Early Work
His early work is influenced by Expressionism. Examples include Der Anfang (1917) and Der König (1920). Later, he turned to a naturalist philosophy in plays such as Wechsler und Händler (1923) and Thomas Paine (1927).
Bertolt Brecht's first play Baal was written in response to Johst's play Der Einsame, a dramatization of the life of playwright Christian Dietrich Grabbe. In 1928 Johst joined Alfred Rosenberg's "Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur" (Militant League for German Culture) designed to combat "Jewish" influence in German culture. In 1932 he joined the Nazi party, explaining his agreement with Hitler's ideology in the essay "Standpunkt und Fortschritt" in 1933.
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