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Challenging the myth of ’Young Germany" : conflict and consensus in the works of Karl Gutzkow, Heinrich Laube, Theodor Mundt and Ludolf Wienbarg

University of British Columbia

On December 10, 1835 the Federal Diet of the German Confederation banned the publication and distribution of any works written by a group identified as "das junge Deutschland." The Diet explicitly named Karl Gutzkow, Heinrich Laube, Theodor Mundt, Ludolf Wienbarg, and Heinrich Heine as members of this group. Since 1835 the term "Young Germany" has been widely accepted among historians and literary analysts alike. However, there has been virtually no agreement regarding the purposes of the group, its importance, or even its membership. In recent years, historical studies have gradually come to accept that the notion of a unified group called "Young Germany" is a myth, but no study has attempted to identify the key issues which divided the so-called Young Germans. This study examines the content of the 'Young German' works in the years prior to the Federal ban in order to determine the nature of the disagreements which divided Gutzkow, Laube, Mundt and Wienbarg. By utilizing the voluminous monographic and journalistic works produced by the socalled Young Germans, this study establishes their positions on many of the key issues of the Vormarz era, in particular, the emancipation of women, religious emancipation and Saint- Simonianism, and political emancipation. Based upon these positions, this study argues that there was little consensus among the core 'members.' Each man believed that he was contributing to the creation of a new type of literature which would end the Romantic separation of literature from the real world and usher in a more utilitarian form of writing. The author would no longer serve only the muses of literature, he would also serve more practical causes. Beyond this shared conviction, however, there were few issues upon which Gutzkow, Laube, Mundt and Wienbarg agreed. Moreover, even on the basic assumption that writers and their works must serve practical causes there was considerable conflict regarding the implementation of this ideal. On the larger socio-political issues of the day there was virtually no agreement. Some of the 'Young Germans' expressed fairly traditional opinions on these topics, others were remarkably modern. Seldom if ever, however, did they speak with one voice.

Thesis/Dissertation

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2009-04-01

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/6705

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