Mephisto (novel)

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Publisher's cover of the first print

Mephisto - Novel of a Career is the sixth novel by the writer Klaus Mann , which was published in 1936 by the exile publisher Querido in Amsterdam . It was first published in Germany in 1956 by the Aufbau-Verlag in East Berlin. The novel, in which the actor Gustaf Gründgens plays a central role as the fictional character Hendrik Höfgen, isone of Klaus Mann's three most important novels, along with the Tchaikovsky novel Symphonie Pathétique and the émigré novel Der Vulkan . Mephisto is often seen as a roman a clef, but according to Klaus Mann it is not.

the novel

The genesis

Klaus Mann fled into exile in March 1933 because, like his father, the Nobel Prize winner for literature Thomas Mann , he was politically persecuted as a writer after Hitler came to power in Germany. In Amsterdam he published the exile magazine Die Sammlung  - which was directed against National Socialism . His friend and publisher Fritz Helmut Landshoff made him a "rather generous offer," as Klaus Mann wrote to his mother on July 21, 1935. A monthly payment was earmarked for the writing of his next novel, with neither content nor title fixed. Klaus Mann initially planned to write a utopian novel about Europe 200 years from now. However, the writer Hermann Kesten made him the proposal to artistically process “the novel of a homosexual careerist in the Third Reich” with the state theater director Gustaf Gründgens . In addition, the novel should be socially critical and contain many satirical elements. Erika Mann divorced Gründgens in 1929 after a brief marriage. Klaus Mann's former brother-in-law achieved a meteoric rise as an actor, director and general manager in the “Third Reich”, sponsored by Hermann Göring , but Klaus Mann hesitated to write the novel in “a satirical way against certain homosexual characters”, as Kesten had suggested use, but the subject appealed to him. The opportunist Hendrik Höfgen has a forerunner - Mann's fictional character Gregor Gregori from his 1932 novel Meeting Point in Infinite shows similar traits. His Mephisto appeared in 1936 , albeit without homosexual references, and he received worldwide attention.

Whether the Mephisto is a key novel remains a matter of dispute. In any case, it was presented as such during its publication as a preprint in the Paris daily newspaper and understood as such by the readers. Klaus Mann, of whom the novel was not intended as a roman a clef, thereupon, at the insistence of Landshoff, who feared a lawsuit, demanded a correction by the newspaper in a telegram under the title Kein Schlüsselroman. A necessary explanation : […] “I have to protest - for the sake of the dignity of your paper; for the sake of our readers, who are too discerning to be amused with 'romaneses'; after all, for the sake of my own dignity. [...] This is not a 'portrait', but a symbolic type - the reader will judge whether a person full of life, poetically viewed and formed. "

content

The story of the actor Hendrik Höfgen is told from 1926 in the Hamburg Art Theater until 1936, when he became the celebrated star of the so-called New Reich . Höfgen, who came to terms with the rulers late during the Nazi era and was thus appointed artistic director at the Berlin State Theater , fled from his future friends to Paris because he was afraid of persecution due to his “ cultural Bolshevik ” past. From this point on, Höfgen realized that he had already lost some of his “real” friends such as his wife Barbara Bruckner and wife von Herzfeld. However, back in Berlin, he managed to win Lotte Lindenthal, the aviator general's wife, for himself . He even holds large pieces on his courtyards, his play ball. As a passionate actor for whom the role of Mephisto in Goethe's Faust I is tailor-made, the opportunist Höfgen only realizes far too late that he has actually made a pact with the devil - Mephistopheles. He has become an “ape of power”, a “clown to disperse the murderers”. He is losing humane values ​​and shares the views of the regime. He even goes so far as to instigate the temporary arrest of his lover, the "Black Venus" with whom he practices BDSM .

Table of contents

In 1936 the Prussian Prime Minister celebrates his 43rd birthday. The celebrations will be held in the Berlin Opera House. The festival is considered extremely splendid and extravagant, so that foreign guests get upset about it. Nevertheless, they behave submissively and even praise the design of the festival. When the Propaganda Minister enters the hall with this one, it seems as if every movement in the room dies. An ice cold atmosphere emanates from him. Despite his disability, he moves neatly through the premises and heads straight for the state theater director Hendrik Höfgen. Although he hates the 39-year-old, he shows himself to be the press photographer talking to him. In order to guarantee a high impact of his appearance, the Prime Minister is delaying his arrival at the festival. He later performed with his wife Lotte Lindenthal.

Flashback to the mid-1920s: Hendrik Höfgen, Otto Ulrichs, Hans Miklas belong to the Hamburg Art Theater (HK). Hendrik Höfgen works there as both director and actor. Höfgen is friends with Otto Ulrichs. Both are always planning a “revolutionary theater”. The HK is the first station in Höfgen's professional career. There he usually works sixteen hours a day and often suffers from a high level of nervous tension. Hendrik Höfgen only considers himself a provincial actor, but he demonstrates superiority towards his colleagues and even mocks them. When the character actress Dora Martin from Berlin made a guest appearance, he hid in his dressing room. Although he didn't see the performance with her, he congratulates her on the performance. In return, she certifies that he has talent. Since Dora Martin is Jewish, Hans Miklas, who sympathizes with the National Socialist Party , speaks negatively about her. He met the young Juliette Martens in a Hamburg harbor bar. Her father is an engineer from Hamburg and her mother was African, which is why Juliette is dark-skinned. She gives Höfgen dance lessons and even becomes his lover.

The children's tragedy Spring Awakening is rehearsed in HK . Here Höfgen is extremely tyrannical towards his colleagues. In the afternoon he breaks off the rehearsal because he has an appointment with his dance teacher. Juliette is the only person allowed to address him by his real first name Heinz, although Höfgen does not even allow his family to call him that. Through his colleague Nicoletta von Niebuhr, Hendrik Höfgen met Barbara Bruckner, the daughter of Privy Councilor Bruckner. Nicoletta is friends with Barbara and encourages Höfgen to advertise her. To Barbara's surprise, he does so too, so that they both marry shortly afterwards. They spend their honeymoon on the Upper Bavarian lakes. Nicoletta traveled with her and is visited almost every day by the eccentric writer Theophil Marder. Two weeks after returning from his honeymoon, Hendrik meets with Juliette again. Theophil Marder writes a telegram to Nicoletta: He was offended in his honor; a woman must unconditionally belong to her husband. Nicoletta von Niebuhr travels to him immediately and gives up her job. She marries the man thirty years her senior.

In 1928 Hendrik Höfgen took on a role in a comedy in Vienna. He got there through the intercession of Dora Martin, Privy Councilor Bruckner and Theophil Marder. He left the HK after a dispute with Hans Miklas after he had called Lotte Lindenthal a "stupid cow". Through the intercession of Dora Martin, Höfgen receives an engagement at the State Theater Berlin. There he makes a career; his fee triples. He even sings chansons in the music hall after the evening performances . Now he moves into an apartment on Reichskanzlerplatz and learns to drive. Privy Councilor Bruckner and his daughter Barbara come to Berlin less and less often and withdraw from Höfgen.

He rents a room for Juliette in a remote part of Berlin. There he secretly visits her during the week. In 1932, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the death of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “Faust” was added to the program. Höfgen takes on the role of Mephisto. This will be his most successful role. Höfgen can hardly believe that the National Socialists are supposed to come to power, but on January 30, 1933, Hitler was appointed Reich Chancellor. During this time, Höfgen is currently filming in Madrid. Dora Martin emigrates to America. After filming in Spain, Höfgen did not return to Germany, but traveled to Paris, as he was warned by acquaintances that so-called black lists were circulating in Germany. Both his name and that of Privy Councilor Bruckner are on these. After her Hamburg colleague Angelika Siebert put in a good word for Lotte Lindenthal for Höfgen, Lotte wanted Hendrik Höfgen as a partner for her debut at the Berlin State Theater. Höfgen is thus under the protection of the Prime Minister and can return to Germany. The Faust is taken up again in the repertoire of the State Theater. Höfgen turns to Lotte Lindenthal because he really wants to play Mephisto. Again through the Prime Minister, she managed to get Höfgen engaged for the role. Thanks to his patron, he even managed to get Otto Ulrichs released, whom the Nazis had locked in a concentration camp as a communist. Höfgen convinces him to take a small job at the State Theater. Hans Miklas feels betrayed by National Socialist politics because, in his opinion, nothing has improved in Germany.

Hendrik Höfgen definitely does not want the National Socialists to find out about his relationship with the dark-skinned Juliette. He tells them to leave the country and go to Paris. Since Juliette does not want this, Höfgen finds no other way out than to turn to his protector, who has Juliette arrested. In prison, Höfgen informed her that she would be deported to Paris and that he would support her financially.

In 1934 Barbara von Höfgen divorced. She now also lives in Paris. Nicoletta also divorces her husband and returns to Berlin to work as an actress again. She appears as a partner with Höfgen.

The Prime Minister and the Propaganda Minister get into a dispute over the appointment of a new artistic director for the State Theater. The Prime Minister would like Hendrik Höfgen for the post. The Propaganda Minister disagrees, but the general ultimately prevails. He takes over this post from his predecessor Caesar von Muck, who is appointed president of the "Poet Academy". In Paris, von Muck found out about Höfgen's black lover. In revenge, he ensures that the information is disseminated. The Fiihrer had a brief discussion with Hofgen about this. For him, that is the end of the matter.

Hendrik Höfgen buys a huge villa in Grunewald and brings his sister and parents to Berlin. He now marries Nicoletta in order to finally close the rumor of having a relationship with a black woman.

Otto Ulrichs continues to work in the communist underground. He now knows that Höfgen only lived for his fame. Ulrichs is arrested, however. Höfgen asks again for help from the Prime Minister, but Höfgen explains that he shouldn't worry about it any more and he doesn't want to say a word about it.

He plays his new role "Hamlet" badly. He suffers a lot from that. The premiere, however, was a complete success and the reviews were full of praise. The public no longer judges artistic achievements, but rather the relationship to power.

At the end he cries himself out at his mother Bella. She knows her son's nervous breakdowns, but notices from his demeanor that his mental state has deeper origins than usual.

criticism

Höfgen's role is ambivalent, because there are always places in the novel in which he tries to help friends. However, these calls remain small, and Höfgen is also afraid of losing his good position with his "fat patron". Therefore, in the end, he describes himself as a “very ordinary actor” and cannot understand why his friends distance themselves from him.

The characters and their relationship to real people

Fictional character character social position Reference to real person
Hendrik Höfgen a typical opportunist of his time, no moral concept, arrogant and greedy for power, adaptable, unscrupulous, but there is a conscience, ambitious and vain, a vicious smile Actor, director, director Gustaf Gründgens
Otto Ulrichs Actor, communist, resistance fighter Theatre; Communist Hans Otto
Juliette Martens independent, loves Höfgen, staged his "mistress" for years in a sadomasochistic relationship with Höfgen Revue scene, outsider as colored Andrea Manga Bell
Dora Martin successful actress (also abroad) Theatre; Jewess Elisabeth Bergner
Nicoletta von Niebuhr Marders admirer (sees him as a father), artistic lifestyle, extroverted theatre Pamela Wedekind
Lotte Lindenthal mentally less educated, believes to be liked by everyone (only sees the positive), devout Nazine, "mother of the nation" Theatre; Hofschranze the Nazi leadership Emmy Goering
Barbara Bruckner intelligent, compassionate, goes her own way, later a political fighter, enters into a relationship and marriage with Höfgen liberal bourgeoisie Erika Mann
Privy Councilor Bruckner intelligent family patriarch with foresight liberal bourgeoisie Thomas Mann
Sebastian Barbara's childhood friend liberal bourgeoisie Klaus Mann
Prime Minister wants to show pomp (uniform and expensive celebrations), wants to look cozy; typical ruler, cruel Nazi leadership Hermann Goering
Theophil Marder eccentric, extremely self-centered writer who had his prime as an opponent of the empire Intellectual Carl Sternheim
The professor Theater director; owns theaters in Vienna and Berlin theatre Max Reinhardt
Caesar of Muck Writer; Nazi droolers, trying to give them an intellectual charisma Intellectual; Hofschranze the Nazi leadership Hanns Johst
Benjamin Fur Writer; hates the concepts of progress and reason, fascinated by the cruelty of the Nazis, enjoys the pre-civilizational struggle for survival under their regime as a viewer Intellectual; Hofschranze the Nazi leadership Gottfried Benn
Pierre Larue French ambassador; reveres Nazism as the restoration of the strong and forward-looking German Diplomat; Berlin chiceria André Germain
Yours , in a later edition Dr. Radig Theater critic; formerly left critic of the Nazis, but adapted since they came to power theatre Herbert Ihering

The ban

After Gründgens' death, his adoptive son and sole heir, Peter Gorski, successfully sued the publication in the Federal Republic of Germany and the publication of the novel Mephisto by the Nymphenburger Verlagshandlung . While the Hamburg Regional Court had dismissed the lawsuit and the book was subsequently published, the Hamburg Higher Regional Court upheld the lawsuit by judgment of March 10, 1966. The publisher's appeal against this was rejected by the Federal Court of Justice on March 20, 1968. Due to a constitutional complaint by the publisher, the Federal Constitutional Court was able to deal with the relationship between artistic freedom and the fundamental rights of third parties for the first time in its Mephisto decision of February 24, 1971 . In the specific case, the court weighted the postmortem protection of personality higher than the freedom of art according to Art. 5 Abs. 3 GG , but held against the Federal Court of Justice that it had wrongly based on the general right of personality of the deceased Gustaf Gründgens according to Art. 2 Abs. 1 GG, since this only applies to living persons. At most, post-mortem protection of privacy could be invoked, which was successful in this case. The decision came with a three to three vote, which meant a rejection. Two of the three judges who voted against the rejection each formulated their dissenting opinion, which (as is usual with the Federal Constitutional Court) was included in the official collection of decisions following the decision.

In 1981 the novel was published by Rowohlt Verlag in the Federal Republic of Germany, despite the existing judgment . Before that, however, it could be obtained from the GDR , where it was published by Aufbau Verlag in 1956 and had six editions. In addition, pirated prints of this novel were repeatedly available in the Federal Republic. In literary history it is said again and again that the book has been banned. However, this is not legally exact. For constitutional reasons, there is no state ban in Germany. The prohibition ruling only applied between the two parties (Gorski and the Nymphenburger Verlagshandlung). If another publisher had published the book, Gorski would have had to sue again. However, a constitutionally confirmed ban on a book and the resulting threat of legal action make it unlikely that another publisher will publish it, which must be taken into account when assessing the ban process; The fact that Mephisto was published decades late has to be seen in connection with the author's level of awareness. In its decision, however, the Federal Court of Justice (which the Federal Constitutional Court confirmed) pointed out that post-mortem protection of personality declined as the memory of the deceased faded. A lawsuit brought in 1981 would therefore have had less chance of success because of the passage of time.

Dramatization, film adaptation and radio play adaptation

literature

Text output

  • Klaus Mann: Mephisto. Novel of a career. Querido, Amsterdam 1936 (1 sheet publisher's signet + title sheet verso imprint + 1 sheet dedication ( “ Dedicated to the actress Therese Giehse ” ) + 1 sheet motto + pages 9–399 + 1 non-paginated page printer's note. First print (Wilpert / Gühring² 18)).
  • Klaus Mann: Mephisto. Novel of a career (= rororo 22748). 10th edition. Rowohlt-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Reinbek near Hamburg 2005, ISBN 3-499-22748-7 .
  • Klaus Mann: Mephisto. Novel of a career . New edition Rowohlt, Hamburg 2019, ISBN 978-3-498-04546-3 .

Secondary literature

  • Bodo Plachta: Klaus Mann, Mephisto, explanations and documents (= Reclams Universal Library No. 16060) . Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-15-016060-2 .
  • Nadine Heckner, Michael Walter: Explanations to Klaus Mann, Mephisto, novel of a career (= King's Explanations and Materials Volume 437). Bange, Hollfeld 2005, ISBN 3-8044-1823-6 .
  • Andy Horschig: The Multimedia Mann Family. “The amazing family” on the threshold of the 21st century. In: Radio Journal. 2/2000, p. 12 ff. (Prof. Wolfgang Krüger from the BGH on the Mephisto judgment).
  • Klaus Mann: Dentists and Artists. Articles, speeches, reviews 1933–1936 (= rororo 12742). Edited by Uwe Naumann and Michael Töteberg. Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1993, ISBN 3-499-12742-3 .
  • Carlotta von Maltzan: Masochism and Power. A critical investigation using the example of Klaus Mann's “Mephisto. Novel of a career “ (= Stuttgart work on German studies. No. 383). Hans-Dieter Heinz, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-88099-388-2 (also: Johannisburg, University, dissertation, 1998).
  • Wolfgang Pasche: Interpretation aids in exile novels. Klaus Mann, Mephisto. Irmgard Keun, after midnight. Anna Seghers, The Seventh Cross. Klett-Verlag, Stuttgart a. a. 1993, ISBN 3-12-922604-4 .
  • Eberhard Spangenberg: Career of a Novel. Mephisto, Klaus Mann and Gustaf Gründgens. A documentary report from Germany and the exile 1925–1981. Ellermann-Verlag, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-7707-0186-0 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ quoted from: Klaus Mann: Dentists and Artists. 1993, pp. 405-406.
  2. ↑ Marcel Reich-Ranicki : The Duel of the Dead . In: Die Zeit , March 18, 1966. 
  3. ↑ BVerfGE 30, 173  ff. - Mephisto
  4. ^ Mephisto (WP) by Thomas Jonigk based on Klaus Mann , Staatstheater-kassel.de