Germania, a tragedy
Germania, a tragedy is the title of a drama that appeared in 1800 under the pseudonym Pater Elias , allegedly pastor of Weissenburg in Bavaria . The play has nine scenes and was written in verse. The octave edition was printed in Eichstätt by the publisher Jacob and comprised 48 pages.
The burlesque takes place in a very secular heaven, the actors are God the Father , Mary , Petrus , the Archangel Michael, the allegorical Germania as well as contemporary German princes, ministers, generals, writers and others who are named and criticized in the strongest possible terms. In the opening scene, Petrus asks his servant whether the reported female visit with the name Germania is pretty. However, this is sick, tired and ragged. God the Father, forgetful, powerless and old, is annoyed that only about half of the saints take part in the council he has called and interrupts Germania's request for help quite roughly: "Shut up!" The "tragedy" ends with the death of Germania.
The anti-Catholic book, behind which there is an enlightened, pacifist and republican sentiment, was banned and confiscated, the colporteur was imprisoned for six days and questioned by the Inquisition , so that the work could not develop any effect. In 1893, however, it was one of the main sources for Oskar Panizza when composing his scandalous drama The Love Council . In 1932 it was reissued in a one-time edition with 100 copies and illustrated by Alfred Kubin .
literature
- Michael Bauer: Oskar Panizza. A literary portrait . Munich: Hanser 1984, pp. 160-163. ISBN 3-446-14055-7 and ISBN 3-446-13981-8