Sonorous metaphors like “standing shoulder to shoulder” evolved into satirical leitmotifs, culminating in his indictment of the anachronistic ideals that sustained ix x Introduction the Central Powers during the First World War. He had a gift for dissecting the cliché-ridden language of his contemporaries. Where the editorials of the leading Austrian daily, the Neue Freie Presse, were celebrating the advances of German culture and the triumphs of European civilization, Kraus would expose the realities of conflict and suffering. To protect his independence Kraus created his own imprint, Verlag Die Fackel, which published book editions of his writings. In his magazine Die Fackel (The Torch), founded in April 1899, he would reprint prize examples of newspaper propaganda and expose their falsification of reality.1 His witty diatribes attracted a large readership, and with a print run of over 10,000 copies the magazine proved viable without having to rely on commercial advertising. Almost alone in the period before the First World War, the Viennese satirist Karl Kraus saw the press as an apocalyptic threat. Moreover, wealthy proprietors like Hearst and Northcliffe, Hugenberg and Benedikt, were imperialists capable of pressurizing governments into declarations of war.
Scott) and the New York Times (under Adolph Ochs) may have been committed to the peaceful resolution of conflicts, but wars were good for newspaper sales.
Liberal papers such as the Manchester Guardian (edited by C. Given the precarious international situation, it was possible at moments of crisis for journalists to tip the balance between peace and war. But it was also a period of intense imperial rivalries, backed by highly trained forces and sophisticated armaments industries. In Western Europe and North America democratic institutions, social reforms, and scientific discoveries seemed to be laying the foundations for a new era in the history of mankind. Newspaper production was revolutionized by rotary presses and linotype compositing machines, while modern roads and railways, together with the telephone, telegraph, and teleprinter, were transforming communications. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS Plan of Vienna City Centre, 1905 vi Introduction: Falsehood in Wartime, by Edward Timms and Fred Bridgham ix Preface, by Karl Kraus 1 Dramatis Personae 3 Prologue 29 Act I 47 Act II 168 Act III 240 Act IV 318 Act V 418 Epilogue: The Final Night 553 Translators’ Afterword and Acknowledgments 591 Glossary and Index 601 Map of European Battle Zones of the First World War 646 Plan of Vienna City Centre, 1905 This page intentionally left blank INTRODUCTION: FALSEHOOD IN WARTIME Edward Timms and Fred Bridgham The early twentieth century was the great age of the newspaper press, as mass literacy endowed the printed word with unprecedented power.
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper). paper) A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Frontispiece: The execution of Cesare Battisti, 12 July 1916 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015939015 ISBN 978-0 -300-20767-5 (cloth : alk. Set in Electra type by Tseng Information Systems, Inc. Yale University Press books may be purchased in quantity for educational, business, or promotional use. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. English translation, introduction, and afterword copyright © 2015 by Yale University. Translated 2015 by Fred Bridgham and Edward Timms. Originally published as Die letzten Tage der Menschheit. The translation of this book was supported by the Austrian Federal Chancellery-Division for the Arts. It brings to the English-speaking world the work of leading poets, novelists, essayists, philosophers, and playwrights from Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East to stimulate international discourse and creative exchange. The Last Days of Mankind The Last Days of Mankind KARL KRAUS T HE C OM PLE T E T E XT T R ANSLAT E D BY F RE D BRI DG HAM AND EDWARD TIMMS W IT H A G LOSSARY AND I NDE X YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS NEW HAVEN & LONDON The Margellos World Republic of Letters is dedicated to making literary works from around the globe available in English through translation.
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