Federation of Free Press and Literature

The Bund Freie Presse und Literatur (BFPL) was an association of independent German writers and journalists in exile that was founded on July 7, 1937 in Paris. The founders took a stand against National Socialism and Stalinism from a liberal-humanistic basis . The BFPL was thus isolated from the outset among the politically active émigrés, the vast majority of whom were committed to the communist-dominated Popular Front policy and who were organized in the Protection Association of German Writers (SDS). BFPL founder Hans Sahl described this as exile in exile . When the center of exile moved to the USA after the start of World War II , the BFPL quietly dissolved.

In addition to Hans Sahl, Leopold Schwarzschild and Konrad Heiden were leading members of the Federation. Schwarzschild was expelled from the Association of German Writers after violent criticism of the Moscow trials , whereupon Sahl and Heiden founded the BFPL. Other members included: Alfred Döblin , Leonhard Frank , Irmgard Keun , Klaus Mann (temporarily), Walter Mehring , Joseph Roth and Norbert Mühlen .

The founding statute of the BFPL begins with the words:

"Convinced that freedom of spirit and expression of opinion is a precious good, and that an independent, clean, responsible press and literature that is not subject to conscience or terrorism is one of the decisive prerequisites for intellectual development and effective intellectual struggle [... ] "

According to Dieter Schiller , no one should belong to the Federation "who, while opening his mouth to a brown Reich Chamber of Culture, accepts a red Reich Chamber of Culture".

On July 24, 1937, the establishment was announced in the Paris exile magazine Das Neue Tage-Buch by Leopold Schwarzschild. All founding members and the elected board of directors are announced here.

literature

Bettina Widner: The hour of the subjects. A study of satirical novels from Nazi exile using the example of Irmgard Keun, Walter Mehring and Klaus Mann . Dissertation, FU Berlin 1998 (there: Prophets remained unheard. Der Bund Freie Presse und Literatur [BFPL]) , pp. 48–65.
Ralph Grobmann, Bettina Widner: How long do you have to be silent for an idea? The Federation of Free Press and Literature . In: Yearbook for Historical Research on Communism 2000/2001, ISSN 0944-629X , pp. 304–331.

Dieter Schiller: "In deliberate opposition to the communist-Ullstein gang". Schwarzschilds Bund of Free Press and Literature in Paris . In: Anne Saint Sauveur-Henn (Ed.): Escape destination Paris. German-speaking emigration 1933–1940 . Metropol, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-932482-85-9 , pp. 215-229.

Ralph Grobmann: Emotional Socialist in the 20th Century; Leonhard Frank 1882–1961; dissertation, Fu Berlin 2004, Peter Lang Verlag; (See chapter: The foundation of an independent writers' association, Der Bund Freie Presse und Literatur; pp. 192–218, material viewed for the first time)

References and comments

↑ There is no independent scientific monograph on the BFPL. However, it is mentioned and described many times in memoirs and biographies of former members. Bettina Widner made the first attempt at a systematic presentation of the BFPL in an excursus in her dissertation (see literature). This is what this article basically refers to. Further sources are shown separately.
^ Founding date after Helmut Peitsch: "No Politics"? The history of the German PEN center in London 1933–2002. Göttingen 2006, p. 21.
↑ This is also the title of the second volume of his "Memoirs of a Moralist" (1990), in which he reports on his experiences in Paris.
↑ According to other sources, Schwarzschild is the founder of the federal government, see: Sven Papcke : Deutsche Soziologie im Exil. Diagnosis of the present and critique of epochs 1933–1945 . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 1993, ISBN 3-593-34862-4 (therein Chapter I: On the Sociology of Illusion. Leopold Schwarzschild , pp. 13–37), here p. 26.
^ After interventions by his uncle Heinrich Mann, Klaus Mann resigned from the Bund with a more personal statement.
^ Documented by Martin Gregor-Dellin in a note on the correspondence between Klaus Mann and Hans Walter, in: Deutsche Exilliteratur 1933–1950 , Vol. 4: Exilpresse . Stuttgart 1978, p. 749 (quoted here from Widner).
↑ Dieter Schiller: "In conscious contrast to the communist-Uullstein gang". Schwarzschilds Bund of Free Press and Literature in Paris . In: Anne Saint Sauveur-Henn (Ed.): Escape destination Paris. The German-speaking Emigration 1933–1940 , Berlin 2002, pp. 215–229, here p. 219.
↑ Founding announcement of the Federal Free Press and Literature 1937 , with founding members and elected board, on the information website Walter Mehring .

[1] There is no independent scientific monograph on the BFPL. However, it is mentioned and described many times in memoirs and biographies of former members. Bettina Widner made the first attempt at a systematic presentation of the BFPL in an excursus in her dissertation (see literature). This is what this article basically refers to. Further sources are shown separately.

[2] Founding date after Helmut Peitsch: "No Politics"? The history of the German PEN center in London 1933–2002. Göttingen 2006, p. 21.

[3] This is also the title of the second volume of his "Memoirs of a Moralist" (1990), in which he reports on his experiences in Paris.

[4] According to other sources, Schwarzschild is the founder of the federal government, see: Sven Papcke : Deutsche Soziologie im Exil. Diagnosis of the present and critique of epochs 1933–1945 . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 1993, ISBN 3-593-34862-4 (therein Chapter I: On the Sociology of Illusion. Leopold Schwarzschild , pp. 13–37), here p. 26.

[5] After interventions by his uncle Heinrich Mann, Klaus Mann resigned from the Bund with a more personal statement.

[6] Documented by Martin Gregor-Dellin in a note on the correspondence between Klaus Mann and Hans Walter, in: Deutsche Exilliteratur 1933–1950 , Vol. 4: Exilpresse . Stuttgart 1978, p. 749 (quoted here from Widner).

[7] Dieter Schiller: "In conscious contrast to the communist-Uullstein gang". Schwarzschilds Bund of Free Press and Literature in Paris . In: Anne Saint Sauveur-Henn (Ed.): Escape destination Paris. The German-speaking Emigration 1933–1940 , Berlin 2002, pp. 215–229, here p. 219.

[8] Founding announcement of the Federal Free Press and Literature 1937 , with founding members and elected board, on the information website Walter Mehring .