Table Of ContentSabine Hake
The Proletarian Dream
Interdisciplinary German
Cultural Studies
Edited by
Irene Kacandes
Volume 23
Sabine Hake
The Proletarian Dream
Socialism, Culture, and Emotion in Germany,
1863–1933
ISBN 978-3-11-054936-2
e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-055086-3
e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-055020-7
ISSN 1861-8030
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress.
Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie;
detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de.
© 2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Cover image: Hans Schmitz, Die Masse/The Mass (1923). Part of a series of nine signed linocuts
published by Werner Kunze (Berlin) in 1972. With permission of Collection Merrill C. Berman.
Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck
♾ Printed on acid-free paper
Printed in Germany
www.degruyter.com
Contents
Acknowledgements VII
Abbreviations IX
List of Illustrations XI
Introduction 1
Part One:Imperial Germany
Chapter . The Threatof the Proletariat and the Discourse of the
Masses 33
Chapter . Proletarian Dreams: From Marx to Marxism 49
Chapter . Emotional Socialism and Sentimental Masculinity 64
Chapter . On Workers Singing in One Voice 84
Chapter . The Proletarian Prometheus and Socialist Allegory 100
Chapter . Ferdinand Lassalle, the First Socialist Celebrity 120
Chapter . Re/Writing Workers’ Emotions 138
Chapter . The Socialist Project of Cultureand Education 155
Part Two:Weimar Republic
Chapter . Revolutionary Fantasy and Proletarian Masculinity 177
Chapter . The Revolutionary Fantasy Revisited 193
Chapter . Franz Wilhelm Seiwert’s Critical Empathy 205
VI Contents
Chapter . Social Democracy and the Performance of Community 222
Chapter . Taking a Stand: The Habitus of Agitprop 238
Chapter . Marxist Literary Theory and Communist Militant Culture 255
Chapter . The Emotional Education of the Proletarian Child 270
Chapter . Wilhelm Reich and the Politics of Proletarian Sexuality 288
Chapter . John Heartfield’s Productive Rage 301
Chapter . Kuhle Wampe and “Those Who Don’t Like It” 319
Afterword: A Historiography of the Proletarian Dream 334
Select Bibliography 357
Index 362
Acknowledgements
Thistwo-volumebookprojectcouldnothavebeenconceivedwithoutthegener-
ous institutional support provided by my home institution, the University of
TexasatAustin.BecauseoftheTexasChairEndowment,Iwasabletoundertake
severalsummerresearchtripstoarchivesinEurope,includingtheInternational
Institute of Social History in Amsterdam,the Deutsches Literaturarchiv in Mar-
bach, and the German National Library in Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig. A
2012 DAAD Faculty Research Visit Award allowed me to complete archival re-
search in Berlin, including in the Staatsbibliothek and Kunstbibliothek. The
last year of support through a 2011–13 Humanities Research Award paid for a
research assistant. A Faculty Research Assignment in Spring 2014 gave me
much-needed release time for writing up my initial findings. Throughout the
years I benefitted tremendously from the vast holdings of the Perry-Castañeda
Library and the remarkable resourcefulness of its interlibrary loan staff. Agen-
erous book subvention grant from the Office of the President of The University
of Texas at Austin paid for all illustration-related expenses. Last but certainly
not least,because of a 2015–16 EURIAS-Marie Curie Fellowship at the Freiburg
Institute for Advanced Study (FRIAS), Iwas able tofinish the manuscript in re-
cordtime;myspecialthankstotheFRIASdirectorandstaffforanunforgettable
year.
Duringthefiveyearsofworkingonthisbook,Ihavebenefittedenormously
fromthefeedbackofcolleaguesacrossthedisciplines.ChristinaSchrörandBe-
noît Dillet were spirited interlocutors during the Freiburg year. For some time
now,themembersofmyfaculty-writinggroupatUT,TracieMatysik,JudyCoffin,
BenBrower,andYoavDi-Capua,havebeenasupportiveintellectualcommunity
andprovidedinsightfulcommentsandusefulsuggestions.MycolleagueinGer-
manicStudies,KitBelgum,sharedherexpertiseinnineteenthcenturyliterature.
BarbaraMcCloskeyoftheUniversityofPittsburghreadtheentiremanuscriptand
offeredencouragingfeedback.InvitedlecturesatVanderbiltUniversity,theUni-
versityofMiami,theUniversityofWisconsinatMadison,TexasA&MUniversity,
and the Free University of Berlin allowed me to present versions of individual
chapters and to benefit from discussions with students and colleagues. Mean-
while,Ifoundnewintellectualcommunitiesattheannualconferencesassociat-
edwiththejournalHistoricalMaterialismandtheEmotionStudiesandGerman
Socialisms Networks of the German Studies Association.
In preparing the manuscript, I have been competently assisted by Karin
Maxey who translated the quotations from workers’ poems and socialist plays
into readable English and by Amanda Frost who completed a first round of
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110550863-001
VIII Acknowledgements
copy-editing. Marisol Bayona Roman checked the bibliographical references
prior to submission and saved me from many embarrassments. Academic pub-
lishing is known for its glacial pace; De Gruyter managed to publish the book
in eight short months after initial manuscript submission. The enthusiasm of
IreneKacandes,theeditoroftheInterdisciplinaryGermanCulturalStudiesseries
at De Gruyter, and the professionalism of its editorial staff, including Manuela
Gerlof,StellaDiedrichandOlenaGainulina,madetheexperiencebothmeaning-
ful and enjoyable; my heartfelt thanks to the two anonymous external readers.
AsInowreturntothearchivesforprimaryresearchonthesecondvolume,ten-
tativelytitledTheWorkers’States,Iwanttoexpressmyloveandfriendshiptoall
those near and far who have been part of this mysterious journey called life,
work, and politics;you know who you are.
Abbreviations
AIZ ArbeiterIllustrierteZeitung(Workers’IllustratedNewspaper)
AAUE AllgemeineArbeiter-Union(GeneralWorkers’Union)
ADAV AllgemeinerDeutscherArbeiterverein(GeneralGermanWorkers’Association)
ADGB AllgemeinerDeutscherGewerkschaftsbund(GeneralGermanTradeUnionFederation)
ASSO AssoziationrevolutionärerbildenderKünstlerDeutschlands(AssociationofRevolu-
tionaryVisualArtistsofGermany)
ATB Arbeiter-Turnerbund(Workers’GymnasticsAssociation)
ATBD Arbeiter-TheaterbundDeutschlands(Workers’TheaterLeagueofGermany)
ATSB Arbeiter-Turn-undSportbund(Workers’GymnasticsandSportsAssociation)
AWO Arbeiterwohlfahrt(Workers’WelfareInstitution)
BPRS Bundproletarisch-revolutionärerSchriftsteller(AssociationofProletarian-Revolution-
aryWriters)
DAS DeutscherArbeiter-Sängerbund(GermanWorkers’ChoralAssociation)
DKP DeutscheKommunistischePartei(GermanCommunistParty)
DSB DeutscherSängerbund(GermanChoralAssociation)
FRG FederalRepublicofGermany(BundesrepublikDeutschland)
GDR GermanDemocraticRepublic(DeutscheDemokratischeRepublik)
IAH InternationaleArbeiterhilfe(InternationalWorkers’Aid)
IATB InternationalerArbeitertheaterbund(InternationalWorkers’TheaterAssociation)
IfA InteressengemeinschaftfürArbeiterkultur(SyndicateforWorkers’Culture)
KAPD KommunistischeArbeiter-ParteiDeutschlands(CommunistWorkers’PartyofGerma-
ny)
KdAS KampfgemeinschaftderArbeitersänger(FightingLeagueofWorkers’Singers)
KG KampfgemeinschaftfürRoteSporteinheit(FightingLeagueforRedSport)
KJI KommunistischeJugendinternationale(CommunistYouthInternational)
KJD KommunistischeJugendDeutschlands(CommunistYouthofGermany)
KJVD KommunistischerJugendverbandDeutschlands(CommunistYouthAssociationofGer-
many)
KPÖ KommunistischeParteiÖsterreichs(CommunistPartyofAustria)
KPD KommunistischeParteiDeutschlands(CommunistPartyofGermany)
NSDAP NationalsozialistischeArbeiterpartei(NationalSocialistWorkers’Party)
RAG ReichsarbeitsgemeinschaftderKinderfreude(NationalWorkingGroupfortheFriends
ofChildren)
RFB RoterFrontkämpferbund(RedFrontFighters’League)
RGO RevolutionäreGewerkschafts-Opposition(RevolutionaryUnionOpposition)
SAJ SozialistischeArbeiterjugendDeutschlands(SocialistWorkers’YouthofGermany)
SDAP SozialdemokratischeArbeiterparteiDeutschlands(SocialDemocraticWorkers’Party
ofGermany)
SED SozialistischeEinheitsparteiDeutschlands(SocialistUnityPartyofGermany)
SPD SozialdemokratischeParteiDeutschlands(SocialDemocraticPartyofGermany)
SPÖ SozialdemokratischeParteiÖsterreichs(SocialDemocraticPartyofAustria)
USPD UnabhängigeSozialdemokratischeParteiDeutschlands(IndependentSocialDemo-
craticPartyofGermany)
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110550863-002
