The New York herald., 1922-07-23
GERMAN BOOKS
Surveyed by LUDWIG LEWISoHN

at OAC
time or another come across
the name of Adolf Bartels. Long ago
he wrote some very charming verses
which few people know and some
ambitious plays which / confess !
have never read But his real repu-
tation is based on his numerous
books dealing with the history Of
German literature. And these books
have for their chief object the ex-
position of the evil influence OF the
Jews on German prose and verse
and drama. Bartels calls himself
'Deutschvolkisch." That is to say.
he believes that certain virtues are
the exclusive possession OF the Ger
manic race. that its literature should
Illustrate these virtues and that.
therefore. the influence of Jewish
writers tends to make modern Ger
man literature uncharacteristic of
the nation. Bartels has recently pub
lished new volume called die jung
sten"-~The Youngest st"-that is. the
immediate contemporaries. in which
his literary anti-Semitism rises to
the point of frenzy and makes him
forget all the proper tasks of the
critic in the occupation of discussing
the racial origin or affiliations of
writers. He repudiates both Richard
Dehmel. the greatest of Germany's
modern poets. and Thomas Mann.
the greatest of her modern novel
lists. because both married Jewish
ladies: he is cold to Hauptmann be-
cause so many of Hauptmann's
friends are Jews. Ii is easy to
imagine his attitude to the Jewish
writer's themselves.
The Jewish Question in German
Letters.
1t is perfectly clear that the old
mystical and religious prejudices
have little or nothing to do with
the sense of wearineSs and failure
and baffiement which has come over
the West as result of the war
People always look for a scapcgoat
for their sins and failures. The
scapegoat. to be a convenient one.
must be something they consider
outside of themselves-an animal a
god. q people. And so men who feel
more than they think have picked
out once more the ever convenient
because every present Jew to bear
for them. as the greatest of Jews
did on Calvary. the weight of their
sina
In the defeated nation this feeling
Is. OF course. strongest and bitterest.
And IL Is indeed a fact that the in
teilectual and artistic life OF modern
Germany has contained and does
ses-stain to-day a Jewish clement OF
extraordinary strength But now
comes-from the non German point
OF view-the great jest The German
reactonaries are blaming the Jews
for everything that the world OF the
Allies considers n cardinal virtue. IL
was the German Jewish press. the
Jewish statesmen. who ciamored for
Parliamentary reform. for concilia-
ton with the Western Powers, for
abstention from conquest II was
Ballin and Dernourg and the lament
ed Rathenau who urged a peace of
compromise: il was again the Jew
Rathenzu who. until the reaction
a<4es murdered him. stood for the
fuifinment Of the treaty obligations:
IL was the Jewish owned and edited
press the Beriiaer Taoeblaft. the
FronkJorfer ZeitunO. the Seuc Freie
PScsse OF Vienna that stood four
esuare against militarisrn. imperial
Ism. war. The Jewish liberals. had
they had their way in the empire.
couii literally have saved the world
They didn't have their way. No one
remembers that
The Criticized Writer'S