Reclaiming the Nation: The Left-Wing Patriotism of 'Die Weltbühne' in the Weimar Republic

Going against the tendency to ‘read history backwards’ from Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, this book rescues from obscurity the forgotten phenomenon of left-wing patriotism in Weimar Germany. It takes as a case study Die Weltbühne, a weekly political journal that evolved from a respected theatre review into a much-discussed and occasionally controversial forum for the airing of left-wing ideas that were completely at odds with the resurgent nationalism and right-wing nostalgia of the inter-war era. An aspect of its intellectual and ideological legacy that has been almost entirely overlooked in all studies of Die Weltbühne until now is its patriotism. The novelty of Jack Arscott’s approach lies not least in his anatomization of this concept, which he breaks down into regionalist, internationalist and Socialist categories by means of close reading.

The author completed his PhD at the Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies (University of London), was awarded a research scholarship by the Modern Humanities Research Association and is currently a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Munich working on an AHRC–DFG project on Elias Canetti’s half-century in British exile. 

Bithell Series of Dissertations, 50
ISBN 978-0-85457-287-8; HB 272 pp.; February 2025
 

Acknowledgements
Note on Referencing
Introduction
1. Regionalist Patriotism
2. Internationalist Patriotism
3. Socialist Patriotism
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index