Secret Germany - Myth in Twentieth-Century German Culture

Before the Third Reich, "Secret Germany" was a phrase used by Stefan George's circle of writers to describe a political and poetic project that aimed to introduce the highest values of art into everyday life, secularize myth, and mythologize history. Furio Jesi traces this thread through German literary and artistic culture in the 1930s, revealing how it was tragically transformed into a potent political myth by Nazism.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 296 pages
Publication date: 06 June 2023
Publisher: Seagull Books London Ltd

Before the ascent of the Third Reich, a term known as "Secret Germany" was employed by a group of writers centered around the poet Stefan George to encapsulate a collective political and poetic endeavor. This project aimed to integrate the highest ideals of art into everyday existence, secularize myth, and mythologize history. In his book, Furio Jesi explores the term to trace the intricate contours of this political, artistic, and aesthetic thread as it permeated German literary and artistic culture during the 1930s, which tragically became absorbed by Nazism as part of its prophetic vision of a glorious future. By drawing upon the insights of thinkers like Carl Jung and the works of authors such as Thomas Mann and Rainer Maria Rilke, Jesi unveils a literary genre that, tragically, underwent a profound transformation into a potent political myth.

Before the ascent of the Third Reich, a term known as "Secret Germany" was employed by a group of writers centered around the poet Stefan George to encapsulate a collective political and poetic endeavor. This project aimed to integrate the highest ideals of art into everyday existence, secularize myth, and mythologize history. In his book, Furio Jesi explores the term to trace the intricate contours of this political, artistic, and aesthetic thread as it permeated German literary and artistic culture during the 1930s, which tragically became absorbed by Nazism as part of its prophetic vision of a glorious future. By drawing upon the insights of thinkers like Carl Jung and the works of authors such as Thomas Mann and Rainer Maria Rilke, Jesi unveils a literary genre that, tragically, underwent a profound transformation into a potent political myth.

Dimension: 9 x 6 x 1 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781803091945