Wilhelm Hasenclever - Work As A Writer

Work As A Writer

Hasenclever's work as a writer went beyond the numerous publications in newspapers and magazines, many of which he had founded himself. He wrote various treatises on sociopolitical problems of the time, but also novellas, poems and songs, in which he addressed the cause of the workers in emotionally and full of pathos. The roots of his poems were the political poems of the Vormärz and were intended to be more political than artistical. In day-to-day politics, however, Hasenclever was regarded as more moderate than other leading Socialists of the time.

Inside the party, one of his most controversial works was the treatise "Der Wahrheit die Ehre. Ein Beitrag zur Judenfrage in Deutschland" ("Truth Honored. A Submission on the Question of Jews in Germany"), which he had published in 1881 under the pen name "Wilhelm Revel". In it, Hasenclever addressed the racist-antisemitic position of Adolf Stoecker, who had founded the Christian Social Party (Christlich-soziale Partei) to promote an anti-Semitic agenda politically. However, by criticizing this "movement", which tried to attract and subvert the social democrat voters (with limited success), Hasenclever touched upon the anti-Semitic ressentiments in the worker's movement and showed understanding for their anti-capitalist and anti-intellectual motivations. So, he showed his own latent antisemitical bias, which led to criticism by other leading party members, who saw it as a threat to the official party line of emancipation and assimilation of Jews.