Rene Schickele and Alsace: Cultural Identity between the Borders

308 Pages·2011·2.145 MB·English

by  Aine McGillicuddy

René Schickele and Alsace
Cultural Identity between the Borders
Áine McGillicuddy
C I S
11
Cultural Identity Studies
Peter Lang
Born into a German-French bilingual environment, the once renowned
German-language author René Schickele (1883–1940) grew up in the
Alsace region − today located in eastern France − during its annexation to
the German Empire when links to French culture were frowned upon. In the
aftermath of the First World War the situation was reversed when Alsace was
reclaimed by the French Republic. In both these phases of its troubled history,
Schickele insisted on the importance of Alsace’s right to retain its double
cultural heritage between the borders of its powerful rival neighbours and on
its potential, as mediator between France and Germany, to promote peace
in Europe. These issues are addressed in a critical discussion of a range of
Schickele’s works. His controversial wartime drama Hans im Schnakenloch
affords a wry but penetrating insight into issues of identity in Alsace under
German rule up to the war, while his socio-political essays and a novel trilogy,
Das Erbe am Rhein, were written against the backdrop of the malaise alsacien
and life under French rule. The historical background to the work is examined
in detail as it is intimately bound up with the issues of cultural identity that
Schickele explores in his writings.
Áine McGillicuddy is a lecturer in German Studies in the School of Applied
Language and Intercultural Studies, Dublin City University.
www.peterlang.com
René Schickele and Alsace
Cultural Identity Studies
Volume 11
Edited by
Helen Chambers
PETER LANG
Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Wien
Áine McGillicuddy
René Schickele and Alsace
Cultural Identity between the Borders
PETER LANG
Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Wien
Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche National-
bibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at
http://dnb.d-nb.de.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data:
McGillicuddy, Áine, 1970-
René Schickele and Alsace : cultural identity between the borders / Áine
McGillicuddy.
p. cm. -- (Cultural identity studies ; 11)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-3-0353-0063-5 (alk. paper)
1. Schickele, René, 1883-1940--Criticism and interpretation. 2. Identity
(Psychology)--Cross-cultural studies. 3. German literature--France--Alsace--
History and criticism. 4. Alsace (France)--In literature. I. Title.
PT2638.I22Z778 2010
838’.91209--dc22
2010042494
ISSN 1661-3252
ISBN 978-3-0353-0063-5
© Peter Lang AG, International Academic Publishers, Bern 2011
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Printed in Germany
For Tim and Anna

Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
Chapter 1
Questions of Nationhood and Cultural Identity in France,
Germany and Alsace (1870–1914) 15
Chapter 2
The Wartime Drama Hans im Schnakenloch 63
Chapter 3
Alsace between the Wars – Politics and Cultural Identity 141
Chapter 4
Schickele and Inter-War Alsace – Selected Essays and the
Novel Trilogy Das Erbe am Rhein 187
Conclusion 261
Bibliography 265
Index 285