From Bohemia to the Barricades: Erich Muehsam and the Development of a Revolutionary Drama

The writer and political activist Erich Muehsam (1878-1934) was one of the most colorful figures of the German revolutionary counter-culture early in this century. He developed a political philosophy which combined anarchist individualism with socialist resistance against the bourgeoisie. Muehsam is most widely known as one of the leaders of the Munich revolution of 1918-1919. Less well known is his extensive corpus of literary works, in which he attempted to articulate his political theory. This critical study - the first of its kind in English - discusses the development of Muehsam’s politics, from marginal bohemian protest to committed revolutionary activism. In the context of that biography, it then examines Muehsam’s five extant dramas as arenas of conflict between his radical politics and his persistently conservative aesthetics.