The Place of German Modernism

Abstract

This article focuses on German modernism. It traces the growth of German nationalism within the larger context of European nationalism. The question pulls in two directions. First, it points toward the problem of how German modernism ought to be situated in literary and art history. No doubt the simplest, most efficient answer is that German modernism finds its place within the larger setting of European modernism. The larger European context can shed light on the specificities of the German situation, and perhaps the details of German modernism may sharpen our sense of certain aspects of European modernism. The war was catastrophic in itself for all participants, but all the more so in Germany. This article carefully explains the contribution of authors and philosophers such as Franz Kafka and Sigmund Freud towards the development of German nationalism. An inquiry into realism winds up this article.