarchist
political position.
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
organisation for the promotion of proletarian
Proletariat
The proletariat is a term used to identify a lower social class, usually the working class; a member of such a class is proletarian...
culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
. It was founded in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in spring 1919
1919 in literature
The year 1919 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Winifred Holtby and Vera Brittain return to Somerville College, Oxford, to complete their education following war service.*Two paintings by E. E...
by Alfons Goldschmidt, Arthur Holitscher
Arthur Holitscher
Arthur Holitscher was a Hungarian playwright, novelist, essayist and writer on traveling. Born into an upper middle-class Jewish merchant family in Pest, Hungary, he began his career working for a bank for six years. His career as a writer began in Germany in the mid 1890s. He died in Geneva....
, and Ludwig Rubiner and was dissolved in early 1920. It sought to promote "the eternal values bequeathed by the illustrious spirits of the past." Under the auspices of the experimental theatre
Experimental theatre
Experimental theatre is a general term for various movements in Western theatre that began in the late 19th century as a retraction against the dominant vent governing the writing and production of dramatical menstrophy, and age in particular. The term has shifted over time as the mainstream...
the Tribüne (founded in September 1919), it staged Ernst Toller
Ernst Toller
Ernst Toller was a left-wing German playwright, best known for his Expressionist plays and serving as President of the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic, for six days.- Biography :...
's Transformation (Die Wandlung), which opened on 30 September 1919 with a cast that included Fritz Kortner
Fritz Kortner
Fritz Kortner was an Austrian-born stage and film actor and theatre director.Kortner was born in Vienna as Fritz Nathan Kohn. He studied at the Vienna Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. After graduating, he joined Max Reinhardt in Berlin in 1911 and then Leopold Jessner in 1916. Also in that year...
. The production ran into difficulties in mid-October, however, when some of its cast refused to play for metalworkers who were on strike at the time, which led to the termination of the relationship between the League and the Tribüne. The director Karlheinz Martin
Karlheinz Martin
Karlheinz Martin was a German stage and film director, best known for his expressionist productions.After enjoying success with experimental productions in Frankfurt am Main and Hamburg, Martin went to Berlin, where he premiered Ernst Toller's anti-war drama, Transfiguration on September 30, 1919...
and dramaturg
Dramaturge
A dramaturge or dramaturg is a professional position within a theatre or opera company that deals mainly with research and development of plays or operas...
Rudolf Leonhard
Rudolf Leonhard
Rudolf Leonhard was a German author and communist activist.-Life:Leonhard came from a family of lawyers and studied law and Philology in Berlin and Göttingen...
, both of whom had worked on the Toller production, formed the "Proletarian Theatre of the League for Proletarian Culture" (Proletarisches Theater des Bundes für proletarische Kultur). It produced Herbert Kranz's Freedom (Freiheit), which opened on 14 December 1919 on the platform of the Philharmonic Hall. Despite the production's success, having filled the auditorium, only one performance was given. The newspaper The Red Flag (Rote Fahne) thought that in its promotion of individual self-realisation through self-sacrifice the play adopted an anarchist
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
political position.
Members
- Johannes R. BecherJohannes R. BecherJohannes Robert Becher was a German politician, novelist, and poet.-Early life:Johannes R. Becher was the son of Judge Heinrich Becher. In 1910 he tried to commit suicide with a friend; only Becher survived. From 1911 he studied medicine and philosophy in Munich and Jena...
- Alfons Goldschmidt
- Arthur HolitscherArthur HolitscherArthur Holitscher was a Hungarian playwright, novelist, essayist and writer on traveling. Born into an upper middle-class Jewish merchant family in Pest, Hungary, he began his career working for a bank for six years. His career as a writer began in Germany in the mid 1890s. He died in Geneva....
- Franz Jung
- Rudolf LeonhardRudolf LeonhardRudolf Leonhard was a German author and communist activist.-Life:Leonhard came from a family of lawyers and studied law and Philology in Berlin and Göttingen...
- Karlheinz MartinKarlheinz MartinKarlheinz Martin was a German stage and film director, best known for his expressionist productions.After enjoying success with experimental productions in Frankfurt am Main and Hamburg, Martin went to Berlin, where he premiered Ernst Toller's anti-war drama, Transfiguration on September 30, 1919...
- Ludwig Rubiner
- Hermann Schüller
Sources
- Pearlman, Alan Raphael, ed. and trans. 2000. Plays One: Transformation, Masses Man, Hoppla, We're Alive!. By Ernst TollerErnst TollerErnst Toller was a left-wing German playwright, best known for his Expressionist plays and serving as President of the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic, for six days.- Biography :...
. Absolute Classics ser. London: Oberon. ISBN 1840021950. - Piscator, Erwin. 1980. The Political Theatre. Trans. Hugh Rorrison. London: Methuen. ISBN 0413335003. Originally published in 1929; revised edition 1963.
- Rorrison, Hugh. 1980. Editorial notes. In Piscator (1980).
- Sheppard, Richard. 2000. Modernism-Dada-Postmodernism. Avant-Garde & Modernism Studies ser. Evanston, Ill: Northwestern UP. ISBN 0810114933.
- Stourac, Richard, and Kathleen McCreery. 1986. Theatre as a Weapon: Workers' Theatre in the Soviet Union, Germany and Britain, 1917-1934. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 0710097700.
- Willett, JohnJohn WillettJohn Willett was a British translator and a scholar who is remembered for translating the work of Bertolt Brecht into English.-Early life:Willett was educated at Winchester and Christ Church, Oxford...
. 1978a. The Theatre of Erwin Piscator: Half a Century of Politics in the Theatre. London: Methuen. ISBN 0413378101. - ---. 1978b. Art and Politics in the Weimar Period: The New Sobriety 1917-1933. New York: Da Capo Press, 1996. ISBN 0306807246.