Dürfen darf man alles: Lebensweisheiten

by Kurt Tucholsky, Ignaz Wrobel

Ein Geschenkband mit Aphorismen, die noch heute durch Weitblick und Scharfsinn überzeugen. Ein Geschenkband mit Aphorismen, die noch heute durch Weitblick und Scharfsinn überzeugen.
»Denn wo käme man hin, wenn man in sich ginge.« Mit spitzer Feder brachte Kurt Tucholsky, einer der meistgelesenen Schriftsteller und Zeitkritiker der Weimarer Republik, Glossen und Satiren, kabarettistische Szenen, Lyrik und Chansons zu Papier. Gegen das korrupte Spießertum und die Beamtenschaft, gegen bürgerliche Lethargie und die Justiz.
Tucholsky war ein humorvoll-ironischer Polemiker mit einer großen Vorliebe für den Wortwitz. Dabei war dem Humanisten, »der frech war und skrupulös, eine (oft enttäuschte) Menschenliebe heilig«, wie Herbert Riehl-Heyse in der ›Süddeutschen Zeitung‹ schrieb. Seine Aphorismen und Lebensweisheiten, die in dem Bändchen zusammengetragen sind, überzeugen noch heute durch Weitblick und Scharfsinn.

Genres: Classics, German Literature

171 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Kurt Tucholsky was a German-Jewish journalist, satirist and writer. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Kaspar Hauser, Peter Panter, Theobald Tiger, and Ignaz Wrobel. Born in Berlin-Moabit, he moved to Paris in 1924 and then to Sweden in 1930.

Tucholsky was one of the most important journalists of the Weimar Republic. As a politically engaged journalist and temporary co-editor of the weekly magazine Die Weltbühne he proved himself to be a social critic in the tradition of Heinrich Heine. He was simultaneously a satirist, an author of satirical political revues, a songwriter, and a poet. He saw himself as a left-wing democrat and pacifist and warned against anti-democratic tendencies—above all in politics, the military, and justice—and the threat of National Socialism. His fears were confirmed when the Nazis came to power in 1933: his books were listed on the Nazi's censorship as "Entartete Kunst" ("Degenerate Art") and burned, and he lost his German citizenship.

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of Tucholsky excerpts and aphorisms is not as entertaining as Schnipsel, but it has its moments.

Here’s a translation of one of Tucholsky’s most famous stories that hopefully conveys an idea of his intelligent sense of humor:

“In the Department du Gard—exactly, where Nimes is and the Point du Gard, in southern France—there in the post office sat an old maid bureaucrat who had a bad habit: she opened the letters a little and read them. The whole world knew about this. But that’s how it goes in France: concierge, telephone, the postal service, these are sacred institutions; you can change them, but you dare not change them, so no one did anything.

So the old lady spread many indiscretions that caused some people to worry.

In the Department, a smart Count lived in one of the beautiful castles. Counts are sometimes smart in France. And one day, here is what the Count did:

He summoned a notary to the castle and, in his presence, wrote to his friend:

Dear Friend!

Since I know that the old postal lady Emilie Dupont constantly opens and reads our letters because she’s about to burst from curiosity, I am sending you, to finally put a wrench in her works, a live flea.

With all friendly greetings,

Count Koks

He sealed the letter in the presence of the notary. But he didn’t put a flea in.

When it arrived, one was in it."

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zeitlos, kritisch, selbstironisch - typisch Tucholsky

[Marcel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tucholsky halt: Lebensweisheiten für zwischendurch. Aber einfach wunderbar!