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Glaeser was born on July 29, 1902, in Mainz, Germany to Hans G. Glaeser, a judge, and Ruppel Glaeser. In 1912 the family moved when his father became a magistrate in Gross-Gerau, Hesse. He spent his teen years witnessing World War I unfold all around him.
Ernst Glaeser attended a humanistic secondary school in Darmstadt, Hesse. He then studied law, philosophy and German subjects at University of Freiburg and University of Munich.
After graduation, Glaeser worked as a dramaturge at the "New Theater" in Frankfurt. Under the Weimar Republic he was put on trial in Kassel in 1927 when one of his books was said to be blasphemous. From 1928 to 1930 he was literary editor at the Southwest German Radio, and a member of the staff of the Frankfurter Zeitung. He used the pseudonyms Anton Ditschler, Alexander Ruppel, Erich Meschede and Ernst Töpfer.
Glaeser's writing reflected his childhood beliefs that war was never the answer. In 1928 Class of 1902 was published. It was the story of a group of young men, too young to enter the war, but old enough to be aware of what was happening. Often compared to All Quiet on the Western Front, another acclaimed antiwar novel, Class of 1902, established Glaeser as a literary force. It earned him popularity not only in Germany, but also in the twenty-six other countries where the book was translated.
The 1930s marked a time of great political change in Germany. An economic depression had taken place in 1929, which caused the Weimar Republic to fall into decline. The early 1930s saw political leaders come and go quickly, creating an air of chaos within Germany.
Adolf Hitler, taking advantage of the chaos, came to Power, overthrowing the current leadership, and pronouncing himself Fuehrer (leader) of the Third Reich. This marked the end of the Weimar Republic, and proved catastrophic for its supporters. Glaeser found himself at the mercy of the new political power and, because of his alleged Communist leanings, his books were burned. He quickly lied the country, travelling first to Prague, and then to Locarno, Switzerland.
Glaeser spent the next six years in Switzerland, often homesick for his native country. He returned to Germany in 1939, finding a job as an editor of the army newspaper Der Adler im Suden (The Eagle in the South). Regardless of why he acted the way he did, it's clear that Glaeser adapted his politics to suit the current power in Germany, whatever, or whomever that may be.
While Glaeser's political stance wavered throughout his life, he was true, for the most part, to his work. Visible in much of his writing is an air of romanticism. And, like most of the literary figures of the Romantic Age, Glaeser incorporated nature into many of his stories. In reviewing his work Das Gut im Elsa (1932), Critchfield states that "life in the country appears as a refuge for the simple people as well as for the intellectuals, the last domain of freedom in a constantly changing and threatening political world." Glaeser's work was sometimes criticized for its overly romanticized tones, but overall, his writing merely exemplified the fears and feelings instilled in him from childhood; a love of his country, and a belief that war was never the answer.
His other noteworthy novel, Der letzte Zivilist (The Last Civilian), exemplified Glaeser's love of his homeland. Published in 1935, this book centered on Bauerle, the protagonist, during the Weimar Republic. The novel was a great success, earning much praise from around the world.
Glaeser tried to resume writing after the war, but did not produce any important works. His Glanz und Elend der Deutschen (1960) gives a depressing view of corruption and militarism in West Germany, but he also wrote a series of essays in which he praised West German politicians. Ernst Glaeser died on 8 February 1963 in Mainz.
Glaeser vaguely flirted with Communism.
For much of his writing, Glaeser drew inspiration from his own life. He incorporated his feelings about war, his homeland, and the changing political climate within Germany. With great success, he put his finger on the pulse of Germany's soul, illustrating for the rest of the world the struggles he witnessed at the mercy of a chaotic, and ever-changing, governmental system. While his actions were sometimes questionable, and his beliefs swayed by the political climate of the moment, Glaeser deserves credit for documenting German history, in all its transformations. He may have wavered on the surface, but underneath, he was a pacifist at heart, with an intense national pride that was formed in childhood.
Quotes from others about the person
According to Richard Critchfield of Dictionary of Literary Biography, upon returning to Germany, "the once celebrated pacifist and leftist now employed his great talents to glorify the war and Hitler In the postwar years Glaeser tried to justify his activities in the Third Reich by arguing that he was then an 'innerer Emigent' (a writer who lived in Nazi Germany in a state of isolation and was alienated by Hitler's policies)."
Ernst married Mathilde Schmidt in 1946.
