Erwin Guido Kolbenheyer was an Austrian novelist, poet and playwright. One of the best-known writers of the Third Reich, much of his work was banned for a period following Germany's defeat. However, due in part to the 1951 formation of the Society of Friends of the Works of E. G. Kolbenheyer, many of his works have been restored.
Background
Erwin Guido Kolbenheyer was born in Budapest, Hungary, on December 30, 1878 to Franz Kohlbenheyer, an architect, and Amalie (Hein) Kohlbenheyer. His father died when he was just two years old, and Kolbenheyer's mother moved him and his sister back to Czechoslovakia, her homeland. There, he was raised by his extended family.
Education
Kolbenheyer discovered his love of writing at an early age, penning the romantic tragedy "Nero" at age fourteen. He later enrolled at the University of Vienna, taking a wide variety of classes that included psychology, zoology, art history, and philosophy. While he later relied on much of his studies for inspiration, his fascination with philosophy would remain the strongest influence. A plan to pursue a career in academics was short-lived as Kolbenheyer quickly found literary success.
In 1902, his first play, Giordano Bruno was produced. Like much of Kolbenheyer s work to come, Giordano Bruno was based upon a real person, the Italian Renaissance philosopher Bruno. Kolbenheyer drew many of his own beliefs from this sixteenth-century philosopher. According to Bruno, the ultimate reality is not made up of individuals, but rather of an infinite, perfect One. Ignorance occurs when individuals ignore their oneness and seek independence. By embracing their separateness, an individual becomes arrogantly self-assertive.
Kolbenheyer's work directly following Giordano Bruno went without much notice, but continued in the vein of mixing historical characters with dramatic events. In 1911, during a three-week writing stint, Kolbenheyer produced Das Wort ("The Word"), a comedy about the suppression of certain parts of the personality. In this book, Kolbenheyer introduces what became
a major tenet in his philosophical repertoire. According to White, "In Das Wort can be seen the Kolbenheyerian theme of the individual living by his or her own feelings which are largely influenced by heredity, and his theory that hereditary talents suppressed by environmental influence can reappear in the next generation."
In the 1920s, Kolbenheyer returned his focus to his writing, establishing himself as a leading German his torical novelist. His most well-known work, the Paracelsus trilogy, was written between 1917 and 1925.
Beginning in 1928 and lasting until 1934, Kolbenheyer shifted his literary efforts to writing plays. He relied on two mediums for this period of creative output. One was to dramatize versions of his "grandiose historical novels," and the other was to create domestic situations that dealt with modern themes. While his plays did not prove to be as strong as his historical fiction, Kolbenheyer himself remained unaware of this fact.
While the plays varied in themes, the majority reflect key issues prevalent during the Weimar Republic, the years leading up to Hitler's seizing power. These issues included technological progress, modern art, religion, and philosophy, and, of course, German history and tradition. His loyalty to his country, as well as his beliefs in his art, prevented Kolbenheyer from allowing his plays to be produced in Berlin in 1933.
When Hitler came to power in 1933, Kolbenheyer was nominated as one of fourteen founding members of the newly constituted Dichterakademie. He also lectured in various European countries during this time, speaking on behalf of the National Socialist Regime. Overall, Kolbenheyer found great success with the Third Reich. The National Socialists awarded him both the Eagle's Shield of the German Reich and the Goethe Prize. His work during this time reflected his beliefs in Hitler, as well as his criticism of the Weimar Republic. However, as forthright as he was in his convictions of community versus the individual, Kolbenheyer himself pledged allegiance to his own individuality. During Hitler's reign, Kolbenheyer was offered various posts, all of which he denied. He also continued expressing his own beliefs, without standing completely in line with the Third Reich. His patriotism must have been enough for Hitler, however, as his work was widely distributed and read during this time period.
In the 1940s, Kolbenheyer found himself in hot water for his unwavering political beliefs. In 1945, the U.S. government seized his house, as well as some property his mother had left him. Kolbenheyer was prosecuted in a 1948 German court for, as White described it, "speeches and articles he had written under Hitler." In addition, assets were confiscated, and his work was banished for a period of five years. In 1952, the West German government distributed compensation funds for Germans who had lost their property. Kolbenheyer and his wife relocated to a community of Sudeten refugees.
With the assistance of the Society of the Friends of the Work of E. G. Kolbenheyer, his work began circulating again, and found a large audience.
Kolbenheyer was a strong nationalist. The changing political climate within his country couldn't shake his faith, regardless of the price he would later pay for that faith.
Views
Beginning with Giordano Bruno, and encompassing much of the rest of his literary output, Kolbenheyer inserted his personal beliefs about oneness versus individuality. According to White, Kolbenheyer believed "the individual is only a vehicle for the vital forces at work in the species, race, people, regional stock, and family; society is determined by biological needs, and free will is an illusion."
Kolbenheyer believed that theater belonged to the community as a whole. He only wanted an audience that sought art, not titillation. Thus, he preferred his plays not be seen than be seen by what he considered to be arrogant, self-seeking individuals.
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
White stated that "Kolbenheyer refused to sanction performances in Berlin until after 1933 because the sensation-seeking, ephemeral theatrical life of the capital ran counter to his ideals."
Connections
On April 3, 1906 Erwin married Marianne Eitner. They had two children.