Zur Geschichte der Religion und Philosophie in Deutschland
Zur Geschichte der Religion und Philosophie in Deutschland (On the History of Religion and Philosophy in Germany) is a three-part essay by Heinrich Heine, each part referred to as a "book". He wrote them in exile in Paris in 1833/34. They were initially published in French, titled De l'Allemagne depuis Luther (Germany after Luther), in the magazine Revue des deux Mondes in 1834. The first publication in German was as part of Der Salon. Zweiter Band the same year.
Heine hoped for a revolution in Germany and looked at a history of emancipation in that country, beginning with the Reformation and followed by the philosophy of Kant and Hegel, among others.
History[edit]
Heinrich Heine wrote the essay in exile in Paris in 1833/34, following the French July Revolution of 1830 and the German Hambach Festival of 1832.[1] As it was being completed, Heine's German text was successively translated into French.[2] The French text was published in three parts as De l'Allemagne depuis Luther (Germany after Luther) in the magazine Revue des deux Mondes in March, November and December 1834. The first publication in German was in the second volume of the literary magazine Der Salon (Der Salon. Zweiter Band) in 1834.[3] Heine wrote in a preface for the German publication, dated December 1834, about the origins of the work, of the problems of the partitioned French publication, and of his intentions to present an overview of developments in German thinking, or mind processes ("Überschau deutscher Geistesvorgänge").[3]
Legacy[edit]
Der Salon. Zweiter Band did not sell well, but the publication resulted in several bans in Prussia, Hamburg and Austria. Klemens Wenzel Lothar von Metternich, however, recommended the book as quintessential and in good style.[14] The book foreshadows thoughts which later became topics of Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, Gershom Scholem[15] and Walter Benjamin, among others.[16]