Richard Grelling

Richard Grelling (born June 11, 1853 in Berlin ; † January 14, 1929 there ) was a German author and pacifist.

Life

He studied law , did his doctorate and took up the profession of lawyer. He worked as a journalist and author. Among other things, he wrote socially critical dramas. He was a supporter of naturalism . Grelling was the syndic of the Association of German Writers . In 1887 he ran for a left-wing liberal party for the Reichstag . He was one of the co-founders of the German Peace Society . In this organization he acted as vice chairman. From 1903 he lived near Florence . Since Italy entered the First World War in 1915, he lived in Switzerland until 1920.

In 1915 he published the work “J'accuse! From a German. ” The thesis of the book was that the First World War was a conflict systematically prepared by the Central Powers with the aim of territorial conquest. Both powers consciously used the July crisis to trigger a war. The claims have not really been substantiated, however. His fonts were easy to read due to their light style. This publication has been translated into numerous languages ​​and enjoyed high circulation outside the Central Powers.

In Germany, censorship prevented widespread use. Still, the book sparked indignation. His son Kurt Grelling was one of the main critics. This was followed by “Das Verbrechen” in 1917/18, which also dealt with the First World War. In the volume Richard Grelling dealt with his critics and especially attacked his son.

At times he worked for the Frankfurter Zeitung, among others . During the Weimar Republic , his writings were largely boycotted. Essentially, he was only able to work within the peace movement and the left opposition groups that were close to it. Among other things, Grelling criticized the attempt by the semi-official Central Office for Research into the Causes of War to wash Germany of all complicity in the outbreak of war.

He married Margarethe Anna Simon (1862–1934). The couple had several children including:

• Adelheid Sophie Charlotte (1884–1978) ∞ Hans Sachs (1877–1945)
• Kurt (1886–1942) ∞ Margareta Berger (1898–1942)

literature

• Gerhard Schaub, Ernst Teubner (Ed.): Hugo Ball. Letters 1904-1927. Vol. 3 Göttingen, 2003 p. 272
• Michael Dreyer, Oliver Lembcke : The German discussion about the war guilt issue 1918/19 Berlin, 1993 p. 43f.