The German Beast Unleashed: Kleist’s Hermannsschlacht and the Suspension of ‘Human Rights’ in the Era of Nationalism

Nitschke, Claudia

Abstract

This article scrutinises the aporetic confrontation of different ultimate values in Kleist’s infamous Die Hermannsschlacht, namely nationalism and a basic notion of ‘human rights’. Kleist’s play does not settle for one of these priorities, but conceptualizes the nation as a facilitator, promulgator, and protector of rights and — at the very same time — as an inexorable principle of selection which ties the notions of exclusion and elimination closely to those of inclusion and participation. In this respect, Die Hermannsschlacht not only prepares and anticipates elements of Carl Schmitt’s political theory, but also comes very close to Giorgio Agamben’s analysis of sovereignty and the production of politically qualified life in his Homo Sacer series. However, it does so without completely abandoning the universal ideas of human rights.

Citation

Nitschke, C. (2018). The German Beast Unleashed: Kleist’s Hermannsschlacht and the Suspension of ‘Human Rights’ in the Era of Nationalism. Publications of the English Goethe Society, 87(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593683.2018.1433479

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 8, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Feb 12, 2018
• Publication Date: Feb 12, 2018
• Deposit Date: Jan 30, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 12, 2019
• Journal: Publications of the English Goethe Society
• Print ISSN: 0959-3683
• Electronic ISSN: 1749-6284
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 87
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 1-14
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09593683.2018.1433479
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1340470