BROCH, Hermann 1886-1951

PERSONAL: Born November 1, 1886, in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Austria); died of a heart attack May 30, 1951, in New Haven, CT; married Franziska von Rothermann, December 11, 1909; children: Hermann Friedrich Maria. Education: Studied textile engineering at Mulhausen (now Mulhouse, France) and in Alsace; attended University of Vienna, 1925-30.

CAREER: Textile engineer, novelist, poet, and essayist.

AWARDS, HONORS: Literary prize, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1942, for The City of Man: A Declaration on World Democracy.

WRITINGS:

Die schlafwandler: Eine Romantrilogie, 3 volumes, Rhein (Munich, Germany & Zurich, Switzerland), 1931-1932, translated by Willa and Edwin Muir as The Sleepwalkers: A Trilogy, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 1932.

Die imbelammte Grösse: Roman, Fischer (Berlin,Germany), 1933, translated by Willa and Edwin Muir as The Unknown Quantity, Viking Press (New York, NY), 1935.

James Joyce und die Gegenwart: Rede zu Joyces 50. Geburstag, Reichner (Vienna, Austria, Leipzig, Germany & Zurich, Switzerland), 1936, translated by Maria and Eugene Jolas as "James Joyce and the Present Age," in A James Joyce Yearbook, Transition Press (Paris, France), 1949.

Der Tod des Vergil: Roman, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1945, translated by Jean Starr Untermeyer as The Death of Vergil, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1945.

Die Schuldlosen: Roman in elf Erzählungen, Weismann (Munich, Germany), 1950, translated by Ralph Manheim as The Guiltless, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1974.

Gesammelte Werke, Rhein (Zurich, Switzerland), Volume 1: Gedichle: Mit 9 Bildern und 2 Hand-schriftproben des Autors, edited by Erich Kalher, 1953, Volume 2: Die Schlafwandler, Romantrilogie, 1952, Volume 3: Der Tod des Vergil. Epische Dichtung, 1952, Volume 4: Der Versucher: Roman, edited by Felix Stössinger, 1953, republished as Demeter, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt am Main, Germany), 1967, Volume 6: Dichten and Erkennen: Essays, edited by Hannah Arendt, 1955, Volume 7: Erkennen und Handeln: Essays, edited by Arendt, 1955, Volume 8: Briefe: Von 1929 bis 1951, edited by Robert Pick, 1957, Volume 9: Massenpsychologie: Schriften aus dem Nachlass, edited by Wolfgang Rothe, 1959, Volume 10: Die unbekannte Grösse und frühe Schriften, edited by Ernst Schönwiese, and Mit den Briefen an Willa Muir, edited by William Herd, 1961.

Nur das Herz ist das Wirkliche, edited by Ernst Schonwiese, Stiansny (Graz, Austria), 1959.

Die Euts¨hnung: Schauspiel, in der Hörspielfassung, edited by Ernst Schoenwiese, Rhein (Zurich, Switzerland), 1961, translated by George E. Wellwarth and Broch de Rotherman as "The Atonement in German Drama Between the Wars," edited by George E. Wellwarth, Dutton (New York, NY), 1972.

Die Heimkehr: Prosa und Lyrik. Auswahl aus dem dichterischen Werk ergänzl durch den Vortrag geist und Zeitgeist, edited by Harald Binde, Fischer (Frankfurt am Main, Germany), 1962.

Der Dichter: Eine Auswahl aus dem dichterischenWerk, edited by Harald Binde, Rhein (Zurich, Switzerland), 1964.

Der Dichter: Eine Auswahl aus dem essayistischenWerk und aus Briefen, edited by Harald Binde, Rhein (Zurich, Switzerland), 1966.

Short Stories, edited by Eric William Herd, Oxford University Press (London, England), 1966.

Die Idea ist ewig: Essays and Briefe, edited by Harald Binde, Deutscher Taschenbuch (Munich, Germany), 1968.

Zur Universitatsreform, edited by Götz Wienold, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt am Main, Germany), 1969.

Bergroman: Die drei Originalfassungen, 4 volumes, edited by Frank Kress and Hans Albert Maier, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt am Main, Germany), 1969.

Gedanken zur Politik, edited by Dieter Hildebrandt, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt am Main, Germany), 1970.

Barbara un andere Novellen: Eine Auswahl aus dem dichterischen Werk, edited by Paul Michael Lutzeler, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt am Main, Germany), 1973.

Völkerbund-Resolution: Das vollst&aouml;ndige politische Pamphlet von 1937 mit Kommentar, Entwurf und Korrespondenz, edited by Paul Michael Lutzeler, Müller (Salzburg, Austria), 1973.

Kommentierte Werkausgabe, 17 volumes, edited by Paul Michael Lutzeler, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt am Main, Germany), 1974-1981, Volume 1: Die Schlafwandler: Eine Romantrilogie, 1978, Volume 2: Die Unbekannte Grösse: Roman, 1977, Volume 3: Die Verzauberung, translated by H. F. Broch de Rothermann as The Spell, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 1987, Volume 4: Der Tod des Vergil: Roman, 1976, Volume 5: Die Schuldlosen: Roman in elf Erzählungen, 1974, Volume 6: Novellen; Prosa; Fragmente, 1980, Volume 7: Dramen, 1979, includes Die Entsühnung,, Volume 8: Gedichte, 1980, Volume 9, Schriften zur Literatur: Kritik and Schriften zur Literatur: Theorie, both 1975, Volume 10, Philosophische Schriften: Kritik and Philosophische Schriften: Theorie, both 1977, Volume 11: Politische Schriften, 1979, Volume 12: Massenwahntheorie. Beitraege zu Einer Psychologie der Politik, 1979, Volume 13: Briefe 1913-1938, Briefe 1938-1945, and Briefe 1945-1951, all 1981.

Psychische Selbstbiographie, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt am Main, Germany), 1999.

letters

Hermann Broch—Daniel Brody: Briefwechsel 1930-1951, edited by Bertold Hack and Marietta Kleiss, Buchhändler-Vereinigung (Frankfurt am Main, Germany), 1971.

Hermann Broch, Briefe über Deutschland: Die Korrespondenz mit Volkmar von Zühlsdorff, edited by Paul Michael Lutzeler, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt am Main, Germany), 1986.

contributor

Wiedergeburt der Liebe: Die unsichtbare Revolution, edited by Frank Thiess, Zsolnay (Berlin, Germany), 1931.

Almanach: "Das 48. Jahr," Fischer (Berlin, Germany), 1934.

Patmos: Zwölf Lyriker, edited by Ernst Schönwiese, Johannespresse (Vienna, Austria), 1935.

(Contributor) The City of Man: A Declaration onWorld Democracy, Viking Press (New York, NY), 1940.

On the Iliad, Rachel Bespaloff, translated by Mary McCarthy, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1947.

Frank Thiess: Werk und Dichter. 32 Beiträge zur Problematik unserer Zeit, edited by Rolf Italiänder, Kruger (Hamburg, Germany), 1950.

Contributor to periodicals, including Brenner, Aktion, Summa, Rettung, Friede, Neue Tag, Neue Rundschau, Prager Presse, Kantstudien, Annalen der Philosophie, Literarische Welt, Frankfurter Zeitung, Berliner Börsen-Courier, Welt im Wort, Weiner Zeitung, Silberboot, Mass und Wert, Saturday Review of Literature, Aufbau, American Journal of International Law, Schweizer Rundschau, Literarische Revue, and Hamburger Akademische Rundschau. Work anthologized in 1860-1920, University of Chicago Press (Chicago, IL), 1984.

SIDELIGHTS: Poor and relatively unknown outside literary circles, Hermann Broch was nevertheless an influence in philosophy, social studies, and nontraditional writings. Broch may have limited his readership through his use of experimental forms and predilection for philosophy, but these qualities have made his work increasingly significant to scholars since his death in 1951.

While encouraged by his father to study business so he could work at the family textile factory, Broch hoped to study in the humanities. After learning engineering at Mulhausen (now Mulhouse), he traveled to the United States on the premise of uncovering means of producing cotton and returned to become an administrator at the factory in Teesdorf. Having converted to Catholicism, Broch was finally able to marry Franziska von Rothermann in December, 1909. The following October, Franziska gave birth to their only child, Hermann Friedrich Maria. They divorced in 1923, as Franziska's could not adapt to the simple life at Teesdorf.

After his brother, Fritz, joined the Austrian air force, Broch assumed all of the responsibilities of running the family business. Broch then began visiting the literary cafes in Vienna, and in 1918, he published "Eine metholodogische Novell" in Summa, a journal of literature. Enrolling at the University of Vienna in 1925, Broch studied mathematics and psychoanalysis, eventually concluding that his instructors were downplaying metaphysical and ethical considerations. Hoping to study these fields in depth, Broch turned his attention to literature.

In 1930 Broch was introduced to Daniel Brody, whose publishing company produced James Joyce's Ulysses in a German translation. They planned to publish Broch's novel trilogy Die Schlafwandler and came to a contract agreement on Pasenow oder die Romantik, the initial installment. Broch's constant revisions forced publishing delays in the book and the following two segments. The book was not available for Christmas, as planned; the reworking did not stop until April 1932, when the final part was at last published. Broch hurt himself financially with these delays, and this trend would continue throughout his literary career.

In Die Schlafwandler, translated as The Sleepwalkers, Broch illustrates Germany's development in three stages: romantic, anarchistic and objective. Michael Winkler commented in the Reference Guide to World Literature, "The Sleepwalkers is a work of high intellectual ambition." Intellectuals liked Broch's work, but the public at large had little exposure to his novels, and the result was a financial disaster. Broch's finances did not improve over time, and in fact worsened as his work drew more literary acclaim. Broch, looking for revenue, began speaking at the Ottakring Adult Education Center in Vienna, where he read several of his essays. Hoping to publish these essays in a compilation, Broch spoke to Brody. Believing the project would not be profitable, Brody denied Broch's request.

Next, Broch tried writing plays. Die Entsühnung was his first product, but the play was not performed until March 1934, in Zurich, after the producer eliminated the scene Broch considered most important. When the production was canceled shortly thereafter, Broch continued working on his next play, Aus der Luft gegriffen. When this attempt was deemed unsuitable for the stage, Broch turned to writing novels.

Published in 1933, Die Unbekannte Grösse, translated as The Unknown Quantity, recounts the life of Richard Hieck, a mathematician determined to control life through the rational application of science. Broch himself was dissatisfied with the conclusion of the novel, and it did poorly in Germany and America, although Harald Strauss in a review for the New York Times called it "an exquisite and delicate adventure into the distant recesses of the human spirit." Broch then authored poetry, some of which was included in Patmos: Zwolf Lyriker, an anthology edited by Ernst Schönwiese. He also produced five shorter novels and made a vain attempt to have these published in a single volume. After writing a screenplay for director Berthold Viertel, Broch adapted Die unbekannte Grösse into a screenplay. The film was never produced, and nothing ever came of an offer from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to film The Sleepwalkers.

Recovering from these disappointments, Broch began working on Die Verzauberung, (translated as The Spell in 1987) which was published in 1976. Hoping to find peace so he could complete his work, Broch moved to the country, but stopped work on the novel to write "Erwagungen zum Problem des Kultertodes," "Considerations on the Problem of Cultural Death", published in 1936 in Silberboot. Returning to work on his novel, Broch finished the initial draft and sent it to Brody in January. Having planned that Die Verzauberung would be the first section of a trilogy, Broch never completed the third version, which was published posthumously. The narrator is a doctor who has escaped to a quiet town in the mountains to practice medicine. A stranger, Marius Ratti, comes to the town and disturbs the region's serenity. Ratti, who is modeled after Adolf Hitler, persuades the village to return to the pre-industrial era and open the dormant gold mine. Soon, the entire town is in hysteria, and a young girl is sacrificed. Ratti's nemesis, Mutter Gisson, represents the true order of life, the opposite of Ratti's antiquated, dangerous philosophy. It is thought that Broch's use of a symbolic relationship between the natural and political world was a retort aimed at the National Socialists' support of "Blut-und-Boden"—blood and soil—motif in literature.

In the following years, Broch spent much time attempting to settle his father's estate. Moving to Alt-Aussee in Syria, he continued work on Die Heimkehr des Vergil, (Vergil's Return, 1973) a short novel he had begun after reading Vergil: Vater des Abenlandes by Theodore Hacker. After German soldiers marched into Austria in 1938, Broch was imprisoned after his postman reported him for receiving the controversial literary magazine Das Wort. Continuing to work on his novella, he was eventually released and ordered to report to the police in Vienna. Instead of following these orders, he stayed in seclusion with friends. Through the help of various acquaintances, Broch received an exit visa and moved to Great Britain. After obtaining an American visa, Broch left for New York, where he met Jean Starr Untermeyer, the poet who would translate his novel about Vergil.

With German novelist Thomas Mann's help, Broch obtained a Guggenheim fellowship stipend until 1941 and continued his research in the psychology of the masses. He also collaborated with Antonio Borgese to compile a book promoting democracy. The City of Man: A Declaration on World Democracy was released by Viking Press in 1940. Through this work, Broch was able to obtain further financial support for his study of psychology, a project that was never completed. In 1942, his Der Tod des Vergil was awarded a prize from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Broch was able to pay his debts. The novel was finally published in 1945. There were few reviews of the novel in German, but Broch's popularity in the United States had grown and there were more than thirty reviews of the novel in America. Orville Prescott, a critic for the Yale Review, wrote "There is a dark beauty in these cloudy pages."

After rejecting a position in literature and psychology at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, East Germany, Broch continued to live on a stipend he received each month from well-to-do German exile Wilhelm Roth. Hospitalized for a broken leg, Broch began writing about Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The completed study was published after his death as Hugo von Hofmannsthal und seine Zeit in 1975 and was translated as Hugo von Hofmannsthal and His Time, in 1984. His next effort was a collection of short stories titled Die Schuldlosen, published in 1950, one year after his marriage to Anne Marie Meier-Graefe.

When he died in 1951, Broch had received neither fame nor wealth from his literary achievements. The public overlooked his forthright interpretation of social issues and his experimental writing. In more recent years, however, he has been cited as one of the most astute social critics of his time.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

books

Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 124: Twentieth-Century German Dramatists, 1919-1992, Gale (Detroit), 1992.

Encyclopedia of World Literature in the TwentiethCentury, third edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1999.

Hardin, James, and Donald G. Daviau, editors, Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 85: Austrian Fiction Writers after 1914, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1989.

Henderson, Leslie, editor, Reference Guide to WorldLiterature, second edition, two volumes, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1995.

periodicals

New York Times, May 12, 1935, p. 7.

Yale Review, autumn, 1945.*