Reinhard Johannes Sorge
Encyclopedia
Reinhard Sorge is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. While on tour in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, the Sorges were deeply moved by the pious Catholicism of the Italian people
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
.
In a letter to his mother, Sorge wrote,
"In the RevelationBook of RevelationThe Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
of St. JohnJohn the ApostleJohn the Apostle, John the Apostle, John the Apostle, (Aramaic Yoħanna, (c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles...
the heavenly visions are so depicted -- golden censers are swung; people kneel and worship in solemn vesture, with crowns on their heads, a woman clothed with the sun appears (Mary). See, all quite Catholic, and that from St. John, a favorite disciple of the Lord. Our earthly Church must be a copy of the heavenly."
Conversion
After returning to Germany, the Sorges were received into the Roman Catholic ChurchRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
at Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
in September 1913. He subsequently wrote to a friend,
"My soul was always inherently Christian, but I was misled by Nietzsche, entangled in suns and stars. In Der Bettler, I invoked the Name of GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
many a time quite unconsciously, and yet thought myself a fervent disciple of Nietzsche, who denies God's very existence."
To the distress of Germany's Expressionist movement
Art movement
An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a restricted period of time, or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defined within a number of years...
, Sorge vowed, "Thenceforth my pen has been and forever will be Christ's stylus
Stylus
A stylus is a writing utensil, or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example in pottery. The word is also used for a computer accessory . It usually refers to a narrow elongated staff, similar to a modern ballpoint pen. Many styli are heavily curved to be held more easily...
—until my death." As a result, his subsequent writings were all centered on fervently religious themes. He also succeeded in winning over many of his friends and relatives to Catholicism. Sorge had less success in his evangelizing letters to Ranier Maria Rilke and to his former mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
, Richard Dehmel
Richard Dehmel
Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel was a German poet and writer.- Life :...
. The subsequent influence of Sorge on German Catholic poetry led Rev. B. O'Brien to compare him to Francis Thompson
Francis Thompson
Francis Thompson was an English poet and ascetic. After attending college, he moved to London to become a writer, but in menial work, became addicted to opium, and was a street vagrant for years. A married couple read his poetry and rescued him, publishing his first book, Poems in 1893...
.
Military service in the First World War and death
Sorge was drafted in the Imperial German Army in 1915. According to his letters to Susanne, Sorge used his devout Catholic beliefs in order to deal with the horrors of trench warfareTrench warfare
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
. He also spent much of his free time trying to win his fellow soldiers over to Roman Catholicism. While serving at the Somme, Sorge was severely wounded and died the same day, 20 July 1916, at a field dressing station near Ablaincourt
Ablaincourt-Pressoir
Ablaincourt-Pressoir is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.The two villages were formerly separately administered, but were joined in 1966.-Geography:...
. A short time before, he had written to Susanne,
"I suppose it is the imperfection of it all that I feel, and then the longing for our life together breaks through; but soon my soulSoulA soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
is soothed and consoled by the conviction that this period has to be, that without it there can be no perfection."
Burial
According to the website of the German War Graves CommissionGerman War Graves Commission
The German War Graves Commission is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of German war graves in Europe and North Africa...
, Reinhard Johannes Sorge lies buried in a communal war grave
War grave
A war grave is a burial place for soldiers or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. The term does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to be war graves, as are military aircraft that crash into water...
at the Vermandovillers German war cemetery
Vermandovillers German war cemetery
Vermandovillers German war cemetery contains 22,632 fallen soldiers from World War I. It is located in Somme Département, France and is cared for by the German War Graves Commission.-History:...
, located near the battlefield where he died. The remains of the Expressionist poet Alfred Lichtenstein
Alfred Lichtenstein (writer)
Alfred Lichtenstein was a German expressionist writer.Lichtenstein grew up in Berlin as the son of a manufacturer. He finished a study of law in Erlangen...
lie in the same cemetery.
Stage Plays
- Der Bettler. Eine dramatische Sendung (1912);
- Guntwar. Die Stunde eines Propheten (1914);
- Metanoeite. Drei Mysterien (1915);
- König David (1916);
- Mystische Zwiesprache (1922);
- Der Sieg des Christos. Eine Vision (1924);
- Der Jüngling (frühere Dramen umfassend;1925);
Poetry
- Mutter der Himmel. Ein Sang in zwölf Gesängen (1917);
- Gericht über Zarathustra. Vision (1921);
- Preis der Unbefleckten. Sang über die Begegnung zu Lourde's (1924);
- Nachgelassene Gedichte (1925);
Resources
- Rev. B. O'Brien, S.J.Society of JesusThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
, "From Nietzsche to Christ: Reinhard Johannes Sorge," Irish MonthlyIrish MonthlyThe Irish Monthly was an Irish Catholic magazine founded in Dublin, Ireland in July 1873. Until 1920 it had the sub-title A Magazine of General Literature. It was founded by Rev. Matthew Russell, S.J., , who was the editor for almost forty years from 1873...
, December 1932, pages 713-722.
External links
- Zeno.org Reinhard Sorge: Biography and Writings Online (In German)
- Reinhard Sorge at Project Gutenburg (In German)
- Reinhard Sorge in the German National Library Catalogue
- Reinhard Sorge: A German Poet in Switzerland (In German)
- Catalogue of Sorge Manuscripts in the Deutsche Literaturarchiv, Marbach am Neckar