In Aphorism 475, "Der europäische Mensch und die Vernichtung der Nationen", of Menschliches, Allzumenschliches (1878), Friedrich Nietzsche writes,
Der Handel und die Industrie, der Bücher- und Briefverkehr, die Gemeinsamkeit aller höheren Cultur, das schnelle Wechseln von Ort und Landschaft, das jetzige Nomadenleben aller Nicht-Landbesitzer, - diese Umstände bringen nothwendig eine Schwächung und zuletzt eine Vernichtung der Nationen, mindesten der europäischen, mit sich: so dass aus ihnen allen, in Folge fortwährender Kreuzungen, eine Mischrasse, die des europäischen Menschen, entstehen muss....so soll man sich nur ungescheut als guten Europäer ausgeben und durch die That an der Verschmelzung der Nationen arbeiten: wobei die Deutschen durch ihre alte bewährte Eigenschaft, Dolmetscher und Vermittler der Völker zu sein, mitzuhelfen vermögen.(1)
A reflection on the future, Nietzsche's observations and conclusions anticipated the fundamental transformation that occurred within the cultural atmosphere of the Austrian German intellectual middle class around 1900. Nietzsche's philosophy enjoyed its first reception in Vienna and not Berlin during this period of Austrian German liberalism and his ideas corresponded with the emergence of alternative cultural forces to the very same movement, aiding in the creation of an environment in which future generations of Austrian German intellectuals became increasingly concerned and preoccupied with cultural, social and personal identity in the changing world around them.
This interdisciplinary paper will take a closer look at two examples of this phenomenon from within the Austrian German Bildungsbürgertum: Hermann Bahr (1863-1934) and Stefan Zweig (1881-1942). These two intellectuals thought about Austrian identity in a more cultural and international way without the desire for incorporation into Germany and long before the existence of the European Union. Both Bahr and Zweig benefited from a remarkable reception of Nietzsche's ideas that in turn aided their own exploration of identity.
At the center of this inquiry will be the personal and intellectual proximity of Bahr and Zweig to Nietzsche's reception among Austrian German intellectuals, their personal encounters with Nietzsche's philosophy and an analysis of any traces of Nietzschean thought within their own intellectual output. Of particular importance will be Bahr's relationship to Nietzsche's philosophy through his social connections at the University of Vienna and newly researched evidence from Zweig's correspondence with Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche before the First World War. By focusing on these two Bildungsbürger examples, this paper will show the remarkable influence and importance of Nietzsche's views on German nationalism and Europe to the life and work of two influential Austrian German authors.
(1) Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Menschliches, Allzumenschliches: Erster Band, Aph. 475, in Nietzsches Werke kritische Gesamtausgabe, Abt.4 Bnd. 2, p. 319.
