In his final 'Q-Tagebuch' report to Hedwig Müller dated 19 December 1935 Tucholsky declared: 'Daß ich mein Leben zerhauen habe, weiß ich. Daß ich nicht allein daran schuld bin, weiß ich aber auch. Mein Gott, wäre ich in Frankreich geboren...!' Combining biographical investigation with an analysis of Tucholsky's published journalism, this study sets out to assess the significance of the contact with France and French culture in Tucholsky's life and work. It shows the extent to which he was influenced by the French cultural and intellectual tradition, and by his first-hand experience of France. It provides new insights into Tucholsky's life in France, notably his involvement with French freemasonry and the importance of his contacts in French literary, pacifist, and political circles. This study also considers the role Tucholsky played, or attempted to play, in improving Franco-German relations, and reveals the extent of his efforts to promote rapprochment, not only in Germany, but also in France, through behind-the-scenes contact with politicians and diplomats, through lectures, and through his published journalism.
This book, originally published in paperback in 2001 under the ISBN 978-1-902653-62-4, was made Open Access in 2025 as part of the MHRA Revivals programme.
Tucholsky's contact with France falls into three distinct chronological phases: the time prior to his move to France in April 1924; the five-year period 1924-1929 when Tucholsky was for the most part based in France as foreign correspondent for the Weltbühne and the Vossische Zeitung, finally, the six-year period between Tucholsky's departure from France in March 1929 and his death in 1935. This study adopts a chronological structure based on these three phases.
1.1 Pre-war contact with France and French culture - 1.2 The war years - 1.3 Post-war efforts to promote Franco-German relations - 1.4 Post-war references to French culture.
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Chapter 3: A Foreign Correspondent in France (1924–1929) Stephanie Burrows doi:10.59860/td.c597cff
3.1 Journalistic aims and constraints - 3.2 The war - 3.3 Franco-German relations - 3.4 French politics - 3.5 French 'Alltagsleben' - 3.6 French people - 3.7 French places - 3.7.1 Paris - 3.7.2 Ein Pyrenäenbuch - 3.7.3 The South of France - 3.8 French cultural life - 3.8.1 Theatre - 3.8.2 Cabaret - 3.8.3 Film - 3.8.4 Literature.
4.1 Departure from France - 4.2 Lectures in Germany (1929) - 4.3 Published journalism (1929–1933) - 4.4 Private correspondence (1929–1933) - 4.5 Private correspondence (1933–1935) - 4.5.1 'Ordre Nouveau' and 'Esprit' - 4.5.2 The French literary tradition - 4.5.3 French people and politics.
It is considerably more difficult to assess what France meant for Tucholsky during the years he spent there than in the periods prior to and after his time there: his attempts to describe the French people make it abundantly clear that he was bemused by the complexity and contradictions of the reality with which he was confronted. It is striking, however, that ideals he had cherished before moving to France, notably and most importantly about democracy and artistic freedom and daring, crumbled . His admiration for France as the land of democracy was replaced by complete disillusionment with parliamentary democracy as a political system and the realization that French left-wing politicians differed little from their German counterparts.
Transcription of Tucholsky's talk 'La Carrière de votre fils - soldat inconnu' (in French language text); Selected Bibliography; Index; and back cover.
This title was first published by Maney Publishing for the Modern Humanities Research Association and the Institute of Germanic Studies but rights to it are now held by Modern Humanities Research Association and the Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies.
