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Fritz Oswald Bilse

December 31, 2022

Fritz Oswald Bilse (31 March 1878 in Kirn, Rhine Province – 1951) was a German novelist, playwright and a lieutenant in the Prussian Army. He also used the pseudonyms Fritz von der Kyrburg and Fritz Wernthal.

Life

 
Fritz Oswald Bilse, around 1905

Fritz Oswald Bilse was born in Kirn (present-day Rhineland-Palatinate, then Prussian Rhine Province), the son of a schoolteacher, and grew up in the towns of Kirn and Eisenach. He joined the Prussian army in 1896, and in 1900 was posted with the 16. Train-Bataillon at Forbach in Lorraine. He rose to instant notoriety with his novel Aus einer kleinen Garnison. Ein militärisches Zeitbild (1903). In later editions, he used the pseudonym "Fritz von der Kyrburg", after his home town's most prominent landmark, the Kyrburg castle.

The book, in which Bilse satirizes the manners of the Forbach garrison and of the Prussian army in general, became a succès de scandale and was soon reprinted many times. Bilse's criticism, however, was so sharp, and the location and protagonists so little disguised, that several officers who felt their honour to be under attack prosecuted Bilse in a court-martial, the trial taking place at Metz from 9. to 13. November 1903. Bilse was found guilty of defamation of character, was discharged from the army dishonourably, and sentenced to six months' imprisonment. His novel was (temporarily) banned.[1]

The scandal only served to enhance Bilse's celebrity. He was henceforth described as the German army's enfant terrible; the novel became popular abroad, especially in France, where the label interdit en Allemagne was recognized as a badge of quality. Translations soon appeared, into French and also into English, the latter appearing in 1904 containing a detailed account of the court-martial and a foreword by the German-American author Theodore Dreiser, who praised Bilse as a great realist.[2] The book was also translated into other languages, e.g. into Dutch and Russian.

Thomas Mann referred to Bilse and his novel when he found himself subjected to a "trial by press" ("Preßprozeß") in his home town of Lübeck, a fictionalized description of which he had published in his own novel Buddenbrooks. Mann's essay "Bilse and I" ("Bilse und ich", 1906) defends the right of writers to fictionalize living persons, which had been held against Mann by several of the burghers of Lübeck. However, Mann was also at pains to draw a distinction between "taking liberties and the writer's freedom" ("Frechheit und Freiheit"). Mann further noted that his accusers had called Buddenbrooks a "Bilse-Novel" ("Bilse-Roman"), a phrase which, for a while, became synonymous with roman à clef in German.[3]

Bilse continued his new career as an author for a while, but his subsequent publications could not emulate the success of his debut. After a fifteen-year interruption, he resumed publishing in the mid-1920s with two novels which were once again of a political nature: In Gottes Mühlen. Roman aus einer großen Nation (1924), Bilse portrays a supposedly corrupt and decadent France;[4] whilst the supposed "negro novel" Die schwarze Welle (1925) testifies to Bilse's resentment at the occupation of the Rhineland by French troops of African origin.[5] Furthermore, Bilse was for a time editor of the journal Deutsche Heimat, which articulated nationalistic tendencies close to the "Bündische Jugend", associated with the so-called "conservative revolution".[6]

After his release from prison, Bilse moved around, living in Paris and London, then tending the estate of Frabertsham in Upper Bavaria, then living in Munich and ultimately near Groß-Ziethen. In 1946, he was elected to the state assembly of Brandenburg as a member of the Christian Democratic Union (East Germany).[7] No information can be found on the last years of his life; he died at Eberswalde, near Berlin, in 1951.[8]

Bilse is remembered as the subject of Mann's essay and in controversies surrounding the alleged infringement of personal rights in literary works. In Germany, the case of Bilse is cited as being exemplary to this day. A recent instance can be found in the long lawsuit over Maxim Biller's banned novel Esra (2003), which was compared to the Bilse controversy.[9]

Works

 
Cover of Aus einer kleinen Garnison, 1904 edition
  • Aus einer kleinen Garnison. Ein militärisches Zeitbild (novel, 1903)
    • English translation: Life In A Garrison Town (1904)
  • Zwei Militär-Humoresken. Der Alarm. Ein glücklicher Reinfall (1903)
  • Das blaue Schloß. Roman in einem Vorkapitel und zwei Büchern (1904)
  • Wahrheit (play, 1904)
  • Fallobst (play, 1905)
  • Lieb' Vaterland. Roman aus dem Soldatenleben (1905)
  • Die große Schlacht (play, 1906)
  • Stille Wege (novel, 1907)
  • Verklärung (novel, 1909)
  • Die Technik des Romans (1909)
  • Gottes Mühlen. Roman aus einer großen Nation (1924)
  • Die schwarze Welle. Ein Negerroman von Afim Assanga, bearbeitet und herausgegeben von Fritz Oswald Bilse (1925)
  • Wie kann der Bauer die jetzigen und kommenden schweren Zeiten überstehen und ohne besondere Mehrkosten seine Erträge verdoppeln? : Praktische Ratschläge für den Bauernstand (1928)

Notes

  1. ^ Details concerning the novel and the scandal can be found in: R. Reissmüller, "'Aus einer kleinen Garnison'. Der Roman des Leutnants Bilse aus dem Jahre 1903. Aktuelle Wirkung und späte Folgen einer frühen Wilhelminismus-Kritik", in: Imprimatur 10 (1982); Hartwig Stein, "Der Bilse-Skandal von 1903. Zu Bild und Zerrbild des preußischen Leutnants im späten Kaiserreich", in: Karl Christian Führer/Karen Hagemann/Birthe Kundrus (eds.), Eliten im Wandel. Gesellschaftliche Führungsschichten im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Für Klaus Saul zum 65. Geburtstag (Münster: Verlag Westfälisches Dampfboot, 2004), pp. 259-278.
  2. ^ Fritz Oswald Bilse, Life In A Garrison Town; the military novel suppressed by the German Government, by Lieutenant Bilse. The authorized translation of "Aus einer kleinen Garnison." With a foreword by Theodore Dreiser, an introduction by Arnold White, and a summary of the court-martial (London: John Lane & Co., 1904).
  3. ^ Thomas Mann, „Bilse und ich“, in idem, Gesammelte Werke in zehn Bänden (Frankfurt/Main: S. Fischer, 1925), vol. 9, pp. 3-17. On the controversy see Heinrich Detering: „Thomas Mann oder Lübeck und die letzten Dinge. Buddenbrooks, Stadtklatsch, Bilse und ich“, in: idem.: Herkunftsorte. Literarische Verwandlungen im Werk Storms, Hebbels, Groths, Thomas und Heinrich Manns (Heide: Boysens 2001), pp. 166–193.
  4. ^ See Franz Rottensteiner, Article Gottes Mühlen, in: Franz Rottensteiner und Michael Koseler (eds.), Werkführer durch die utopisch-phantastische Literatur (Meitingen: Corian Verlag, 1989ff.; 3. Erg.-Lfg. November 1989).
  5. ^ See Véronique Porra, "Autour du Batouala de René Maran en Allemagne: intégration idéologique de discours littéraires et politiques dans le roman d’Afim Assanga / Fritz Oswald Bilse Die Schwarze Welle (La vague noire), 1925", in: Anne-Rachel Hermetet (ed.), La réception du roman français contemporain dans l’Europe de l’entre-deux-guerres (Lille: Editions du Conseil Scientifique de l’Université Charles-de-Gaulle-Lille 3, 2002), pp. 145-161.
  6. ^ On "Deutsche Heimat" see Armin Mohler, Die Konservative Revolution in Deutschland 1918-1932. Ein Handbuch, 5th ed. (Graz: Leopold Stocker Verlag, 1999), p. 299. Bilse's editorship is mentioned in the article in the Berger/Rupp encyclopaedia (see note below).
  7. ^ Konrad Feilchenfeldt (ed.), Deutsches Literatur-Lexikon: Das 20. Jahrhundert (Berne and Munich, K.G. Saur, 2001); vol. 2, cols. 633f. Includes an extensive bibliography. Further biographical information may be found in B. Berger, H. Rupp (eds.), Deutsches Literatur-Lexikon (Berne and Munich: Francke, 1968), vol. 1, col. 508; Reinhard Tenberg, article "Bilse, Fritz Oswald", in Walther Killy et al. (eds.), Literatur Lexikon (Gütersloh and Munich: Bertelsmann Lexikon Verlag, 1988), p. 510f.
  8. ^ The year of Bilse's death, while not listed in the relevant encyclopaedias, was recently established by the local historian Dr. Ulrich Hauth, who presented his findings in a lecture given in Kirn in November 2007, as well as in a newspaper article: "Ein Schlüsselroman wird zum Skandal - Wie Fritz Oswald Bilse zu Ruhm gelangte", Allgemeine Zeitung, Kirn edition, 23. November 2007
  9. ^ See e.g. Dieter Borchmeyer, "Literatur vor Gericht: Die Beute, das Persönlichkeitsrecht, und die Freiheit der Kunst", in: Frankfurter Rundschau, 14. October 2003; Joachim Feldmann, "Bilse und Biller: Gerichte sollen sich aus Kunstfragen heraushalten" 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine, in: Freitag, 24. October 2003; Michael Ansel, „Buddenbrooks, Bilse und Biller“ 2007-10-23 at the Wayback Machine, lecture, Evangelische Akademie Tutzing, February 2007.

External links

  • Works by Fritz Oswald Bilse at Project Gutenberg
  • Works by or about Fritz Oswald Bilse at Internet Archive
  • Books by Fritz Oswald Bilse in the catalogue of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
  • Page about Bilse and Forbach (French)
  • Page about the 16. Train-Bataillon in Forbach (French)
  • A Little Garrison – a realistic novel of German Army life of to-day – full text of an unauthorized translation at www.archives.org

December 31, 2022
fritz, oswald, bilse, march, 1878, kirn, rhine, province, 1951, german, novelist, playwright, lieutenant, prussian, army, also, used, pseudonyms, fritz, kyrburg, fritz, wernthal, contents, life, works, notes, external, linkslife, edit, around, 1905, born, kirn. Fritz Oswald Bilse 31 March 1878 in Kirn Rhine Province 1951 was a German novelist playwright and a lieutenant in the Prussian Army He also used the pseudonyms Fritz von der Kyrburg and Fritz Wernthal Contents 1 Life 2 Works 3 Notes 4 External linksLife Edit Fritz Oswald Bilse around 1905Fritz Oswald Bilse was born in Kirn present day Rhineland Palatinate then Prussian Rhine Province the son of a schoolteacher and grew up in the towns of Kirn and Eisenach He joined the Prussian army in 1896 and in 1900 was posted with the 16 Train Bataillon at Forbach in Lorraine He rose to instant notoriety with his novel Aus einer kleinen Garnison Ein militarisches Zeitbild 1903 In later editions he used the pseudonym Fritz von der Kyrburg after his home town s most prominent landmark the Kyrburg castle The book in which Bilse satirizes the manners of the Forbach garrison and of the Prussian army in general became a succes de scandale and was soon reprinted many times Bilse s criticism however was so sharp and the location and protagonists so little disguised that several officers who felt their honour to be under attack prosecuted Bilse in a court martial the trial taking place at Metz from 9 to 13 November 1903 Bilse was found guilty of defamation of character was discharged from the army dishonourably and sentenced to six months imprisonment His novel was temporarily banned 1 The scandal only served to enhance Bilse s celebrity He was henceforth described as the German army s enfant terrible the novel became popular abroad especially in France where the label interdit en Allemagne was recognized as a badge of quality Translations soon appeared into French and also into English the latter appearing in 1904 containing a detailed account of the court martial and a foreword by the German American author Theodore Dreiser who praised Bilse as a great realist 2 The book was also translated into other languages e g into Dutch and Russian Thomas Mann referred to Bilse and his novel when he found himself subjected to a trial by press Pressprozess in his home town of Lubeck a fictionalized description of which he had published in his own novel Buddenbrooks Mann s essay Bilse and I Bilse und ich 1906 defends the right of writers to fictionalize living persons which had been held against Mann by several of the burghers of Lubeck However Mann was also at pains to draw a distinction between taking liberties and the writer s freedom Frechheit und Freiheit Mann further noted that his accusers had called Buddenbrooks a Bilse Novel Bilse Roman a phrase which for a while became synonymous with roman a clef in German 3 Bilse continued his new career as an author for a while but his subsequent publications could not emulate the success of his debut After a fifteen year interruption he resumed publishing in the mid 1920s with two novels which were once again of a political nature In Gottes Muhlen Roman aus einer grossen Nation 1924 Bilse portrays a supposedly corrupt and decadent France 4 whilst the supposed negro novel Die schwarze Welle 1925 testifies to Bilse s resentment at the occupation of the Rhineland by French troops of African origin 5 Furthermore Bilse was for a time editor of the journal Deutsche Heimat which articulated nationalistic tendencies close to the Bundische Jugend associated with the so called conservative revolution 6 After his release from prison Bilse moved around living in Paris and London then tending the estate of Frabertsham in Upper Bavaria then living in Munich and ultimately near Gross Ziethen In 1946 he was elected to the state assembly of Brandenburg as a member of the Christian Democratic Union East Germany 7 No information can be found on the last years of his life he died at Eberswalde near Berlin in 1951 8 Bilse is remembered as the subject of Mann s essay and in controversies surrounding the alleged infringement of personal rights in literary works In Germany the case of Bilse is cited as being exemplary to this day A recent instance can be found in the long lawsuit over Maxim Biller s banned novel Esra 2003 which was compared to the Bilse controversy 9 Works Edit Cover of Aus einer kleinen Garnison 1904 edition Aus einer kleinen Garnison Ein militarisches Zeitbild novel 1903 English translation Life In A Garrison Town 1904 Zwei Militar Humoresken Der Alarm Ein glucklicher Reinfall 1903 Das blaue Schloss Roman in einem Vorkapitel und zwei Buchern 1904 Wahrheit play 1904 Fallobst play 1905 Lieb Vaterland Roman aus dem Soldatenleben 1905 Die grosse Schlacht play 1906 Stille Wege novel 1907 Verklarung novel 1909 Die Technik des Romans 1909 Gottes Muhlen Roman aus einer grossen Nation 1924 Die schwarze Welle Ein Negerroman von Afim Assanga bearbeitet und herausgegeben von Fritz Oswald Bilse 1925 Wie kann der Bauer die jetzigen und kommenden schweren Zeiten uberstehen und ohne besondere Mehrkosten seine Ertrage verdoppeln Praktische Ratschlage fur den Bauernstand 1928 Notes Edit Details concerning the novel and the scandal can be found in R Reissmuller Aus einer kleinen Garnison Der Roman des Leutnants Bilse aus dem Jahre 1903 Aktuelle Wirkung und spate Folgen einer fruhen Wilhelminismus Kritik in Imprimatur 10 1982 Hartwig Stein Der Bilse Skandal von 1903 Zu Bild und Zerrbild des preussischen Leutnants im spaten Kaiserreich in Karl Christian Fuhrer Karen Hagemann Birthe Kundrus eds Eliten im Wandel Gesellschaftliche Fuhrungsschichten im 19 und 20 Jahrhundert Fur Klaus Saul zum 65 Geburtstag Munster Verlag Westfalisches Dampfboot 2004 pp 259 278 Fritz Oswald Bilse Life In A Garrison Town the military novel suppressed by the German Government by Lieutenant Bilse The authorized translation of Aus einer kleinen Garnison With a foreword by Theodore Dreiser an introduction by Arnold White and a summary of the court martial London John Lane amp Co 1904 Thomas Mann Bilse und ich in idem Gesammelte Werke in zehn Banden Frankfurt Main S Fischer 1925 vol 9 pp 3 17 On the controversy see Heinrich Detering Thomas Mann oder Lubeck und die letzten Dinge Buddenbrooks Stadtklatsch Bilse und ich in idem Herkunftsorte Literarische Verwandlungen im Werk Storms Hebbels Groths Thomas und Heinrich Manns Heide Boysens 2001 pp 166 193 See Franz Rottensteiner Article Gottes Muhlen in Franz Rottensteiner und Michael Koseler eds Werkfuhrer durch die utopisch phantastische Literatur Meitingen Corian Verlag 1989ff 3 Erg Lfg November 1989 See Veronique Porra Autour du Batouala de Rene Maran en Allemagne integration ideologique de discours litteraires et politiques dans le roman d Afim Assanga Fritz Oswald Bilse Die Schwarze Welle La vague noire 1925 in Anne Rachel Hermetet ed La reception du roman francais contemporain dans l Europe de l entre deux guerres Lille Editions du Conseil Scientifique de l Universite Charles de Gaulle Lille 3 2002 pp 145 161 On Deutsche Heimat see Armin Mohler Die Konservative Revolution in Deutschland 1918 1932 Ein Handbuch 5th ed Graz Leopold Stocker Verlag 1999 p 299 Bilse s editorship is mentioned in the article in the Berger Rupp encyclopaedia see note below Konrad Feilchenfeldt ed Deutsches Literatur Lexikon Das 20 Jahrhundert Berne and Munich K G Saur 2001 vol 2 cols 633f Includes an extensive bibliography Further biographical information may be found in B Berger H Rupp eds Deutsches Literatur Lexikon Berne and Munich Francke 1968 vol 1 col 508 Reinhard Tenberg article Bilse Fritz Oswald in Walther Killy et al eds Literatur Lexikon Gutersloh and Munich Bertelsmann Lexikon Verlag 1988 p 510f The year of Bilse s death while not listed in the relevant encyclopaedias was recently established by the local historian Dr Ulrich Hauth who presented his findings in a lecture given in Kirn in November 2007 as well as in a newspaper article Ein Schlusselroman wird zum Skandal Wie Fritz Oswald Bilse zu Ruhm gelangte Allgemeine Zeitung Kirn edition 23 November 2007 See e g Dieter Borchmeyer Literatur vor Gericht Die Beute das Personlichkeitsrecht und die Freiheit der Kunst in Frankfurter Rundschau 14 October 2003 Joachim Feldmann Bilse und Biller Gerichte sollen sich aus Kunstfragen heraushalten Archived 2007 09 29 at the Wayback Machine in Freitag 24 October 2003 Michael Ansel Buddenbrooks Bilse und Biller Archived 2007 10 23 at the Wayback Machine lecture Evangelische Akademie Tutzing February 2007 External links EditWorks by Fritz Oswald Bilse at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Fritz Oswald Bilse at Internet Archive Books by Fritz Oswald Bilse in the catalogue of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Page about Bilse and Forbach French Page about the 16 Train Bataillon in Forbach French A Little Garrison a realistic novel of German Army life of to day full text of an unauthorized translation at www archives org Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fritz Oswald Bilse amp oldid 1003625507, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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