Karl Kraus (April 28, 1874 - June 12, 1936) was an eminent Austrian writer and journalist, known as a satirist, essayist, aphorist, playwright and poet. He is generally considered one of the foremost German-language satirists of the 20th century, especially known for his witty criticism of the press, German culture, and German and Austrian politics. is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... German literature comprises those literary texts originating within Germany proper and written in the German language. ... Journalism is a discipline of gathering, writing and reporting news, and more broadly it includes the process of editing and presenting the news articles. ... List of satirists below - writers, cartoonists and others known for their involvement in satire - humourous social criticism. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999...

Early life

Kraus was born into a wealthy Jewish family of Jacob Kraus, a papermaker, and his wife Ernestine, née Kantor, in Gitschin, Bohemia (now Jičín in the Czech Republic). The family moved to Vienna in 1877. His mother died in 1891. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Flag of Bohemia Bohemia (Czech: ; German: ) is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western and middle thirds of the Czech Republic. ... Valdštejns square with Valdická gate Valdštejns square, aerial view Jičín is a city of the Czech Republic, in the Hradec Kralove Region of Czech republic. ... “Wien” redirects here. ... 1877 (MDCCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Kraus enrolled as a law student at the University of Vienna in 1892. Beginning in April of the same year he began contributing to the paper Wiener Literaturzeitung, starting with a critique of Gerhart Hauptmann's Die Weber. Around that time, he unsuccessfully tried to perform as an actor in a small theater. In 1894 he changed his field of studies to philosophy and German literature. He discontinued his studies in 1896. His friendship to Peter Altenberg originated in this time. The University of Vienna (German: ) is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. ... Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Hauptmann (November 15, 1862 - June 6, 1946), German dramatist, was born on at Obersalzbrunn, Prussia (now Szczawno Drój, Poland) in Silesia, the son of a hotel-keeper. ... Peter Altenberg (1859 - 1919) was a writer and poet from Vienna, Austria. ...

Writing

In 1896 he left university without a diploma to begin work as an actor, stage-director and performer, joining the Jung Wien (Young Vienna) group, which included Peter Altenberg, Leopold Andrian, Hermann Bahr, Richard Beer-Hofmann, Felix Dörmann, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and Felix Salten. In 1897, however, Kraus broke from this group with a biting satire Die demolierte Literatur [Demolished Literature], and was named Vienna correspondent for the newspaper Breslauer Zeitung. One year later, as an uncompromising advocate of Jewish assimilation, he attacked the Zionist Theodor Herzl with his polemic Eine Krone für Zion [A Crown for Zion] (1898). Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ... Young Vienna (Jung-Wien) was a society of fin de siècle writers who met in Viennas Café Griensteidl and other nearby coffeehouses from 1890 until 1897. ... Young Vienna (Jung-Wien) was a society of fin de siècle writers who met in Viennas Café Griensteidl and other nearby coffeehouses from 1890 until 1897. ... Peter Altenberg (1859 - 1919) was a writer and poet from Vienna, Austria. ... Hermann Bahr (1904 by Emil Orlik) Hermann Bahr (July 19, 1863 - January 15, 1934) was an Austrian writer, playwright, director, and critic. ... Richard Beer Hofmann (born 11 July 1866 in Vienna — died 26 September 1945 in New York) was an Austrian dramatist and poet. ... Hugo von Hofmannsthal Hugo von Hofmannsthal (February 1, 1874 – July 15, 1929), was an Austrian novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist, narrator, and essayist. ... Felix Salten (September 6, 1869 – October 8, 1945) was an Austrian writer. ... Theodor Herzl, in his middle age. ...

On April 1, 1899, he renounced Judaism 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 hypocrisy, psychoanalysis, corruption of the Habsburg empire, nationalism of the pan-German movement, laissez-faire economic policies, and numerous other bêtes noires. In 1901, Kraus was sued by Hermann Bahr 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 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Apostasy (from Greek αποστασία, meaning a defection or revolt, from απο, apo, away, apart, στασις, stasis, standing) is a term generally employed to describe the formal renunciation of ones religion, especially if the motive is deemed unworthy. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Hypocrisy is the act of condemning or calling for the condemnation of another person when the critic is guilty of the act for which he demands that the accused be condemned. ... Psychoanalysis is a family of psychological theories and methods based on the work of Sigmund Freud. ... Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy; also used as the flag of the Austrian Empire until the Ausgleich of 1867. ... ‹ The template below is being considered for deletion. ... Pan-Germanism, one of the ethnically-charged political movements of the 19th century for unity of the German-speaking peoples of Europe. ... Laissez-faire is short for laissez faire, laissez passer, a French phrase meaning to let things alone, let them pass. First used by the eighteenth century Physiocrats as an injunction against government interference with trade, it is now used as a synonym for strict free market economics. ... Bête Noire is an album by British singer Bryan Ferry, released on Virgin Records in November 1987. ... Hermann Bahr (1904 by Emil Orlik) Hermann Bahr (July 19, 1863 - January 15, 1934) was an Austrian writer, playwright, director, and critic. ...

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 independence, that 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 Altenberg, Richard Dehmel, Egon Friedell, Oskar Kokoschka, Else Lasker-Schüler, Adolf Loos, Heinrich Mann, Arnold Schönberg, August Strindberg, Georg Trakl, Frank Wedekind, Franz Werfel, Houston Stewart Chamberlain and Oscar Wilde. 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. Freedom of the press (or press freedom) is the guarantee by a government of free public press for its citizens and their associations, extended to members of news gathering organizations, and their published reporting. ... Peter Altenberg (1859 - 1919) was a writer and poet from Vienna, Austria. ... Richard Dehmel in 1905. ... Egon 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. ... Oskar Kokoschka (March 1, 1886-February 22, 1980) was an Austrian artist and poet of Czech origin, best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes. ... Else Lasker-Schüler (born February 11, 1869 in Elberfeld, Wuppertal; died January 22, 1945 in Jerusalem) was a German Jewish poet. ... Adolf Loos (December 10, 1870 in Brno, Moravia–August 8, 1933 in Vienna, Austria) was an early-20th century Viennese architect. ... Luiz (Ludwig) Heinrich Mann (March 27, 1871 – March 12, 1950) wrote German novels with social themes whose attacks on the authoritarian and increasingly militaristic nature of post-Weimar German society led to his exile in 1933. ... Arnold Schoenberg, Los Angeles, 1948 Arnold Schoenberg (the anglicized form of Schönberg — Schoenberg changed the spelling officially when he left Germany and re-converted to Judaism in 1933), (September 13, 1874 – July 13, 1951) was an Austrian and later American composer. ... August Strindberg Portrait of August Strindberg by Richard Bergh   (January 22, 1849 – May 14, 1912) was a Swedish writer, playwright, and painter. ... Georg Trakl A poem by Trakl inscribed on a plaque in Mirabell Garden, Salzburg. ... Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 - March 9, 1918) was a German playwright. ... Franz Werfel, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1940 Werfels grave in the Zentralfriedhof, Vienna Franz Werfel (September 10, 1890 – August 26, 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet who wrote in German. ... Houston Stewart Chamberlain Houston Stewart Chamberlain (September 9, 1855 - January 9, 1927) was a British author noted for his works concerning the Aryan race. ... Oscar Fingal OFlahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and author of short stories. ...

Authors who were supported by Kraus include Peter Altenberg, Else Lasker-Schüler, and Georg Trakl. Peter Altenberg (1859 - 1919) was a writer and poet from Vienna, Austria. ... Else Lasker-Schüler (born February 11, 1869 in Elberfeld, Wuppertal; died January 22, 1945 in Jerusalem) was a German Jewish poet. ... Georg Trakl A poem by Trakl inscribed on a plaque in Mirabell Garden, Salzburg. ...

Die Fackel targeted corruption, journalists and brutish behaviour. Notable enemies were Maximilian Harden (in the mud of the Harden-Eulenburg affair), Moritz Benedikt (owner of the newspaper Neue Freie Presse), Alfred Kerr, Hermann Bahr, Imre Bekessy and Johannes Schober. Maximilian Harden in 1914 Maximilian Harden (a pen name; he was born Witkowski) was an influential German journalist who published the journal Die Zukunft, at the beginning of the 20th century. ... The 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 IIs cabinet and entourage during 1907-1909. ... Moritz Benedikt (1835-1920) was an Austrian neurologist who was a native of Eisenstadt. ... Die Presse is an Austrian newspaper based in Vienna, Austria. ... Alfred Kerr (25 December 1867 – 12 October 1948) was an influential German-Jewish theatre critic and essayist, nicknamed Kulturpapst (culture Pope) . He was born Alfred Kempner into a prosperous family in Breslau (now Wroclaw in Poland), taking the surname Kerr in 1887, and making the change officially in 1909. ... Hermann Bahr (1904 by Emil Orlik) Hermann Bahr (July 19, 1863 - January 15, 1934) was an Austrian writer, playwright, director, and critic. ...

In 1902, Kraus published Sittlichkeit und Kriminalität (Morality and Crimical 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)^[1]. Starting in 1906, Kraus published the first of his aphorisms in Die Fackel; they were collected in 1909 in the book Sprüche und Widersprüche (Sayings and Gainsayings). This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

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, Gerhart Hauptmann, Johann Nestroy, Goethe, and Shakespeare, and also performing Offenbach's operettas, accompanied by piano and singing all the roles himself. Elias Canetti, who regularly attended Kraus' lectures, titled the second volume of his autobiography "Die Fackel im Ohr" (translation : The Torch in the Ear) in reference to the magazine and its author. Brecht redirects here. ... Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Hauptmann (November 15, 1862 - June 6, 1946), German dramatist, was born on at Obersalzbrunn, Prussia (now Szczawno Drój, Poland) in Silesia, the son of a hotel-keeper. ... Johann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy (born December 7, 1801 at Vienna, Austria; died May 25, 1862 at Graz, Austria) was an opera singer, actor and, primarily, a playwright. ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pronounced [gø tə]) (August 28, 1749–March 22, 1832) was a German writer, politician, humanist, scientist, and philosopher. ... Shakespeare redirects here. ... Jacques Offenbach (20 June 1819 – 5 October 1880) was a French composer and cellist of the Romantic era with German-Jewish descent and one of the originators of the operetta form. ... Elias Canetti, Nobel Laureate in Literature Canettis tomb-stone in Zürich, Switzerland Elias Canetti (Rousse, Bulgaria, 25 July 1905 – 14 August 1994, Zurich) was a Bulgaria-born novelist of Sephardi Jewish ancestry who wrote in German and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1981. ...

In 1907, Kraus attacked his erstwhile benefactor Maximilian Harden because of his role in the Eulenburg trial in the first of his spectacular Erledigungen (dispatches). Maximilian Harden in 1914 Maximilian Harden (a pen name; he was born Witkowski) was an influential German journalist who published the journal Die Zukunft, at the beginning of the 20th century. ... The 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 IIs cabinet and entourage during 1907-1909. ...

After an obituary for Franz Ferdinand who had been assassinated in Sarajevo, Die Fackel was not published for many months. In the December of 1914, it appeared again with an essay titled 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.“^[2] (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. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A plaque commemorating the exact location of the Sarajevo Assassination On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg were shot to death in Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, by Gavrilo Princip, a member of Young...

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 fantasy and commentary from two characters called "the Grumbler" and "the Optimist". The play was begun in 1915 and first published 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 Timms 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 conservative to democratic republican) 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 One will see there) as a reply to Franz Werfel's Spiegelmensch (Mirror man), an attack against Kraus. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... For other uses, see Apocalypse (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Fantasy (disambiguation). ... Aristocracy is a form of government in which rulership is in the hands of an upper class known as aristocrats. ... Ths article deals with conservatism as a political philosophy. ... For other uses, see Democracy (disambiguation). ... Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, with an emphasis on liberty, rule by the people, and the civic virtue practiced by citizens. ... Old fault exposed by roadcut near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. ... Franz Werfel, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1940 Werfels grave in the Zentralfriedhof, Vienna Franz Werfel (September 10, 1890 – August 26, 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet who wrote in German. ...

During January of 1924, he started to fight against Imre Békessy, publisher of the tabloid Die Stunde (The hour). 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 his being arrested. In the following year, Kraus unsuccessfully tried a similar undertaking against Johann Schober, police prefect during the forcefully suppressed July Revolt. 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. During the Austrian July Revolt of 1927, 85 protesters were killed by Austrian police forces, while four policemen died, on July 15, 1927. ...

In 1932, Kraus re-translated Shakespeare's sonnets. He supported Engelbert Dollfuß, 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 reportedly answered: I cannot think of anything to say about Hitler. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Engelbert Dollfuss Engelbert Dollfuss (German: Dollfuß) (October 4, 1892 - July 25, 1934) was an Austrian politician and dictator. ...

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 of 1936. Karl Kraus died of an Embolism of the heart in Vienna on June 12th, 1936 after a short illness. Walpurgis Night (Valborgsmässoafton in Swedish, Vappu in Finnish, Volbriöö in Estonian, Valpurģu nakts or Valpurģi in Latvian, Walpurgisnacht in German) is a holiday celebrated on April 30, in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Germany. ... In medicine, an embolism occurs when an object (the embolus, plural emboli) migrates from one part of the body (through circulation) and cause(s) a blockage (occlusion) of a blood vessel in another part of the body. ...

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 baptized as a Catholic, but in 1923 he left the Catholic Church, because he disapproved of the revival of the Salzburg Festival. He is buried in the Zentralfriedhof cemetery outside Vienna. Year 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Baptism in early Christian art. ... Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Apostasy (from Greek αποστασία, meaning a defection or revolt, from απο, apo, away, apart, στασις, stasis, standing) is a term generally employed to describe the formal renunciation of ones religion, especially if the motive is deemed unworthy. ... The Salzburg Festival (Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama. ... Exterior of the Dr. Karl Lueger-Gedächtniskirche, Zentralfriedhof, Vienna. ...

Kraus was the subject of two books written by noted libertarian author Dr.Thomas Szasz. 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 Freud and of psychoanalysis in general. Other commentators, such as Edward Timms (Karl Kraus - Apocalyptic Satirist) 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. Thomas Szasz. ... Sigmund Freud (IPA: ), born Sigismund Schlomo Freud (May 6, 1856 – September 23, 1939), was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. ... Psychoanalysis is a family of psychological theories and methods based on the work of Sigmund Freud. ...

Person

Karl Kraus has been a subject of opposing opinions throughout his lifetime. This polarisation was undoubtedly strengthened by his immense awareness 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 misanthrope and poor would-be (Alfred Kerr). He was accused of wallowing in hateful denouncements and Erledigungen. Misanthrope redirects here. ... Alfred Kerr (25 December 1867 – 12 October 1948) was an influential German-Jewish theatre critic and essayist, nicknamed Kulturpapst (culture Pope) . He was born Alfred Kempner into a prosperous family in Breslau (now Wroclaw in Poland), taking the surname Kerr in 1887, and making the change officially in 1909. ...

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 using such 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 Křenek 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.“^[3] (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 in vain 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 made sure they are always at the right place, then Shanghai would not be burning.) Ernst Krenek (August 23, 1900 – December 22, 1991) was an Austrian-born composer of Czech ancestry; throughout his life he insisted that his name be written Krenek rather than KÅ™enek, and that it should be pronounced as a German word. ...

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."

Just how far the distance has grown between language, thought, and imagination of that which is being said becomes evident in phrases that invoke metaphors from times long gone: e.g. during the First World War, it was often heard that one should fight to the knife — at a time in which gas had long become an important weapon.

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 enthusiast 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).

This single-minded pursuit of "correct language" has been viewed as wacky and superficial by many of Kraus' contemporaries. He saw his supreme enemy among the press and the "nether regions of literature"; other societal and cultural issues were less clearly defined, and his political preferences were shifting. He sympathized now with Social Democrats, now with Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Albert Fuchs, initially a follower of Kraus, summed it up: Karl Kraus’ Philosophie lehrte, man solle gutes Deutsch schreiben. Sonst lehrte sie nichts. (The philosophy of Karl Kraus taught that one should write correct German. Otherwise, it did not teach anything.) This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Selected works

• Die demolirte Literatur [Demolished Literature] (1897)
• Eine Krone für Zion [A Crown for Zion] (1898)
• Sittlichkeit und Kriminalität [Morality and Crimical 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 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 (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)
• Die Unüberwindlichen (1927)
• 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: Johann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy (born December 7, 1801 at Vienna, Austria; died May 25, 1862 at Graz, Austria) was an opera singer, actor and, primarily, a playwright. ...

• 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.
• Dicta and Contradicta, tr. Jonathan McVity (2001), a collection of aphorisms.

References

• Karl Kraus by L. Liegler (1921)
• Karl Kraus by W. Benjamin (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 (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 (1986)
• 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)
• Karl Kraus, Apocalyptic Satirist: The Post-War Crisis and the Rise of the Swastika by Edward Timms (2005)

Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin (July 15, 1892 – September 27, 1940) was a German Marxist literary critic, essayist, translator, and philosopher. ... Thomas Szasz. ...

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• The Life and Work of Karl Kraus
• digitalized edition of die Fackel from the Austrian Academy of Science http://www.aac.ac.at/ AAC. User Interface is in German and English.

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Wikiquote is a sister project of Wikipedia, using the same MediaWiki software. ... German literature comprises those literary texts originating within Germany proper and written in the German language. ... Journalism is a discipline of gathering, writing and reporting news, and more broadly it includes the process of editing and presenting the news articles. ... List of satirists below - writers, cartoonists and others known for their involvement in satire - humourous social criticism. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Flag of Bohemia Bohemia (Czech: ; German: ) is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western and middle thirds of the Czech Republic. ... Valdštejns square with Valdická gate Valdštejns square, aerial view Jičín is a city of the Czech Republic, in the Hradec Kralove Region of Czech republic. ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...