- Die Hermannsschlacht (Kleist)
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Die Hermannsschlacht (The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest) is a drama in five acts written in 1808 by Heinrich von Kleist. It is based on the battle between the Romans and Germanic tribes that took place in the Teutoburg Forest in present-day Nordrhein-Westfalen in western Germany.
The play was written after the Prussian defeat by Napoleon I, and it has been speculated that Kleist meant it as a call for resistance to the French.[1]
It was not published until 1821 and received its first performance only in 1860. It was often twisted to represent an overweening German nationalism, particularly during the Nazi regime.
References
- ^ Barbara Vinken: Kleist und die Deutschen. Berlin 2011.
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