Rudolf Pannwitz Explained

Rudolf Pannwitz (27 May 1881 in Crossen/Oder, Province of Brandenburg, Prussia – 23 March 1969 in Astano, Ticino, Switzerland) was a German writer, poet and philosopher. His thought combined nature philosophy, Nietzsche, an opposition to nihilism and pan-European internationalism:

Life

Pannwitz was educated at the University of Marburg before moving to Berlin to continue studying. Through Gertrud Kantorowicz, a cousin of Ernst Kantorowicz and friend of Georg Simmel, he was introduced to Sabine Lepsius and the poetry of Stefan George. Pannwitz's poem 'Das Totengedicht' [The Poem of the Dead] was published in George's literary magazine, Blätter für die Kunst. George and Nietzsche were lasting influences upon Pannwitz.^[1] In 1904 Pannwitz cofounded the periodical Charon with Otto zur Linde, co-editing it until 1906. His 1917 book The Crisis of European Culture impressed Hugo von Hofmannsthal, though Hofmannsthal later distanced himself from Pannwitz.^[2]

From 1921 to 1948 Pannwitz lived on the small island of Koločep. In 1968 he received the Gryphius Prize.^[3]

Works

Prose

• Die Erziehung, 1909
• Formenkunde der Kirche, 1912
• Die Krisis der europäischen Kultur, 1917
• Die deutsche Lehre, 1919
• Grundriß einer Geschichte meiner Kultur 1886 bis 1906, 1921
• Kosmos Atheos, 1926
• Die Freiheit der Menschen, 1926
• Logos, Eidos, Bios, 1930
• Der Ursprung und das Wesen der Geschlechter, 1936
• Nietzsche und die Verwandlung des Menschen, 1940
• Weg des Menschen, 1942
• Das Weltalter und die Politik, 1948
• Der Nihilismus und die werdende Welt, 1951
• Nach Siebzig Jahren, 1951
• Beiträge zu einer europäischen Kultur, 1954

Poetry

• Prometheus, 1902
• Dionysische Tragödien, 1913
• Mythen, 1919-1921, In 9 Parts, including Das Kind Aion, Der Elf, Das Lied vom Ehlen, Faustus und Helena, Der Gott, and Logos.
• Urblick, 1926
• Hymnen aus Widars Wiederkehr, 1927
• König Laurin, 1956
• Wasser wird sich ballen, 1963

Further reading

• Alessandro Gamba, Mondo disponibile e mondo prodotto. Rudolf Pannwitz filosofo, Vita e Pensiero, Milano 2007.

Notes and References

1. Pannwitz, Was ich Nietzsche und George danke, 1989
2. Raymond Furness, Zarathustra's children: a study of a lost generation of German writers, pp.17ff.
3. 'Pannwitz, Rudolf', in The Oxford Companion to German Literature, ed. Henry & Mary Garland, 3rd ed., 1997, pp.646-7