Oscar Levy
Encyclopedia
Oscar Levy was a German
-Jewish physician and writer, now known as a scholar of Friedrich Nietzsche
, whose works he first saw translated systematically into English
. His was a paradoxical life, of self-exile and exile, and of writing on and (as often taken) against Judaism
. He was influenced by the racialist theories of Arthur de Gobineau
. He also admired Benjamin Disraeli, two of whose novels he translated into the German language
.
Born in Stargard
in the Province of Pomerania, he studied medicine in Freiburg
, qualifying in 1891. He left the German Empire
in 1894, where his father was a banker in Wiesbaden
, and lived in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
.
He apparently discovered, or was more thoroughly converted to, Nietzsche in 1905 or 1906 via a patient. The 18-volume Nietzsche translation he oversaw appeared from 1909 to 1913. This large effort has later been criticised as less than scholarly. His collaborators were Francis Bickley, Paul V. Cohn, Thomas Common
, William S. Haussman, J.M. Kennedy, Anthony Ludovici
, Maximilian A. Mugge, Maude D. Petre
, Horace B. Samuel, Herman Scheffauer, G.T. Wrench and Helen Zimmern
. Ludovici became his most important follower. In general he found little British support, but A.R. Orage was an enthusiast and Levy found an outlet in The New Age
.
Subsequently his life was complicated by having to leave the United Kingdom and his medical practice despite his support for the British side against the Central Powers
when World War I
broke out. He went back to the German Empire in 1915 and then to Switzerland
. Back in the United Kingdom in 1920, he incautiously wrote a preface for an inflammatory political pamphlet by George Pitt-Rivers, The World Significance of the Russian Revolution. He was deported as an alien in 1921. He then lived in the French Third Republic
.
Eventually he returned to the United Kingdom
; his daughter Maud lived in Oxford
, having married the bookseller Albi Rosenthal. His grandson is television sports presenter Jim Rosenthal
.
His papers were in 2004 deposited in the Nietzsche-Haus
in Sils Maria.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-Jewish physician and writer, now known as a scholar of Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
, whose works he first saw translated systematically into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. His was a paradoxical life, of self-exile and exile, and of writing on and (as often taken) against Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. He was influenced by the racialist theories of Arthur de Gobineau
Arthur de Gobineau
Joseph Arthur Comte de Gobineau was a French aristocrat, novelist and man of letters who became famous for developing the theory of the Aryan master race in his book An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races...
. He also admired Benjamin Disraeli, two of whose novels he translated into the German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
Born in Stargard
Stargard Szczecinski
Stargard Szczeciński is a city in northwestern Poland, with a population of 71,017 . Situated on the Ina River it is the capital of Stargard County and since 1999 has been in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship; prior to that it was in the Szczecin Voivodeship...
in the Province of Pomerania, he studied medicine in Freiburg
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...
, qualifying in 1891. He left the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
in 1894, where his father was a banker in Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
, and lived in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
.
He apparently discovered, or was more thoroughly converted to, Nietzsche in 1905 or 1906 via a patient. The 18-volume Nietzsche translation he oversaw appeared from 1909 to 1913. This large effort has later been criticised as less than scholarly. His collaborators were Francis Bickley, Paul V. Cohn, Thomas Common
Thomas Common
Thomas Common was a translator and critic, who translated several books by Nietzsche into English. There is little information about him biographically, though indications are that he was a very well-educated and literate scholar, who lived in the area of Corstorphine, Scotland.In the mid-1890s,...
, William S. Haussman, J.M. Kennedy, Anthony Ludovici
Anthony Ludovici
Anthony Mario Ludovici, was an English philosopher, Nietzschean sociologist and social critic. He is best known, perhaps, as a proponent of aristocracy, and in the early 20th century was a leading British conservative author...
, Maximilian A. Mugge, Maude D. Petre
Maude Petre
Maude Dominica Mary Petre was an English Roman Catholic nun, writer and critic involved in the Modernist controversy.-Life:...
, Horace B. Samuel, Herman Scheffauer, G.T. Wrench and Helen Zimmern
Helen Zimmern
Helen Zimmern was a German-British writer and translator.-Biography:Zimmern and her parents emigrated in 1850 to Britain, where her father became a Nottingham lace merchant. She was naturalized upon coming of age. She was the sister of the suffragist Alice Zimmern and a cousin of the political...
. Ludovici became his most important follower. In general he found little British support, but A.R. Orage was an enthusiast and Levy found an outlet in The New Age
The New Age
The New Age was a British literary magazine, noted for its wide influence under the editorship of A. R. Orage from 1907 to 1922. It began life in 1894 as a publication of the Christian Socialist movement; but in 1907 as a radical weekly edited by Joseph Clayton, it was struggling...
.
Subsequently his life was complicated by having to leave the United Kingdom and his medical practice despite his support for the British side against the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
when World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out. He went back to the German Empire in 1915 and then to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Back in the United Kingdom in 1920, he incautiously wrote a preface for an inflammatory political pamphlet by George Pitt-Rivers, The World Significance of the Russian Revolution. He was deported as an alien in 1921. He then lived in the French Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
.
Eventually he returned to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
; his daughter Maud lived in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, having married the bookseller Albi Rosenthal. His grandson is television sports presenter Jim Rosenthal
Jim Rosenthal
Jim Rosenthal is a sports presenter on British television.-Early life:Rosenthal grew up in Oxford and attended Josca's Preparatory School before going to Magdalen College School...
.
His papers were in 2004 deposited in the Nietzsche-Haus
Nietzsche-Haus, Sils-Maria
The Nietzsche-Haus is a house in Sils-Maria, Switzerland, where the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche lived during the summers of 1881 and 1883 to 1888.-Location:...
in Sils Maria.
Works
- The Revival of Aristocracy (1906) translation by L. Magnus
- My Battle for Nietzsche in England
- Nietzsche verstehen. Essays aus dem Exil 1913-1937
- The Idiocy of Idealism (1940)