Introduction

German writers were largely excluded from politics, it is not surprising that many developed what may be regarded as essentially non-political attitudes. The dual tradition among German writers in their attitudes to politics was no more apparent than in the differing attitudes of the Mann brothers, Heinrich and Thomas, at the time of the First World War. When democracy finally arrived with the Weimar Republic Thomas Mann changed his political stance. The strength of his new democratic convictions has been disputed; nevertheless, they earned him in certain quarters the title of praeceptor Germaniae. Other writers on the left of the political spectrum, however, were less than happy with the democracy of Weimar. Brother Heinrich too saw no reason to believe that Geist and Macht in the form of the state were anything other than opposites.