Walter Flex
Encyclopedia
Walter Flex was a German
author responsible for Wanderer zwischen beiden Welten (The Wanderer between Two Worlds), a stunning war novel dealing with themes of humanity, friendship, and suffering during World War I
.
Born in Eisenach
to a secondary school teacher, he went to the University of Erlangen where he studied German, thanks to the award of a bursary. In his brief life prior to the outbreak of war he worked as a teacher, publishing, amongst other works, Das Volk in Eisen and Sonne und Schild, a series of well received nationalist works. As a song, his poem Wildgänse rauschen durch die Nacht gained popularity with the Wandervogel
youth and was well known and sung in Germany until the 1970s.
He enlisted as a volunteer at the outbreak of war in 1914. He was injured in action and died on October 16, 1917 at Oti Manor, Saaremaa
, Estonia
.
His Wanderer zwischen beiden Welten was published in 1916, by Beck's Verlag, and was well received. His reputation grew in the post-war years and his romantic idealism was exploited by the Nazi
party, which found his evocative and romantic lyricism especially appealing and considered it an expression of Aryan ideals.
During the time of (and partly due to) the German student movement
, his reputation faded almost entirely.
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...
author responsible for Wanderer zwischen beiden Welten (The Wanderer between Two Worlds), a stunning war novel dealing with themes of humanity, friendship, and suffering during 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...
.
Born in Eisenach
Eisenach
Eisenach is a city in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated between the northern foothills of the Thuringian Forest and the Hainich National Park. Its population in 2006 was 43,626.-History:...
to a secondary school teacher, he went to the University of Erlangen where he studied German, thanks to the award of a bursary. In his brief life prior to the outbreak of war he worked as a teacher, publishing, amongst other works, Das Volk in Eisen and Sonne und Schild, a series of well received nationalist works. As a song, his poem Wildgänse rauschen durch die Nacht gained popularity with the Wandervogel
Wandervogel
Wandervogel is the name adopted by a popular movement of German youth groups from 1896 onward. The name can be translated as rambling, hiking or wandering bird and the ethos is to shake off the restrictions of society and get back to nature and freedom...
youth and was well known and sung in Germany until the 1970s.
He enlisted as a volunteer at the outbreak of war in 1914. He was injured in action and died on October 16, 1917 at Oti Manor, Saaremaa
Saaremaa
Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2,673 km². The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
.
His Wanderer zwischen beiden Welten was published in 1916, by Beck's Verlag, and was well received. His reputation grew in the post-war years and his romantic idealism was exploited by the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
party, which found his evocative and romantic lyricism especially appealing and considered it an expression of Aryan ideals.
During the time of (and partly due to) the German student movement
German student movement
The German student movement was a protest movement that took place during the late 1960s in West Germany. It was largely a reaction against the perceived authoritarianism and hypocrisy of the German government and other Western governments, and the poor living conditions of students...
, his reputation faded almost entirely.