10 - The achievement

Summary

Durch die Darstellung von Gefühlen und Schicksalen habe ich mich bemüht, den Menschen etwas zu geben, ihnen vielleicht auch ein wenig vorwärtszuhelfen und so zur Veränderung unserer Welt beizutragen.

(Wege, p. 21)

By writing about the feelings and fortunes of individuals, I have tried to give something to humanity, perhaps also to help people on, and by this means to contribute in a small way to changing our world.

Heym has devoted his whole adult life to the causes in which he believed. Apart from a small number of fairy tales, lyric poems and similar short pieces, his novels, essays and speeches all address political issues which were in some way connected with the development of democratic socialism. His entire intellectual and emotional energy was invested in portraying the problems surrounding certain ideals of truth, freedom, and democracy, on exposing the evils of fascism and Stalinism, and in pleading for a better world. To this end he constantly took serious risks, and he often espoused causes which he knew to be out of favour. True, his attacks on bureaucracy, injustice, and Stalinism found many grateful listeners in more than one country, but he did not shrink from voicing opinions which he knew could damage his popularity and his income.