Heine and Weimar

Summary

Das Deutsche Volk, einig in seinen Stämmen und von dem Willen beseelt, sein Reich in Freiheit und Gerechtigkeit zu erneuern und zu festigen, dem inneren und dem äußeren Frieden zu dienen und den gesellschaftlichen Fortschritt zu fördern, hat sich diese Verfassung gegeben.

Ich war in Weimar. (HSA 20: 180)

Of the many puzzles surrounding Heinrich Heine's political views, the question of what sort of political system he envisioned for Germany is perhaps the most perplexing. In two prominent places in his work, Heine ventures a prediction about Germany's future. In both cases, his vision is maddeningly ambiguous. He tantalizes the reader with the expectation that years of keen observation and extensive reporting on the political and social scene in Europe will have led to an informed judgment about the further course of historical developments. But deliberately, some might say maliciously, he stops short of making any clear prediction.

In a frequently quoted passage at the end of Zur Geschichte der Religion und Philosophie in Deutschland, Heine does predict one certain event in Germany: revolution. In summing up his discussion of religious and philosophical developments in Germany from the Middle Ages to Hegel, he formulates the famous thought that the revolution “im Gebiete des Geistes” that commenced with the emergence of Germanic pantheism and culminates with the idealists will lead, of necessity, to a revolution “im Reiche der Erscheinungen.” The metaphor is compelling: “Der Gedanke geht der That voraus, wie der Blitz dem Donner.” German thunder, he adds, is not very agile and will roll in somewhat slowly; but it will come, “aber kommen wird er” (DHA 8.1: 118). In typical fashion, Heine spins out the metaphor: the German thunderclap, when it does come, will be the loudest ever heard. Eagles will fall out of the air; lions in Africa will tuck their tails between their legs and crawl back into their dens. Then he mixes the metaphor. This German production (“Stück”) will make the French Revolution look like a harmless Arcadian romp (“Idylle”). The actors are not yet on the scene. Currently, only little dogs are running around the arena barking and snapping at each other — the metaphor has changed again — but the time will come when a swarm of presumably human gladiators will enter the arena and fight to the death.