Abstract
An analysis of Berthold Auerbach’s Deutscher Volks‐Kalender (1858–69) reveals how Auerbach attempted to participate in and to shape the discourse on national identity. One of the most popular writers of his day, he used his position as editor to carry out a political agenda that advocated German unification. He attempted to unify the diverse strata of society by providing specific ideas and values – above all on German unification and emigration – that would be understood and accepted by the practical as well as the literary reader. Many stories and essays called directly or indirectly for a united Germany. Others dealt with the hot topic of America during the Civil War as a means to encourage Germans to remain in Germany. Auerbach routinely engaged like‐minded contributors from the fields of politics, science, sociology, and the arts to create a multidisciplinary forum on nationhood. By employing images of family, friendship, and the organic and also by conjuring up a common literary tradition in Friedrich Schiller, Auerbach projected his concept of nation onto a popular form of mass culture – the calendar.
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