Die Aktion

Die Aktion
Egon Schiele · Public domain · source
Title	Die Aktion
Editor	Franz Pfemfert
Frequency	Weekly / Fortnightly
Firstdate	1911
Finaldate	1932
Country	German Empire / Weimar Republic
Language	German

Die Aktion Die Aktion was a German political and literary periodical published from 1911 to 1932 that became a central organ for Expressionist literature, radical politics, and avant-garde art in Berlin, Germany. Founded by Franz Pfemfert, the magazine linked networks of writers, artists, and militants across Europe and engaged with events such as World War I, the German Revolution of 1918–1919, and the rise of the Weimar Republic. It published poetry, essays, manifestos, and visual art that intersected with movements and figures from Expressionism to Dada and debates involving Social Democracy and Communism.

History and Founding

Die Aktion was established in 1911 in Berlin by Franz Pfemfert after earlier involvement with periodicals associated with Expressionism and cultural debates in Pre-war Germany. Its founding occurred amid contemporaneous publications such as Simplicissimus, Der Sturm, and Pan (magazine), and in dialogue with conferences and exhibitions like the Erste Internationale Dada-Messe and anthologies promoted by figures including Herwarth Walden and Alfred Kerr. The magazine's early issues emphasized literary experimentation and polemical reviews of books and theater productions at venues such as the Deutsche Theater and salons connected to patrons like Else Lasker-Schüler. During World War I, Die Aktion shifted tone as Pfemfert and contributors debated positions in relation to events like the Battle of the Somme and the policies of the Kaiserreich. After 1918, the journal positioned itself in the ferment of the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the turbulent politics surrounding the Spartacist uprising and groups including the Communist Party of Germany and Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany. The magazine continued under Pfemfert through the early years of the Weimar Republic until financial and political pressures, along with the rise of movements such as National Socialism, curtailed its run by 1932.

Editorial Leadership and Contributors

Franz Pfemfert served as the principal editor, publisher, and driving intellectual force, coordinating contributions from a wide array of writers, artists, and activists. Prominent literary contributors included Gottfried Benn, Franz Werfel, Georg Heym, Else Lasker-Schüler, Ernst Toller, Jakob van Hoddis, Walter Hasenclever, and Oskar Kokoschka. Political and critical voices comprised figures such as Karl Liebknecht, Rosa Luxemburg (posthumous commentary and coverage), Ernst Mach, and Bertolt Brecht in later contexts. Visual artists and illustrators who contributed plates and covers included Max Beckmann, Emil Nolde, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Otto Dix, George Grosz, and Lyonel Feininger. The magazine also printed translations and discussions of international writers and activists like Alexandre Dumas, Vasily Kandinsky (as artist/critic overlaps), Arthur Rimbaud, Charles Baudelaire, Marcel Proust, James Joyce, T.S. Eliot, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Václav Havel (later references in archival contexts), and commentators on movements such as Futurism and Surrealism. Editorial collaborators and correspondents included editors and impresarios from other journals such as Herwarth Walden of Der Sturm and poets associated with circles around Alfred Kerr and Gabriele D'Annunzio.

Political Orientation and Cultural Impact

Die Aktion combined radical leftist politics with avant-garde aesthetics, aligning at various moments with anti-militarist positions during World War I and with revolutionary currents tied to the Spartacist uprising and the early Communist Party of Germany. It published polemics against establishment figures and institutions like supporters of the German Empire, critiqued legal and political responses to uprisings such as trials following the Kapp Putsch, and engaged with international labor and socialist debates involving organizations like the Third International. Culturally, the magazine influenced theatrical practice at venues such as the Deutsches Theater and fed into debates on the role of art in social transformation engaged by playwrights such as Ernst Toller and Bertolt Brecht. Die Aktion’s pages were a platform for controversies over censorship in periods overseen by authorities stemming from the Imperial German government and later conflicts in the early Weimar Republic over press freedoms and leftist organization.

Literary and Artistic Content

The magazine prioritized Expressionist poetry and prose, serializing manifestos, experimental plays, and essays that intersected with contemporary movements including Dada, Futurism, Symbolism, and early Modernism. It printed early work by poets like Georg Trakl and dramatists such as Walter Hasenclever, alongside critical essays on painting by artists like Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky. Visual spreads featured woodcuts, lithographs, and etchings by Emil Nolde, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, and George Grosz, often paired with texts by authors such as Else Lasker-Schüler and Gottfried Benn. The magazine carried translations of international modernists—Arthur Rimbaud, Charles Baudelaire, Marcel Proust, James Joyce—and engaged with theoretical writings by critics and philosophers like Georg Lukács and historians who commented on aesthetics during the Weimar Republic cultural debates. Editions included polemical supplements, dramatic texts intended for experimental companies, and manifestos calling for a synthesis of political commitment and artistic innovation.

Reception, Controversy, and Legacy

Die Aktion provoked strong responses from conservative press organs, liberal literary critics, and competing avant-garde journals. It faced censorship, seizures, and legal pressures during the Kaiserreich and embattled reception in the aftermath of the Spartacist uprising and the Kapp Putsch. Critics from publications such as Simplicissimus and commentators allied with parties like the Social Democratic Party of Germany often attacked its editorial line, while revolutionary circles and radical artists praised its militant cultural program. The magazine’s legacy persisted through its impact on later movements: it influenced Neue Sachlichkeit debates, informed émigré networks of writers and artists in the 1930s, and left archival traces in institutions like the Berliner Stadtbibliothek and collections at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. Scholars of German literature and art history continue to mine its pages for early appearances of authors and artists who would shape twentieth-century culture, and retrospectives in museums and universities revisit its role alongside figures such as Hannah Höch, John Heartfield, and Max Beckmann.

Category:German magazines Category:Expressionism Category:Political magazines