Hanns Heinz Ewers  

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-'''Hanns Heinz Ewers''' ([[November 3]], [[1871]], [[Düsseldorf]] - [[June 12]], [[1943]], [[Berlin]]) was a [[German actor]], [[poet]], [[philosopher]], and [[writer]] of short stories, novels and [[script]]s. While he wrote on a wide range of subjects, he is today known chiefly for his works of [[horror]], particularly his trilogy of novels centered around the adventures of [[Frank Braun]], a character modeled not too loosely on himself. The best known of these is ''[[Alraune]]''. In the film world, he is best-known for writing ''[[The Student of Prague (1913 film)|The Student of Prague]]''. 
-==Career==+'''Hanns Heinz Ewers''' (3 November 1871 – 12 June 1943) was a German actor, poet, philosopher, and writer of short stories and novels. While he wrote on a wide range of subjects, he is now known mainly for his works of horror, particularly his trilogy of novels about the adventures of Frank Braun, a character modeled on himself. The best known of these is ''[[Alraune]]'' (1911).
-Ewers's literary career began with a volume of satiric verse, entitled ''A Book of Fables'', published in [[1901]]. That same year he collaborated with [[Ernst von Wolzogen]] in forming a literary vaudeville theatre before forming his own such company, which toured [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Eastern Europe]] before the operating expenses and constant interference from censors forced him to abandon the enterprise. A world traveller, Ewers was in [[South America]] at the outbreak of [[World War I]], and relocated to New York City, where he continued to write and publish. +
-After the United States entered the war he was arrested in 1918 as an “active propagandist,” although the US government, as well as British and French intelligence agencies asserted that Ewers was a German agent. They pointed to his travels to Spain in 1915 and 1916, both under an alias using a falsified Swiss passport. As a Germen national he was sent to the internment camp at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Ewers was never tried as a German agent in the United States, so after the war he was released from the internment camp and returned to his native [[Germany]].+== Career ==
 +Born in [[Düsseldorf]], Ewers started to write poetry when he was 17 years old. His first noticed poem was an obituary tribute to the German Emperor [[Frederick III, German Emperor|Frederick III]].
-Ewers's first novel, ''[[The Sorcerer's Apprentice|Der Zauberlehrling (The Sorcerer's Apprentice)]]'', was published in [[1910]], with an English translation appearing in America in [[1927]]. It introduces the character of Frank Braun, who, like Ewers, is a writer, historian, philosopher, and world traveller with a decidedly [[Nietzsche]]an morality. The story concerns Braun's attempts to manipulate a small cult of evangelical Christians in a small Italian mountain village for his own financial gain, and the horrific results which ensue.+Ewers earned his [[Abitur]] in March 1891. He then volunteered for the military and joined the ''Kaiser-Alexander-Gardegrenadier-Regiment No. 1'', but was dismissed 44 days later because of [[myopia]].
-This was followed in [[1911]] by ''Alraune'', a reworking of the [[Frankenstein]] myth, in which Braun collaborates in creating a female [[homunculus]] or [[android]] by impregnating a prostitute with the semen from a hanged murderer. The result is a young woman with no moral center, who commits numerous monstrous acts. The novel was filmed several times, most recently by [[Erich von Stroheim]] in [[1952]].+Ewers's literary career began with a volume of satiric verse, entitled ''A Book of Fables'', published in 1901. That same year, he collaborated with [[Ernst von Wolzogen]] in forming a literary vaudeville theatre before forming his own such company, which toured [[Central Europe|Central]] and Eastern Europe before the operating expenses and constant interference from censors caused him to abandon the enterprise. A world traveler, Ewers was in South America at the beginning of [[World War I]], and relocated to New York City, where he continued to write and publish.
-The third novel in the sequence, ''[[Vampyr (novel)|Vampyr]]'', written in [[1921]], concerns Braun's own eventual transformation into one of these [[vampire| blood-drinking creatures]]. Another novel, ''[[Der Geisterseher]]'', was published in [[1922]].+Ewers' reputation as a successful German author and performer made him a natural speaker for the Imperial German cause to keep the United States from joining the war as an ally of Britain. Ewers toured cities with large [[German Americans|ethnic German communities]] and raised funds for the [[German Red Cross]].
-Ewers also wrote several plays, poems, fairy tales, opera librettos, and critical essays. These included ''Die Ameisen'', translated into English as ''[[The Ant People]]'', ''Indien und ich'', a travelogue of his time in [[India]], and a [[1916]] critical essay on [[Edgar Allan Poe]], to whom he has often been compared. Indeed, Ewers is still considered by many a major figure in the evolution of the [[Horror fiction|horror literary genre]], cited as a major influence by no less than [[H. P. Lovecraft]]. Students of the occult are also attracted to his works, due to his longtime friendship and correspondence with [[Aleister Crowley]].+During this period, he was involved with the "[[Stegler Affair]]". American shipping companies sympathetic to the fight against Imperial Germany reportedly aided the British in identifying German-descended passengers traveling to Germany to volunteer for the Kaiser's army. Many were arrested and interned in prison camps by the [[Royal Navy|British Navy]]; eventually, German volunteers often required false passports to reach Europe unmolested. Ewers was implicated as a German agent by one of these ethnic Germans, [[Richard Stegler]].
-===Movie work===+After the United States joined the war, he was arrested in 1918 as an "active propagandist," as the US government, as well as British and French intelligence agencies asserted that Ewers was a German agent. They evidenced his travels to Spain during 1915 and 1916, both with an alias using a falsified Swiss passport. Later, a travel report in the archives of the [[German Foreign Office]] was discovered indicating that he may have been traveling to [[Mexico]], perhaps to encourage [[Pancho Villa]] to hamper the U.S. military by an attack on the United States.
-Ewers was one of the first critics to recognize film as a legitimate artform, and wrote the scripts for numerous early classics of the medium, most notably ''[[The Student of Prague]] ([[1913]])'', a reworking of the [[Faust]] legend which also included the first portrayal of a double role by an actor on the screen.+
-==Nazi involvement==+Ewers is associated with the pro-German [[George Sylvester Viereck]], son of the German immigrant and reported illegitimate [[Hohenzollern]] offspring [[Louis Sylvester Viereck]] (a [[SPD|Social Democrat]] famous for sharing a prison cell with [[August Bebel]]), who was a member of the same Berlin student corps (fraternity) as Ewers.
-During the declining years of the [[Weimar Republic]], Ewers became involved with the burgeoning [[Nazi Party]], attracted to its [[Nationalism]], its alleged Nietzschean moral philosophy, and its cult worship of [[Teutonic]] culture, although he never officially joined its ranks. He did not agree with the party's [[anti-Semitism]] (his character Frank Braun has a Jewish mistress, Lotte Levi, who is also a patriotic German) and this plus his [[homosexual]] tendencies quickly led to his falling out of favor with the party leadership. In [[1934]] most of his works were banned in Germany, and his assets and property seized. Ewers eventually died in poverty from [[tuberculosis]].+ 
 +Ewers' activities as an "Enemy Alien" in New York were documented by [[J. Christoph Amberger]] in the German historical journal ''Einst & Jetzt'' (1991). Amberger indicates arrival records which demonstrate that Ewers entered the United States in the company of a "Grethe Ewers," who is identified as his wife. [[Enemy Alien Office]] records refer to a recent divorce. The identity of this otherwise undocumented wife has never been established and is missing from most biographies.
 + 
 +As a German national he was sent to the internment camp at [[Fort Oglethorpe (prisoner-of-war camp)|Fort Oglethorpe]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. Ewers was never tried as a German agent in the United States. In 1921, he was released from the internment camp and returned to his native Germany.
 + 
 +Ewers's first novel, ''Der Zauberlehrling ([[The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1910 novel)|The Sorcerer's Apprentice]])'', was published in 1910, with an English translation published in America in 1927. It introduces the character of Frank Braun, who, like Ewers, is a writer, historian, philosopher, and world traveler with a decidedly [[Nietzsche]]an morality. The story concerns Braun's attempts to influence a small cult of [[Evangelical Christians]] in a small Italian mountain village for his own financial gain, and the horrific results which ensue.
 + 
 +This was followed in 1911 by ''[[Alraune]]'', a reworking of the [[Frankenstein]] myth, in which Braun collaborates in creating a female [[homunculus]] or [[Android (robot)|android]] by impregnating a prostitute with the semen from an executed murderer. The result is a young woman without morals, who commits numerous monstrous acts. ''Alraune'' was influenced by the ideas of the [[eugenics]] movement, especially the book ''[[Degeneration (Max Nordau)|Degeneration]]'' by [[Max Nordau]]. ''Alraune'' has been generally well received by historians of the horror genre; Mary Ellen Snodgrass describes ''Alraune'' as "Ewers' decadent masterwork", [[Brian Stableford]] argues ''Alraune'' "deserves recognition as the most extreme of all "femme fatale" stories" and E.F. Bleiler states the scenes in ''Alraune'' set in the Berlin underworld as among the best parts of the novel. The novel was filmed several times, most recently in a [[Alraune (1952 film)|German version]] with [[Erich von Stroheim]] in 1952.
 + 
 +Bleiler notes "Both ''Alraune'' and ''The Sorcerer's Apprentice'' are remarkable for the emotion the author can arouse" and that Ewers' writing is, at its best, "very effective". However, Bleiler also argues Ewers' work is marred by "annoying pretentiousness, vulgarity, and a very obtrusive and unpleasant author's personality".
 + 
 +The third novel of the sequence, ''[[Vampyr (novel)|Vampyr]]'', written in 1921, concerns Braun's own eventual transformation into a [[vampire]], drinking the blood of his Jewish mistress.
 + 
 +Another novel, ''[[The Ghost-Seer|Der Geisterseher]]'' (The Ghost-Seer), Ewers' completion of the [[Friedrich Schiller]] novel, was published in 1922; Ewers' version was received badly.
 + 
 +Ewers also wrote the novel ''[[Riders in the German Night|Reiter in deutscher Nacht]]'' (Riders in the German Night) published in 1932.
 + 
 +Ewers wrote numerous short stories, those in ''Nachtmahr'' ("Nightmare") largely concern "pornography, blood sport, torture
 +and execution". Stories translated into English include the often anthologised "The Spider" (1915), a tale of [[black magic]] based on the story "The Invisible Eye" by [[Erckmann-Chatrian]]; "Blood", about knife fights to the death; and "The Execution of Damiens", a story about the execution of the 18th-century French criminal [[Robert-François Damiens]] that achieved some notoriety for its violence.
 + 
 +Ewers also published several plays, poems, fairy tales, opera librettos, and critical essays. These included ''Die Ameisen'', translated into English as ''[[The Ant People]]'', ''Indien und ich'', a travelogue of his time in India, and a 1916 critical essay on [[Edgar Allan Poe]], to whom he has often been compared. Indeed, Ewers is still considered by some as a major author in the evolution of the [[Horror fiction|horror literary genre]], cited as an influence by American horror writers such as [[H. P. Lovecraft]] and
 + 
 +[[Guy Endore]]. Students of the occult are also attracted to his works, due to his longtime friendship and correspondence with [[Aleister Crowley]]. Ewers also translated several French writers into German, including [[Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam|Villiers de l'Isle-Adam]].
 + 
 +Ewers also edited the eight-volume ''Galerie der Phantasten'' anthologies of [[horror fiction|horror]] and [[fantasy]] literature,
 +featuring work by [[Poe]], [[E. T. A. Hoffmann]], [[Oskar Panizza]], [[Honoré de Balzac]], [[Alfred Kubin]], Ewers'
 +friend [[Karl Hans Strobl]], [[Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer]] and Ewers himself.
 + 
 +During the time Ewers was writing his major horror stories, he was also giving lectures (between 1910 and 1925) on the topic ''Die Religion des Satan'' (''The Religion of Satan''), inspired by [[Stanisław Przybyszewski]]'s 1897 German book ''Die Synagoge des Satan'' (''The [[Synagogue of Satan]]'').
 + 
 +He died on June 12, 1943 in his [[Berlin]] apartment. His ashes were buried on October 15 of the same year in the Düsseldorf North Cemetery (Nordfriedhof, Field Nr. 78, 55235-WE).
 + 
 +== Movie work ==
 +Ewers was one of the first critics to recognize cinema as a legitimate art form, and wrote the scripts for numerous early examples of the medium, most notably ''[[The Student of Prague (1913 film)|The Student of Prague]]'' (1913), a reworking of the [[Faust]] legend which also included the first portrayal of a [[double role]] by an actor on the screen.
 + 
 +Nazi martyr [[Horst Wessel]], then a member of the same corps (student fraternity) of which Ewers had been a member, acts as an extra in [[The Student of Prague (1926 film)|a 1926 version of the movie]], also written by Ewers. Ewers was later commissioned by Adolf Hitler to write a biography of Wessel (''Einer von vielen''), which also was made into a movie.
 + 
 +== Nazi involvement ==
 +During the last years of the [[Weimar Republic]], Ewers became involved with the burgeoning [[Nazi Party]], attracted by its nationalism, its [[Influence and reception of Friedrich Nietzsche|Nietzschean]] moral philosophy, and its cult of [[Teutons|Teutonic]] culture, and joined the [[NSDAP]] in 1931. He did not agree with the party's [[anti-Semitism]] (his character Frank Braun has a Jewish mistress, Lotte Levi, who is also a patriotic German) and this and his homosexual tendencies soon ended his welcome with party leaders. In 1934 most of his works were banned in Germany, and his assets and property seized.<ref name="oxford" /> [[Alfred Rosenberg]] was his main adversary in the party, but after submitting many petitions Ewers eventually secured the rescission of the ban. His last book ''Die schönsten Hände der Welt'' ("The most beautiful hands in the world") was published by the Zinnen Verlag (Munich, Vienna, Leipzig) in 1943. Ewers died from [[tuberculosis]] in the same year.
 + 
 +Despite his great influence on 20th century [[fantasy]] and horror literature, Ewers remains out of favor in bourgeois literary circles (especially in the English-speaking world and Germany)<ref name="bs" /> because of his association with the Nazis.<ref name="efb" /> As a result, post-[[World War II]] editions of his works are often difficult to find, and earlier editions can command a premium price from collectors.
 + 
 +== Twenty-first-century translations ==
 +In March 2009, Side Real Press issued an English language collection of short stories including some newly translated material. This was followed by a new uncensored translation of ''Alraune'' translated by Joe Bandel which sold out after one year. The Alraune Centennial Edition by Bandel Books Online was released in March 2011. The centennial edition translated by Joe Bandel contains an essay by Dr. Wilfried Kugel, noted Ewers biographer.
 + 
 +"Sorcerer's Apprentice", The First Volume in the Frank Braun trilogy was translated by Joe Bandel and published by Bandel Books Online in September 2012. This is the first uncensored English translation of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". It includes an Introduction by Dr. Wilfried Kugel; the poems, "Prometheus" by Goethe, and "Hymn to Satan" by Carducci; "The Satanism of Hanns Heinz Ewers", "Duality-The Male", "Duality-The Female", and "Duality-Sexual Alchemy" by Joe Bandel and the complete text of "Synagogue of Satan" by [[Stanisław Przybyszewski]] also translated by Joe Bandel.
 + 
 +In 2016 [[The Ajna Offensive|Ajna Offensive]] published [[Markus Wolff]]'s English translation of Ewers' 1922 novel ''Die Herzen der Könige'' (The Hearts of Kings).<ref>Ewers, H. H., [http://www.theajnaoffensive.com/collections/ajna/products/the-hearts-of-kings ''The Hearts of Kings''] ([[Jacksonville, Oregon]]: Ajna Offensive, 2016).</ref>
 + 
 +==In popular culture==
 +Ewers appears in [[Kim Newman]]'s novel ''[[The Bloody Red Baron]]'', as a predatory [[vampire]] who travels briefly with Edgar Allan Poe.
 + 
 +==Notes==
 +{{Portal|Biography|Germany|LGBT|Poetry}}
 +{{Reflist}}
 + 
 +==External links==
 +*{{Gutenberg author | id=Ewers,+Hanns+Heinz | name=Hanns Heinz Ewers}}
 +*{{Internet Archive author |sname=Hanns Heinz Ewers}}
 +*{{Librivox author|id=8332}}
 +*[http://www.librarything.com/author/ewershannsheinz A Hanns Heinz Ewers Library listing ]
 +*[http://ewersalraune.wordpress.com/ Alraune Blog ]
 +*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090305114155/http://anarchistbanjo.wordpress.com/ Vampire Blog ]
 +*[http://hannsheinzewers.wordpress.com/ Hanns Heinz Ewers Blog ]
 +*[http://www.hanns-heinz-ewers.com/ Hanns Heinz Ewers Online ]
 +*{{IMDb name|263912|Hanns Heinz Ewers}}
 +*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040909210128/http://homepages.pavilion.co.uk/users/tartarus/e9.htm Supernatural Fiction Database ]
 +*[http://hdl.handle.net/1802/2944 Die toten Augen] an opera with music by Eugen d'Albert and poetry by Ewers; Vocal Score from Sibley Music Library Digital Scores Collection
 +*[https://tapastic.com/episode/497435 Comic "The Spider"]
 +{{Authority control}}
 + 
 +{{DEFAULTSORT:Ewers, Hanns Heinz}}
 +[[Category:1871 births]]
 +[[Category:1943 deaths]]
 +[[Category:20th-century German novelists]]
 +[[Category:20th-century German short story writers]]
 +[[Category:German gay writers]]
 +[[Category:German erotica writers]]
 +[[Category:German fantasy writers]]
 +[[Category:German horror writers]]
 +[[Category:German male novelists]]
 +[[Category:German male poets]]
 +[[Category:German male short story writers]]
 +[[Category:German short story writers]]
 +[[Category:German male stage actors]]
 +[[Category:German National People's Party politicians]]
 +[[Category:German nationalists]]
 +[[Category:German poets]]
 +[[Category:LGBT people in the Nazi Party]]
 +[[Category:LGBT poets from Germany]]
 +[[Category:Writers from Düsseldorf]]
 +[[Category:People from the Rhine Province]]
 +[[Category:20th-century German male writers]]
 +[[Category:20th-century deaths from tuberculosis]]
 +[[Category:Tuberculosis deaths in Germany]]
 +[[Category:19th-century German military personnel]]
-Despite his enormous influence on 20th century [[Fantasy| fantasy]] and horror literature, Ewers remains out of favor in many literary circles because of his brief association with the Nazis. As a result, post-[[World War II]] editions of his works are often difficult to find, and earlier editions can command a premium price from collectors. 
-==Trivia== 
-Ewers appears in [[Kim Newman]]'s novel ''[[Anno Dracula]]'', as a predatory [[vampire]] who travels briefly with Edgar Allan Poe. 

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Hanns Heinz Ewers (3 November 1871 – 12 June 1943) was a German actor, poet, philosopher, and writer of short stories and novels. While he wrote on a wide range of subjects, he is now known mainly for his works of horror, particularly his trilogy of novels about the adventures of Frank Braun, a character modeled on himself. The best known of these is Alraune (1911).

Contents

Career

Born in Düsseldorf, Ewers started to write poetry when he was 17 years old. His first noticed poem was an obituary tribute to the German Emperor Frederick III.

Ewers earned his Abitur in March 1891. He then volunteered for the military and joined the Kaiser-Alexander-Gardegrenadier-Regiment No. 1, but was dismissed 44 days later because of myopia.

Ewers's literary career began with a volume of satiric verse, entitled A Book of Fables, published in 1901. That same year, he collaborated with Ernst von Wolzogen in forming a literary vaudeville theatre before forming his own such company, which toured Central and Eastern Europe before the operating expenses and constant interference from censors caused him to abandon the enterprise. A world traveler, Ewers was in South America at the beginning of World War I, and relocated to New York City, where he continued to write and publish.

Ewers' reputation as a successful German author and performer made him a natural speaker for the Imperial German cause to keep the United States from joining the war as an ally of Britain. Ewers toured cities with large ethnic German communities and raised funds for the German Red Cross.

During this period, he was involved with the "Stegler Affair". American shipping companies sympathetic to the fight against Imperial Germany reportedly aided the British in identifying German-descended passengers traveling to Germany to volunteer for the Kaiser's army. Many were arrested and interned in prison camps by the British Navy; eventually, German volunteers often required false passports to reach Europe unmolested. Ewers was implicated as a German agent by one of these ethnic Germans, Richard Stegler.

After the United States joined the war, he was arrested in 1918 as an "active propagandist," as the US government, as well as British and French intelligence agencies asserted that Ewers was a German agent. They evidenced his travels to Spain during 1915 and 1916, both with an alias using a falsified Swiss passport. Later, a travel report in the archives of the German Foreign Office was discovered indicating that he may have been traveling to Mexico, perhaps to encourage Pancho Villa to hamper the U.S. military by an attack on the United States.

Ewers is associated with the pro-German George Sylvester Viereck, son of the German immigrant and reported illegitimate Hohenzollern offspring Louis Sylvester Viereck (a Social Democrat famous for sharing a prison cell with August Bebel), who was a member of the same Berlin student corps (fraternity) as Ewers.

Ewers' activities as an "Enemy Alien" in New York were documented by J. Christoph Amberger in the German historical journal Einst & Jetzt (1991). Amberger indicates arrival records which demonstrate that Ewers entered the United States in the company of a "Grethe Ewers," who is identified as his wife. Enemy Alien Office records refer to a recent divorce. The identity of this otherwise undocumented wife has never been established and is missing from most biographies.

As a German national he was sent to the internment camp at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Ewers was never tried as a German agent in the United States. In 1921, he was released from the internment camp and returned to his native Germany.

Ewers's first novel, Der Zauberlehrling (The Sorcerer's Apprentice), was published in 1910, with an English translation published in America in 1927. It introduces the character of Frank Braun, who, like Ewers, is a writer, historian, philosopher, and world traveler with a decidedly Nietzschean morality. The story concerns Braun's attempts to influence a small cult of Evangelical Christians in a small Italian mountain village for his own financial gain, and the horrific results which ensue.

This was followed in 1911 by Alraune, a reworking of the Frankenstein myth, in which Braun collaborates in creating a female homunculus or android by impregnating a prostitute with the semen from an executed murderer. The result is a young woman without morals, who commits numerous monstrous acts. Alraune was influenced by the ideas of the eugenics movement, especially the book Degeneration by Max Nordau. Alraune has been generally well received by historians of the horror genre; Mary Ellen Snodgrass describes Alraune as "Ewers' decadent masterwork", Brian Stableford argues Alraune "deserves recognition as the most extreme of all "femme fatale" stories" and E.F. Bleiler states the scenes in Alraune set in the Berlin underworld as among the best parts of the novel. The novel was filmed several times, most recently in a German version with Erich von Stroheim in 1952.

Bleiler notes "Both Alraune and The Sorcerer's Apprentice are remarkable for the emotion the author can arouse" and that Ewers' writing is, at its best, "very effective". However, Bleiler also argues Ewers' work is marred by "annoying pretentiousness, vulgarity, and a very obtrusive and unpleasant author's personality".

The third novel of the sequence, Vampyr, written in 1921, concerns Braun's own eventual transformation into a vampire, drinking the blood of his Jewish mistress.

Another novel, Der Geisterseher (The Ghost-Seer), Ewers' completion of the Friedrich Schiller novel, was published in 1922; Ewers' version was received badly.

Ewers also wrote the novel Reiter in deutscher Nacht (Riders in the German Night) published in 1932.

Ewers wrote numerous short stories, those in Nachtmahr ("Nightmare") largely concern "pornography, blood sport, torture and execution". Stories translated into English include the often anthologised "The Spider" (1915), a tale of black magic based on the story "The Invisible Eye" by Erckmann-Chatrian; "Blood", about knife fights to the death; and "The Execution of Damiens", a story about the execution of the 18th-century French criminal Robert-François Damiens that achieved some notoriety for its violence.

Ewers also published several plays, poems, fairy tales, opera librettos, and critical essays. These included Die Ameisen, translated into English as The Ant People, Indien und ich, a travelogue of his time in India, and a 1916 critical essay on Edgar Allan Poe, to whom he has often been compared. Indeed, Ewers is still considered by some as a major author in the evolution of the horror literary genre, cited as an influence by American horror writers such as H. P. Lovecraft and

Guy Endore. Students of the occult are also attracted to his works, due to his longtime friendship and correspondence with Aleister Crowley. Ewers also translated several French writers into German, including Villiers de l'Isle-Adam.

Ewers also edited the eight-volume Galerie der Phantasten anthologies of horror and fantasy literature, featuring work by Poe, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Oskar Panizza, Honoré de Balzac, Alfred Kubin, Ewers' friend Karl Hans Strobl, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer and Ewers himself.

During the time Ewers was writing his major horror stories, he was also giving lectures (between 1910 and 1925) on the topic Die Religion des Satan (The Religion of Satan), inspired by Stanisław Przybyszewski's 1897 German book Die Synagoge des Satan (The Synagogue of Satan).

He died on June 12, 1943 in his Berlin apartment. His ashes were buried on October 15 of the same year in the Düsseldorf North Cemetery (Nordfriedhof, Field Nr. 78, 55235-WE).

Movie work

Ewers was one of the first critics to recognize cinema as a legitimate art form, and wrote the scripts for numerous early examples of the medium, most notably The Student of Prague (1913), a reworking of the Faust legend which also included the first portrayal of a double role by an actor on the screen.

Nazi martyr Horst Wessel, then a member of the same corps (student fraternity) of which Ewers had been a member, acts as an extra in a 1926 version of the movie, also written by Ewers. Ewers was later commissioned by Adolf Hitler to write a biography of Wessel (Einer von vielen), which also was made into a movie.

Nazi involvement

During the last years of the Weimar Republic, Ewers became involved with the burgeoning Nazi Party, attracted by its nationalism, its Nietzschean moral philosophy, and its cult of Teutonic culture, and joined the NSDAP in 1931. He did not agree with the party's anti-Semitism (his character Frank Braun has a Jewish mistress, Lotte Levi, who is also a patriotic German) and this and his homosexual tendencies soon ended his welcome with party leaders. In 1934 most of his works were banned in Germany, and his assets and property seized.<ref name="oxford" /> Alfred Rosenberg was his main adversary in the party, but after submitting many petitions Ewers eventually secured the rescission of the ban. His last book Die schönsten Hände der Welt ("The most beautiful hands in the world") was published by the Zinnen Verlag (Munich, Vienna, Leipzig) in 1943. Ewers died from tuberculosis in the same year.

Despite his great influence on 20th century fantasy and horror literature, Ewers remains out of favor in bourgeois literary circles (especially in the English-speaking world and Germany)<ref name="bs" /> because of his association with the Nazis.<ref name="efb" /> As a result, post-World War II editions of his works are often difficult to find, and earlier editions can command a premium price from collectors.

Twenty-first-century translations

In March 2009, Side Real Press issued an English language collection of short stories including some newly translated material. This was followed by a new uncensored translation of Alraune translated by Joe Bandel which sold out after one year. The Alraune Centennial Edition by Bandel Books Online was released in March 2011. The centennial edition translated by Joe Bandel contains an essay by Dr. Wilfried Kugel, noted Ewers biographer.

"Sorcerer's Apprentice", The First Volume in the Frank Braun trilogy was translated by Joe Bandel and published by Bandel Books Online in September 2012. This is the first uncensored English translation of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". It includes an Introduction by Dr. Wilfried Kugel; the poems, "Prometheus" by Goethe, and "Hymn to Satan" by Carducci; "The Satanism of Hanns Heinz Ewers", "Duality-The Male", "Duality-The Female", and "Duality-Sexual Alchemy" by Joe Bandel and the complete text of "Synagogue of Satan" by Stanisław Przybyszewski also translated by Joe Bandel.

In 2016 Ajna Offensive published Markus Wolff's English translation of Ewers' 1922 novel Die Herzen der Könige (The Hearts of Kings).<ref>Ewers, H. H., The Hearts of Kings (Jacksonville, Oregon: Ajna Offensive, 2016).</ref>

In popular culture

Ewers appears in Kim Newman's novel The Bloody Red Baron, as a predatory vampire who travels briefly with Edgar Allan Poe.

Notes

Template:Portal Template:Reflist

External links

Template:Authority control

Template:DEFAULTSORT:Ewers, Hanns Heinz



Werke

  • mit Theodor Etzel: Fabelbuch. Langen, München 1901.
  • Singwald. Märchen. E. A. Seemann, Leipzig 1901.
  • Hochnotpeinliche Geschichten. Seemann, Leipzig 1902.
  • Die verkaufte Großmutter. Märchen, Seemann, Leipzig 1903.
  • mit Erich Mühsam: Billys Erdengang. Eine Elephantengeschichte für artige Kinder. Märchen. Globus, 1904; Neuauflage: Faber & Faber, Leipzig 2005, ISBN 3-936618-63-1.
  • Das Cabaret, Schuster & Loeffler, Berlin/Leipzig 1904.
  • Edgar Allan Poe. Schuster & Löffler, Berlin/Leipzig 1905.
  • Die Ginsterhexe und andere Sommermärchen. Illustriert von Paul Horst-Schulze. Schalscha-Ehrenfeld, Leipzig 1905.
  • mit Victor Hadwiger, Erich Mühsam u. a.: Führer durch die moderne Literatur. 300 Würdigungen der hervorragendsten Schriftsteller unserer Zeit. Globus, 1906; korrigierter und kommentierter Neudruck: Revonnah, Hannover 2005, ISBN 3-934818-23-4.
  • Das Grauen. Seltsame Geschichten. Erzählungen. G. Müller, München/Leipzig 1907.
  • Mit meinen Augen… Fahrten durch die lateinische Welt. Konrad W. Mecklenburg vormals Richter’scher Verlag, Berlin 1908.
  • Die Besessenen. Seltsame Geschichten. Erzählungen, Georg Müller, München/Leipzig 1908. (Beinhaltet die Erzählung Die Spinne)
  • mit Hermann Bahr, Otto Julius Bierbaum, Otto Ernst, Herbert Eulenberg, Gustav Falke, Georg Hirschfeld, Felix Hollaender, Gustav Meyrink, Gabriele Reuter, Olga Wohlbrück und Ernst von Wolzogen: Der Roman der XII. Roman. Mecklenburg, Berlin 1909.
  • Der Zauberlehrling oder Die Teufelsjäger. Roman. G. Müller, München/Leipzig 1909; Neuausgabe: Alraune / Der Zauberlehrling. Area, Erftstadt 2005, ISBN 3-89996-505-1.
  • Delphi. Drama in drei Akten. G. Müller, München/Leipzig 1909.
  • Wackelsteert der Enterich (Eine lustige Entengeschichte). (Anonym verfasst, illustriert von Paul Haase). Weise, Stuttgart 1909.
  • Grotesken. G. Müller, München 1910.
  • Die verkaufte Großmutter. Märchen. Moeser Nachf., Leipzig/Berlin 1910.
  • Moganni Nameh. Gesammelte Gedichte. G. Müller, München/Leipzig 1910.
  • Alraune. Die Geschichte eines lebenden Wesens. Roman. G. Müller, München/Leipzig 1911; Neuausgabe: Alraune / Der Zauberlehrling. Area, Erftstadt 2005, ISBN 3-89996-505-1.
  • mit Marc Henry: Joli Tambour! Das französische Volkslied. Neues Leben, Berlin 1911.
  • Indien und ich. Mit 54 Fotos auf Tafeln. G. Müller, München/Leipzig 1911.
  • mit Marc Henry: Die toten Augen. Bühnendichtung (Oper). Musik (1912/1913): Eugen d’Albert. UA 1916.
  • Das Wundermädchen von Berlin. Drama in vier Akten. G. Müller, München 1913.
  • Deutsche Kriegslieder. G. Müller, München/Leipzig 1915.
  • Mein Begräbnis und andere seltsame Geschichten. Novellen. G. Müller, München/Leipzig 1917.
  • Der gekreuzigte Tannhäuser. Erweiterte Ausgabe der Grotesken von 1910. G. Müller, München/Leipzig 1918.
  • Das Mädchen von Shalott. Sechs Theaterstücke. (enthält: Das Mädchen von Shalott, Trecento, Delphi, Die toten Augen, Das Wundermädchen von Berlin und Der Weg zum Licht.) G. Müller, München/Leipzig 1920.
  • Vampir. Ein verwilderter Roman in Fetzen und Farben. Roman. G. Müller, München/Leipzig 1921. (auch Online-Ausgabe)
  • Die Herzen der Könige. Mit 6 Radierungen von Stefan Eggeler. Artur Wolf, Wien 1922. 500 Exemplare, in drei Ausgaben.
  • Nachtmahr. Novellen, G. Müller, München/Leipzig 1922.
  • Der Geisterseher. Nach Friedrich Schiller. G. Müller, München/Leipzig 1922.
  • Meine Mutter / Die Hex. Mit 6 Radierungen von Stefan Eggeler, Frisch & Co. Verlag Wien 1923 / nummerierte Vorzugsausgabe 300 Exemplare.
  • Ameisen. Roman. G. Müller, München 1925.
  • mit Marc Henry: Ivas Turm. Bühnendichtung (Oper). Musik (1926): Ernst von Dohnányi. UA 1926.
  • Die traurige Geschichte meiner Trockenlegung. Landsberg’sche Buchhandlung. Berlin 1927.
  • Von sieben Meeren. Fahrten und Abenteuer. Sieben Stäbe, Berlin 1927.
  • Fundvogel. Die Geschichte einer Wandlung. Roman. Sieben Stäbe, Berlin 1928.
  • Reiter in deutscher Nacht. Cotta’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart/Berlin 1931. Aufl. 1933 (Digitalisat).
  • Horst Wessel. Ein deutsches Schicksal. Cotta, Stuttgart/Berlin 1932.
  • Kilian Menkes Veränderung. Geschichte eines seltsamen Geschehens. Roman. J. L. Schrag, Nürnberg 1941.
  • Die schönsten Hände der Welt. Geschichten in der Sonne. Zinnen Verlag, München/Wien/Leipzig 1943.

Veröffentlichungen in Periodika (Auswahl)

Übersetzungen aus dem Französischen (Auswahl)

  • Auguste de Villiers de L’Isle-Adam: Das Geheimnis des Schafotts. Kurzgeschichte (aus: Grausame Geschichten = Gesammelte Werke, Bd. 1. Müller, München 1909) in: Kokain, Heft 4 (1925), S. 6–14 (Digitalisat in der SLUB)
  • Auguste de Villiers de L’Isle-Adam: Vera und andere Erzählungen. Weltgeist, Berlin 1930

Herausgeberschaft (Auswahl)

Neuausgaben nach 1945 (Auswahl)

  • Geschichten des Grauens. Auswahl von vier Geschichten. Herbig, München/Berlin 1972.
  • Mein Begräbnis. Und andere Grotesken. Enthält 14 überarbeitete Kurzgeschichten aus Ein Fabelbuch (1901), Der gekreuzigte Tannhäuser (1916) sowie Grotesken (1929). Mit einem Nachwort von Michael Helming. Wunderkammer, München 2014, ISBN 978-1-49474039-9.
  • Die chinesische Kreuzigung. Und andere Schauergeschichten. (Enthält: Die Spinne, Die Tomatensauce, Der letzte Wille der Stanislawa d’Asp, Die Topharbraut u. a.) Mit einem Nachwort von Axel Weiß. Wunderkammer, München 2014, ISBN 978-1-49493857-4.
  • Freche Fee und lustiger böser König. Märchen. Hrsg. von Sven Brömsel. 2014, ISBN 978-3-94399917-4.
  • Lustmord einer Schildkröte. Und weitere Erzählungen. Ediert und herausgegeben von Marcus Born und Sven Brömsel. Die andere Bibliothek, Band 356, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-84770356-3.
  • Alraune. Die Geschichte eines lebenden Wesens. Omnium-Verlag, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-942378-66-6.
  • Hanns Heinz Ewers, Leonard Langheinrich Anthos: Der Student von Prag. Mit dem Original-Exposé aus dem Jahr 1913. Media Net-Edition, Kassel 2015, ISBN 978-3-939988-30-4. (= Filme zum Lesen. 3).


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