Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl (1898).
On April 1, 1899, he
renouncedApostasy is the formal religious disaffiliation or abandonment or renunciation of one's religion, especially if the motive is deemed unworthy. In a technical sense, as used sometimes by sociologists without the pejorative connotations of the word, the term refers to renunciation and criticism of,...
JudaismJudaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts...
and in the same year founded his own newspaper,
Die Fackel (
The Torch), which he continued to direct, publish, and write until his death, and from which he launched his attacks on
hypocrisyHypocrisy is the act of pretending to have beliefs, opinions, virtues, feelings, qualities, or standards that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy is thus a kind of lie. Hypocrisy may come from a desire to hide from others actual motives or feelings....
,
psychoanalysisPsychoanalysis is a body of ideas developed by Austrian physician Sigmund Freud and continued by others. It is primarily devoted to the study of human psychological functioning and behavior, although it also can be applied to societies.
...
,
corruptionPolitical corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
of the
Habsburg empireThe House of Habsburg or Hapsburg was an important royal house of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1452 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian and Spanish Empire and several other countries...
,
nationalismNationalism is an ideology, a sentiment, a form of culture, or a social movement that focuses on the nation. It is a type of collectivism emphasizing the collective of a specific nation...
of the pan-German movement,
laissez-faireThe general meaning of Laissez-faire is to allow events to take their own course, or to let people do what they choose. The term is a French phrase literally meaning "let it be" or "leave it alone"....
economic policies, and numerous other
bêtes noiresThe term bête noire is used to refer to an object or abstract idea that is particularly disliked or avoided. The phrase is used in several pop culture terms:...
.
In 1901, Kraus was sued by
Hermann BahrHermann Bahr was an Austrian writer, playwright, director, and critic.-Biography:Born and raised in Linz, Bahr studied Philosophy, Law, Economics and Philology in Vienna, Czernowitz and Berlin. During a prolonged stay in Paris he discovered his interest in literature and art...
and Emmerich Bukovics, who felt they had been attacked by
Die Fackel. Many lawsuits by diverse offended parties would follow in later years. Also in 1901, Kraus found out that his publisher, Moriz Frisch, had taken over his magazine while he was absent on a months-long journey: Moriz Frisch had registered the magazine's front cover as a trademark and published the
Neue Fackel (
New Torch). Kraus sued and won. From that time,
Die Fackel was published (without a cover page) by the printer Jahoda & Siegel.
While at the beginning
Die Fackel was similar to journals like the magazine
Weltbühne, it became more and more a magazine that was privileged in its
editorial independenceEditorial independence is the freedom of editors to make decisions without interference from the owners of a publication. Editorial independence is tested, for instance, if a newspaper runs articles that may be unpopular with its advertising customers....
, which Kraus could provide by his funding.
Die Fackel printed what Kraus wanted to be printed. In its first decade, contributors included many well-known writers and artists such as
Peter AltenbergPeter Altenberg was a writer and poet from Vienna, Austria. He was key to the genesis of early modernism in the city.-Biography:...
,
Richard DehmelRichard Fedor Leopold Dehmel was a German poet and writer.- Life :...
,
Egon FriedellEgon Friedell born Egon Friedmann 21 January 1878 in Vienna, died 16 March 1938 in Vienna, was a prominent Austrian philosopher, historian, journalist, actor, cabaret performer and theatre critic.-Early life:...
,
Oskar KokoschkaOskar Kokoschka was an Austrian artist, poet and playwright best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes....
,
Else Lasker-Schüler Else Lasker-Schüler was a Jewish German poet and playwright famous for her bohemian lifestyle in Berlin. She was one of the few women affiliated with the Expressionist movement...
,
Adolf LoosAdolf Loos was one of the most important and influential Austrian and Czechoslovak architects of European Modern architecture. In his essay Ornament and Crime he repudiated the florid style of the Vienna Secession, the Austrian version of Art Nouveau...
,
Heinrich MannLuiz Heinrich Mann was a German novelist who wrote works with social themes whose attacks on the authoritarian and increasingly militaristic nature of post-Weimar German society led to his exile in 1933....
,
Arnold SchönbergArnold Schoenberg was an Austrian and later American composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
,
August StrindbergJohan August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg ( (22 January 1849 – 14 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright and writer. He is arguably the most influential of all Swedish authors, and one of the most influential Scandinavian authors, along with Knut Hamsun, with whom he...
,
Georg TraklGeorg Trakl was a pre-eminent Austrian poet.- Life and work :Trakl was born and lived the first 18 years of his life in Salzburg, Austria...
,
Frank WedekindBenjamin Franklin Wedekind , usually known as Frank Wedekind, was a German playwright...
,
Franz WerfelFranz Werfel was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet.- Biography :Born in Prague , Werfel was the first of three children of a wealthy manufacturer of gloves and leather goods. His mother, Albine Kussi, was the daughter of a mill owner...
,
Houston Stewart ChamberlainHouston Stewart Chamberlain was a British-born author of books on political philosophy, natural science and his posthumous father-in-law Richard Wagner...
and
Oscar WildeOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish playwright, poet and author of numerous short stories and one novel. Known for his biting wit, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest "celebrities" of his day...
. After 1911, however, Kraus was usually the sole author. Kraus' work was published nearly exclusively in
Die Fackel, of which 922 irregularly-issued numbers appeared in total. Authors who were supported by Kraus include
Peter AltenbergPeter Altenberg was a writer and poet from Vienna, Austria. He was key to the genesis of early modernism in the city.-Biography:...
,
Else Lasker-Schüler Else Lasker-Schüler was a Jewish German poet and playwright famous for her bohemian lifestyle in Berlin. She was one of the few women affiliated with the Expressionist movement...
, and
Georg TraklGeorg Trakl was a pre-eminent Austrian poet.- Life and work :Trakl was born and lived the first 18 years of his life in Salzburg, Austria...
.
Die Fackel targeted corruption, journalists and brutish behaviour. Notable enemies were
Maximilian HardenMaximilian Harden was an influential German journalist and editor.-Biography:...
(in the mud of the
Harden-Eulenburg affairThe Harden-Eulenburg affair, often simply Eulenburg affair, was the controversy surrounding a series of courts-martial and five regular trials regarding accusations of homosexual conduct, and accompanying libel trials, among prominent members of Kaiser Wilhelm II's cabinet and entourage during...
), Moriz Benedikt (owner of the newspaper
Neue Freie PresseNeue Freie Presse was a Viennese newspaper founded by Adolf Werthner together with the journalists Max Friedländer and Michael Etienne on 1 September 1864. It existed until 1938....
),
Alfred KerrAlfred Kerr , born Alfred Kempner, was an influential German-Jewish theatre critic and essayist, nicknamed the Kulturpapst ....
,
Hermann BahrHermann Bahr was an Austrian writer, playwright, director, and critic.-Biography:Born and raised in Linz, Bahr studied Philosophy, Law, Economics and Philology in Vienna, Czernowitz and Berlin. During a prolonged stay in Paris he discovered his interest in literature and art...
, Imre Bekessy and Johannes Schober.
In 1902, Kraus published
Sittlichkeit und Kriminalität (
Morality and Criminal Justice), for the first time commenting on what was to become one of the main issues in his writings: the allegedly necessary defense of sexual morality by means of criminal justice (
Der Skandal fängt an, wenn die Polizei ihm ein Ende macht,
The scandal starts when the police is stopping it). Starting in 1906, Kraus published the first of his
aphorismThe word aphorism denotes an original thought, spoken or written in a laconic and easily memorable form....
s in
Die Fackel; they were collected in 1909 in the book
Sprüche und Widersprüche (
Sayings and Gainsayings).
In addition to his writings, Kraus gave numerous highly influential public readings during his career - between 1892 and 1936 he put on approximately 700 one-man performances, reading from the dramas of
Bertolt Brecht' was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director. An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the Berliner...
,
Gerhart HauptmannGerhart Hauptmann was a German dramatist who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1912.-Hauptmann's career as a playwright:...
,
Johann NestroyJohann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy was an opera singer, actor and, primarily, a playwright.Nestroy was born in Vienna, Austria. After a career as an opera singer in several European cities from 1822 to 1831, Nestroy returned to his native Vienna and took up writing and acting...
, Goethe, and Shakespeare, and also performing
OffenbachJacques Offenbach was a German-born French composer and cellist of the Romantic era and one of the originators of the operetta form...
's operettas, accompanied by piano and singing all the roles himself.
Elias CanettiElias Canetti was a Bulgarian-born novelist and non-fiction writer of Sephardi Jewish ancestry who wrote in German. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1981.-Life:...
, who regularly attended Kraus' lectures, titled the second volume of his autobiography
"Die Fackel" im Ohr (
"The Torch" in the Ear) in reference to the magazine and its author.
In 1907, Kraus attacked his erstwhile benefactor
Maximilian HardenMaximilian Harden was an influential German journalist and editor.-Biography:...
because of his role in the
Eulenburg trialThe Harden-Eulenburg affair, often simply Eulenburg affair, was the controversy surrounding a series of courts-martial and five regular trials regarding accusations of homosexual conduct, and accompanying libel trials, among prominent members of Kaiser Wilhelm II's cabinet and entourage during...
in the first of his spectacular
Erledigungen (
Dispatches).
After an obituary for
Franz FerdinandFranz Ferdinand was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro Hungarian and Royal Prince of Hungary and of Bohemia, and from 1889 until his death, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia...
who had been assassinated in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914,
Die Fackel was not published for many months. In December 1914, it appeared again with an essay "In dieser großen Zeit" ("In this grand time"): "In dieser großen Zeit, die ich noch gekannt habe, wie sie so klein war; die wieder klein werden wird, wenn ihr dazu noch Zeit bleibt; […] in dieser lauten Zeit, die da dröhnt von der schauerlichen Symphonie der Taten, die Berichte hervorbringen, und der Berichte, welche Taten verschulden: in dieser da mögen Sie von mir kein eigenes Wort erwarten." ("In this grand time that I still know from when it was very small; that will become small again if it has the time; […] in this loud time that resounds from the ghastly symphony of deeds that spawn reports, and from reports that are to blame for deeds: in this one, you may not expect any word of my own.") In the subsequent time, Kraus wrote against the World War, and editions of
Die Fackel were repeatedly confiscated or obstructed by censors.
Kraus' masterpiece is generally considered to be the massive satiric play about the First World War,
Die letzten Tage der Menschheit (
The Last Days of Mankind), which combines dialogue from contemporary documents with apocalyptic
fantasyFantasy is a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting. Many works within the genre take place on fictional planes or planets where magic is common...
and commentary from two characters called "the Grumbler" and "the Optimist". Kraus began to write the play in 1915 and first published it as a series of special
Fackel issues in 1919. Its epilogue, "Die letzte Nacht" ("The last night") had already been published in 1918 as a special issue.
Edward TimmsEdward Timms is Research Professor and Director of the Centre of German Studies at University of Sussex. He is an internationally acknowledged eminent scholar, and his work is mostly focused on Karl Kraus and Freud.-Works:...
has called the work a "faulted masterpiece" and a "fissured text" because the evolution of Kraus' attitude during the time of its composition (from aristocratic
conservativeConservatism is the diverse political and social philosophy that supports tradition and the status quo, or that calls for a return to the values and society of an earlier age, the status quo ante. However, the term has been used by politicians and political commentators with a variety of meanings...
to
democraticDemocracy is a system of government in which either the actual governing is carried out by the people governed , or the power to do so is granted by them...
republicanRepublicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of Republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context. The sometimes contrary definitions are all covered in...
) means that the text has structural inconsistencies resembling a geological fault.
Also in 1919, Kraus published his collected war texts under the title
Weltgericht (
World court of justice). In 1920, he published the satire
Literatur oder Man wird doch da sehn (
Literature or You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet) as a reply to
Franz WerfelFranz Werfel was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet.- Biography :Born in Prague , Werfel was the first of three children of a wealthy manufacturer of gloves and leather goods. His mother, Albine Kussi, was the daughter of a mill owner...
's
Spiegelmensch (
Mirror man), an attack against Kraus.
During January 1924, he started to fight against Imre Békessy, publisher of the tabloid
Die Stunde (
The Hour). Kraus accused Békessy of extorting money from restaurant owners by threatening them with bad reviews in his paper unless they paid him. Békessy retaliated with a libel campagne against Kraus, who in turn launched an
Erledigung with the catchphrase "Hinaus aus Wien mit dem Schuft!" ("Throw the scoundrel out of Vienna"). In 1926, Békessy indeed fled Vienna in order to avoid being arrested. In the following year, Kraus unsuccessfully tried a similar undertaking against
Johann SchoberJohann Schober was an Austrian police officer who served three times as Chancellor of Austria ....
, police prefect during the forcefully suppressed
July RevoltDuring the Austrian July Revolt of 1927 , 84 protesters were killed by Austrian police forces, while four policemen died, on July 15, 1927. More than 600 people were injured....
. (Békessy achieved some later success when his novel
Barabbas was the monthly selection of an American book club.)
In 1928, the play
Die Unüberwindlichen (
The insurmountables) was published. It included allusions to the fights against Békessy and Schober. During that same year, Kraus also published the records of a lawsuit that Kerr had filed against him after Kraus had published Kerr's war poems in
Die Fackel.
In 1932, Kraus translated
Shakespeare'sWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
sonnets.
He supported the Austrian dictator
Engelbert DollfussEngelbert Dollfuß was an Austrian Christian Social and Patriotic Front statesman, who was chancellor of Austria from 1932 and right-wing dictator of Austria from 1933 until his assassination by Nazi agents in 1934....
, hoping Dollfuß could prevent Nazism from engulfing Austria. This estranged him from some of his followers. When asked why he never said anything about Hitler, he is reputed to have retorted: "When I think of Hitler, nothing occurs to me".
His last work, which he declined to publish for fear of Nazi reprisals, was the verbally rich, densely allusive anti-Nazi polemic
Die Dritte Walpurgisnacht (
The Third Walpurgisnacht). However, lengthy extracts appear in his apologia for his silence at Hitler's coming to power,
Warum die Fackel nicht erscheint (
Why the Fackel Does Not Appear), a 315-page edition of his periodical. The last issue of the
Fackel appeared in February 1936. Karl Kraus died of an
embolismIn medicine, an embolism occurs when an object migrates from one part of the body and causes a blockage of a blood vessel in another part of the body. The term was coined in 1848 by Rudolph Carl Virchow...
of the heart in Vienna on June 12, 1936 after a short illness.
Kraus never married, but from 1913 until his death, he had a conflict-prone but close relationship with the Baroness Sidonie Nádherný von Borutin (1885-1950). Many of his works were written in Janowitz castle, Nádherny family property. Sidonie Nádherny became an important pen-friend and addressee of books and poems.
In 1911 he was
baptizedIn Christianity, baptism is the ritual act, with the use of water, by which one is admitted to membership of the Christian Church and, in the view of some, as a member of the particular Church in which the baptism is administered.The usual form of baptism among the earliest Christians was for the...
as a
CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
, but in 1923, disillusioned over the Church's support for the war,
he leftApostasy is the formal religious disaffiliation or abandonment or renunciation of one's religion, especially if the motive is deemed unworthy. In a technical sense, as used sometimes by sociologists without the pejorative connotations of the word, the term refers to renunciation and criticism of,...
the Catholic Church, claiming sarcastically that he was motivated "primarily by antisemitism", i.e. indignation at
Max ReinhardtMax Reinhardt was an Austrian theatre and film director and actor.-Biography:...
's use of the Kollegienkirche in Salzburg as the venue for a theatrical performance. Kraus is buried in the
ZentralfriedhofThe Zentralfriedhof is situated in the district of Simmering, Simmeringer Hauptstraße 230–244, Vienna 1110, Austria, and is the largest and most famous cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries....
cemetery outside Vienna.
Kraus was the subject of two books written by noted libertarian author Dr.
Thomas SzaszThomas Stephen Szasz ; born April 15, 1920 in Budapest, Hungary) is a psychiatrist and academic. Since 1990 he has been Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the State University of New York Health Science Center in Syracuse, New York...
.
Karl Kraus and the Soul Doctors and
Anti-Freud: Karl Kraus's Criticism of Psychoanalysis and Psychiatry portrayed Kraus as a harsh critic of
Sigmund FreudSigmund Freud , Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology...
and of
psychoanalysisPsychoanalysis is a body of ideas developed by Austrian physician Sigmund Freud and continued by others. It is primarily devoted to the study of human psychological functioning and behavior, although it also can be applied to societies.
...
in general. Other commentators, such as
Edward TimmsEdward Timms is Research Professor and Director of the Centre of German Studies at University of Sussex. He is an internationally acknowledged eminent scholar, and his work is mostly focused on Karl Kraus and Freud.-Works:...
, have argued that Kraus respected Freud, though with reservations about the application of some of his theories, and that his views were far less black-and-white than Szasz suggests.
Person
Karl Kraus has been a subject of opposing opinions throughout his lifetime. This polarisation was undoubtedly strengthened by his immense sense of his own importance. This self-image was not completely unfounded: those who attended his performances were fascinated by his personality. His followers saw in him an infallible authority, someone who would do anything to help those he supported.
To the numerous enemies he made due to the inflexibility and intensity of his partisanship, however, he was a bitter
misanthropeMisanthropy is a general dislike, distrust, contempt, or hatred of the human species. The word comes from the Greek words μίσος and άνθρωπος .-Forms:...
and
poor would-be (
Alfred KerrAlfred Kerr , born Alfred Kempner, was an influential German-Jewish theatre critic and essayist, nicknamed the Kulturpapst ....
).
He was accused of wallowing in hateful denouncements and
Erledigungen.
Karl Kraus and language
Karl Kraus was convinced that every little error, albeit of an importance that was seemingly limited in time and space, shows the great evils of the world and era. Thus, he could see in a missing comma a symptom of that state of the world that would allow a world war. One of the main points of his writings was to show the great evils inherent in such seemingly small errors.
Language was to him the most important tell-tale for the wrongs of the world. He viewed his contemporaries' careless treatment of language as a sign for their careless treatment of the world as a whole.
Ernst KřenekErnst Krenek was an Austrian and—from 1945—American composer. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including Music Here and Now , a study of Johannes Ockeghem , and Horizons Circled: Reflections on my Music .- Life :Krenek was born in Vienna as the son of a...
reported the following typical episode: Als man sich gerade über die Beschießung von Shanghai durch die Japaner erregte und ich Karl Kraus bei einem der berühmten Beistrich-Problemen antraf, sagte er ungefähr: Ich weiß, daß das alles sinnlos ist, wenn das Haus in Brand steht. Aber solange das irgend möglich ist, muß ich das machen, denn hätten die Leute, die dazu verpflichtet sind, immer darauf geachtet, daß die Beistriche am richtigen Platz stehen, so würde Shanghai nicht brennen.“ (At a time when one was generally decrying the bombardment of Shanghai by the Japanese, I met Karl Kraus struggling over one of his famous comma problems. He said something like: I know that everything is futile when the house is burning. But I have to do this, as long as it is at all possible; for if those who are obliged to look after commas had always made sure they were in the right place, then Shanghai would not be burning.)
He accused people — and most of all journalists and authors — of using language as a means that they believed to
command rather than
serving it as an end. To Kraus, language is not a means to distribute ready-made opinions, but rather the medium of thought itself. As such, it is in need of critical reflection. Therefore,
dejournalising his readers was an important concern of Kraus in "a time that is thoroughly journalised, that is informed by the spirit but is deaf to the unity of form and contents". He wanted to educate his readers to an "understanding of the cause of the German language, to that height at which the written word is understood as a necessary incarnation of the thought, and not simply a shell demanded by society around an opinion."
Kraus maintained that language may not be entirely subjected to man's wishes. Even in its most maimed state, it will still show the true state of the world. Even war enthusiasts will unwittingly point out the cruel butchery during the war when calling it
Mordshetz (an Austrian word for
great fun that can also be read as
murderous chase).
Kraus saw the press as his supreme enemy and the "nether regions" of literature: his views on societal and cultural issues were less clearly defined, and his political preferences were shifting. He sympathized now with Social Democrats, now with
Archduke Franz FerdinandFranz Ferdinand was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro Hungarian and Royal Prince of Hungary and of Bohemia, and from 1889 until his death, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia...
. In some ways, Kraus' criticism prefigured contemporary critics of the press such as
Noam ChomskyAvram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, political activist, author, and lecturer. He is an Institute Professor and professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chomsky is well known in the academic and scientific community as...
and
Edward S. HermanEdward S. Herman is an economist and media analyst with a specialty in corporate and regulatory issues as well as political economy and the media. He is Professor Emeritus of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also teaches at Annenberg School for Communication at...
. But it must not be forgotten that Kraus' criticism was primarily moral, not political. Moreover, his cultural background was not that of the 'New Left' but instead that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire: his emphasis on precision, and his dislike of rhetoric and the
baroqueBaroque is an artistic style prevalent from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church, which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes in...
demonstrates links between his views and those of
Ludwig WittgensteinLudwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language....
(in his early works) and
Adolf LoosAdolf Loos was one of the most important and influential Austrian and Czechoslovak architects of European Modern architecture. In his essay Ornament and Crime he repudiated the florid style of the Vienna Secession, the Austrian version of Art Nouveau...
, amongst others.
Selected works
- Die demolierte Literatur [Demolished Literature] (1897)
- Eine Krone für Zion [A Crown for Zion] (1898)
- Sittlichkeit und Kriminalität [Morality and Criminal Justice] (1908)
- Sprüche und Widersprüche [Sayings and Contradictions] (1909)
- Die chinesische Mauer [The Wall of China] (1910)
- Pro domo et mundo [For Home and for the World] (1912)
- Nestroy und die Nachwelt [ Nestroy
Johann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy was an opera singer, actor and, primarily, a playwright.Nestroy was born in Vienna, Austria. After a career as an opera singer in several European cities from 1822 to 1831, Nestroy returned to his native Vienna and took up writing and acting...
and Posterity](1913)
- Worte in Versen (1916-30)
- Die letzten Tage der Menschheit (1918)
- Weltgericht [World Court] (1919)
- Nachts [At Night] (1919)
- Untergang der Welt durch schwarze Magie [The End of the World Through Black Magic](1922)
- Literatur (Literature) (1921)
- Traumstück [Dream Piece] (1922)
- Die letzten Tage der Menschheit: Tragödie in fünf Akten mit Vorspiel und Epilog [The Last Days of Mankind: Tragedy in Five Acts with Preamble and Epilogue] (1922)
- Wolkenkuckucksheim [Cloud Cuckoo Land] (1923)
- Traumtheater [Dream Theatre] (1924)
- Epigramme [Epigrams] (1927)
- Die Unüberwindlichen [The Insurmountables] (1928)
- Literatur und Lüge [Literature and Lies] (1929)
- Shakespeares Sonette (1933)
- Die Sprache [Language] (posthumous, 1937)
- Die dritte Walpurgisnacht [The Third Walpurgis Night] (posthumous, 1952)
Some work has been re-issued in recent years:
- Die letzten Tage der Menschheit, Bühnenfassung des Autors, 1992 Suhrkamp, ISBN 3-518-22091-8
- Die Sprache, Suhrkamp, ISBN 3-518-37817-1
- Die chinesische Mauer, mit acht Illustrationen von Oskar Kokoschka, 1999, Insel, ISBN 3-458-19199-2
- Aphorismen. Sprüche und Widersprüche. Pro domo et mundo. Nachts, 1986, Suhrkamp, ISBN 3-518-37818-X
- Sittlichkeit und Krimininalität, 1987, Suhrkamp, ISBN 3-518-37811-2
- Dramen. Literatur, Traumstück, Die unüberwindlichen u.a., 1989, Suhrkamp, ISBN 3-518-37821-X
- Literatur und Lüge, 1999, Suhrkamp, ISBN 3-518-37813-9
- Shakespeares Sonette, Nachdichtung, 1977, Diogenes, ISBN 3-257-20381-0
- Theater der Dichtung mit Bearbeitungen von Shakespeare-Dramen, Suhrkamp 1994, ISBN 3-518-37825-2
- Hüben und Drüben, 1993, Suhrkamp, ISBN 3-518-37828-7
- Die Stunde des Gerichts, 1992, Suhrkamp, ISBN 3-518-37827-9
- Untergang der Welt durch schwarze Magie, 1989, Suhrkamp, ISBN 3-518-37814-7
- Brot und Lüge, 1991, Suhrkamp, ISBN 3-518-37826-0
- Die Katastrophe der Phrasen, 1994, Suhrkamp, ISBN 3-518-37829-5
Works in English translation
- The Last Days of Mankind: a Tragedy in Five Acts (1974), an abridgement tr. Alexander Gode and Sue Allen Wright
- In These Great Times: A Karl Kraus Reader (1984), ed. Harry Zohn, contains translated excerpts from Die Fackel, including poems with the original German text alongside, and a drastically abridged translation of The Last Days of Mankind.
- Anti-Freud: Karl Kraus' Criticism of Psychoanalysis and Psychiatry (1990) by Thomas Szasz contains Szasz's translations of several of Kraus' articles and aphorisms on psychiatry and psychoanalysis.
- Half Truths and One-and-a-Half Truths: selected aphorisms (1990) translated by Hary Zohn. Chicago ISBN 0226452689.
- Dicta and Contradicta, tr. Jonathan McVity (2001), a collection of aphorisms.
Other sources
- Karl Kraus by L. Liegler (1921)
- Karl Kraus by W. Benjamin
Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin was a German-Jewish Marxist philosopher-sociologist, literary critic, translator and essayist. He was at times associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory...
(1931)
- Karl Kraus by R. von Schaukal (1933)
- Karl Kraus in Sebstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten by P. Schick (1965)
- The Last Days of Mankind: Karl Kraus and His Vienna by Frank Field (1967)
- Karl Kraus by W.A. Iggers (1967)
- Karl Kraus by H. Zohn (1971)
- Wittgenstein's Vienna by A. Janik and S. Toulmin (1973)
- Karl Kraus and the Soul Doctors by T.S. Szasz
Thomas Stephen Szasz ; born April 15, 1920 in Budapest, Hungary) is a psychiatrist and academic. Since 1990 he has been Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the State University of New York Health Science Center in Syracuse, New York...
(1976)
- Masks of the Prophet: The Theatrical World of Karl Kraus by Kari Grimstad (1981)
- McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama, vol. 3, ed. by Stanley Hochman (1984)
- Karl Kraus, Apocalyptic Satirist: Culture and Catastrophe in Habsburg Vienna by Edward Timms
Edward Timms is Research Professor and Director of the Centre of German Studies at University of Sussex. He is an internationally acknowledged eminent scholar, and his work is mostly focused on Karl Kraus and Freud.-Works:...
(1986) Yale University Press ISBN 0300044836 reviews: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0026-7937(198801)83%3A1%3C254%3AKKASCA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-5 http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0361-1299(1988)42%3A1%2F2%3C100%3AKKASCA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-C http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/reviews.asp?isbn=9780300044836 http://tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25336-1914702,00.html
- Karl Kraus, Apocalyptic Satirist: The Post-War Crisis and the Rise of the Swastika by Edward Timms
Edward Timms is Research Professor and Director of the Centre of German Studies at University of Sussex. He is an internationally acknowledged eminent scholar, and his work is mostly focused on Karl Kraus and Freud.-Works:...
(2005)
- Anti-Freud: Karl Kraus's Criticism of Psychoanalysis and Psychiatry by Thomas Szasz (1990)
- The Paper Ghetto: Karl Kraus and Anti-Semitism by John Theobald (1996)
- Karl Kraus and the Critics by Harry Zohn (1997)
- Otto Weininger: Sex, Science, and Self in Imperial Vienna by Chandak Sengoopta pp. 6, 23, 35-36, 39-41, 43-44, 137, 141-45
External links