Literature, in many different languages, was one of the hallmarks of The Great War. It behoves us to take a closer look at Kurt Tucholsky, one of the most brilliant German writers and satirists of the 20th century, with regard to his writings on the Great War. Tucholsky served from 1915 and 1918, and returned home a convinced anti-militarist and pacifist. His writings are similar to those of Heinrich Heine, his role model, in appearing superficially simple, but replete with hidden meanings. His style is biting, satirical, and penetrating, full of Berlin gallows humor. This anthology contains English translation of short stories as well as a biingual rendition of his war poetry, translated by Peter Appelbaum and James Scott, all representative of his style.

Kurt Tucholsky was a brilliant satirist, poet, storyteller, lyricist, pacifist, and Democrat; one of the most famous journalists in Weimar Germany, and an early warner against the Nazis. Erich Kaestner called him a "small, fat Berliner," who "wanted to stop a catastrophe with his typewriter". His books were burned and banned by the Nazis, who drove him out of his country. But he is not forgotten.

Peter Appelbaum MD, PhD, is Emeritus Professor of Pathology, Pennsylvania State University. His has authored Loyalty Betrayed: Jewish Chaplains in the German Army During the First World War and Loyal Sons. German Jews in the First World War, coming out September. He also has unearthed poetry written by German Jewish soldiers, and translated many of those, making them available in English for the first time.

James W. Scott, Ph.D, is Emeritus Professor of German at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania. His scholarly presentations range from Rilke’s prose and Kafka’s short fiction to cabaret in East Germany and communicative testing. At present he is editing Ebernand von Erfurt's Kaiser und Kaiserin and preparing a new translation of Iwein, an Arthurian epic by Hartmann von Aue.

For more information about Kurt Tucholsky and 'Prayers After The Slaughter' visit Berlinica.com
Additional reading on the Berlinica.com blog

" Tucholsky was known as one of Weimar Germany's most celebrated literary figures. Thanks to these translations, American readers now have the chance to discover him." - Noah Isenberg, author of Between Redemption and Doom: The Strains of German-Jewish Modernism

"Tucholsky's incisive and elegant voice will now be more widely available in English.​" - Atina Grossmann, Professor of History at Cooper Union