Berlin! Berlin!: Über dieser Stadt ist kein Himmel

by Kurt Tucholsky, Mark Twain (Introduction)

A representative selection from the man with the acid pen and the perfect pitch for hypocrisy, who was as much the voice of 1920s Berlin as Georg Grosz was its face. Kurt Tucholsky was a brilliant reporter, satirist, poet, lyricist, and storyteller of the Weimar Republic, a pacifist and a democrat; a fighter, lady's man, theater lover, political animal, and also an early warner against the Nazis. They hated and loathed Tucholsky, and drove him out of his country. The famed journalist became an outcast, an enemy of the state. His books were burned and banned in 1933, he died alone in Sweden. But he is not forgotten.With this extraordinary and also funny book, Tucholsky's work about his hometown Berlin is published for the first time in the United States.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published May 13, 2013

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

[Georgiann Hennelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recieved a copy for free in exchange for an honest review. Berlin Berlin is a fantastic funny book. It contains classics as well as lesser know stories about Berlin. The author really gives us a look at a vital moment in history,Reading this book took me back in time to pre world war two Berlin. It was truly an enjoyable trip. I felt i could relate to some of the stories. It really gives you a glimpse into the past. I look forward to reading more books by Kurt Tucholsky

[Xoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you look at the parallels between what was happening in Germany then, and what is happening in the USA now, this book is terrifying. Insightful, funny, full of pathos, but terrifying. We are on the same path, is there a way to stop it?

[Edward Champion · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you ever wondered what sort of punkasses and rabblerousers the Weimar Republic newspapers published, well then Kurt Tucholsky is your man. He's almost the Max Beerbohm of the Weimar Republic. This poor dude, who wrote under four different pseudonyms (my favorite is Peter Panter, who serves as a gloomy alter ego for Tucholsky), served up a one man factory of goofy poems, bawdy "reporting," dubious profiles, observations on cabaret singers and the strange protocol of German business deals, and so much more. He was just the right guy to read as I contemplate the slightly possible horrors of another Trump Presidency and just how I could have to adjust to be even more of an exuberant antiauthoritarian loudmouth. Tuholsky has the distinction of being one of the first writers who the Nazis considered "dangerous." But like the best provocateurs, he comes to us with a great deal of impish vivacity and pranksterism. One ponders what sort of writer Tucholsky would have transformed into if the Weimar Republic had not been kiboshed by an Austrian megalomaniac. There are so many artists and writers who weren't able to survive once the Nazis came to power. And sadly it was all too much for Tucholsky, who committed suicide at the age of forty-five. Another vital voice cut down by fascism. But also another reminder to keep throwing Molotovs and fight the good fight.

[Jeff Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 1920’s and 30’s were a fascinating time, and Berlin was certainly a hub of much activity; artistically, socially and politically it was all happening…

Kurt Tucholsky is a name I have come across many times, but had never actually read his work, so this opportunity was happily taken. The book is well presented, with an interesting Forward and Introduction and the selection gives a wide taste of his work, although not all of it did I find that interesting and is probably more for the dedicated, rather than the casual reader.

‘White Spots’, ‘Lion on the Loose!’ and ‘Berliner on Vacation’ I enjoyed, but ‘Brief Outline of the National Economy’, ‘Rohm’ were the ones that will likely stay with me the longest.

Editorial point – whilst the contents are there, the page numbering and order of articles s presented in ‘Contents’ is wrong and needs an edit…

[Kirstjen · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an American, even one who is a longtime student of 20th century German history, this book is a tough read. I need an explainer for just about every essay.

[Rob Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming and urbane, Tucholsky well deserves a visit by contemporary Anglophone readers, for two reasons. For those with an interest in Weimar Berlin, he's the preeminent journalist who documented the sociological and political scene with a gimlet eye and a strong undercurrent of social critique. Along with Isherwood he's one of those primary sources that makes that fascinating and ominous scene palpable, with healthy doses of acerbic humor. That much I'd hoped for, and was duly rewarded. What surprised me and elevated this to more than just an historical snapshot were the eerie correspondences that one can't help but feel with our current social and political scene in the United States while reading his essays. Taken out of their context many of Tucholsky's observations on 'group think', political obliviousness, economic disenfranchisement and their repercussions could easily be applied to our currently farcical and ominous public life in the US in 2016. Knowing the outcome in 1930s Germany can only send a shiver down the reader's spine, reemphasizing those 'quo vadis?' forebodings many of us feel now.

While quite famous in his day in Germany, and though likely familiar by name to those who've read any Weimar Berlin history, Kurt Tucholsky has never been translated into English until this 2013 edition. As the introductory essays (rather repetitively) explain, his works from the 1920s and early 30s now seem more timely then ever. There's even a plea for gay rights in defense of SA leader Ernst Röhm, of all people (!) from 1932, which I can't imagine running in any American newspaper until perhaps 50 or 60 years later. Tragically forced to flee Germany by the ascendant Nazis, this gifted journalist ended up taking his own life in Sweden in 1935. He deserves to be read, remembered, and hopefully heeded.

[RYD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kurt Tucholsky is a forgotten (at least in America) writer of the Weimer Republic, who like many German intellectuals died in despair abroad amid the rise of Hitler and the Nazis and the collapse of European democracy.

I enjoyed this collection of Tucholsky's journalism, though no doubt many of its cultural references passed me by without a blink. Even so, I found the pieces insightful and often very funny.

One of my favorite openings for a column, from "Three Generations:"

"Speaking of prostitutes, one of the first and oldest kinds has all but disappeared."

[Peter Edelman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Between the references and the translation a lot must be lost. It didn't seem to have the bite it advertises, at least not in more than a few of the pieces.