Kurt Tucholsky (9 January 1890 – 21 December 1935) was a German satirist, novelist, journalist and author. A voice of the moderate to radical left but never openly associated with any particular political party, he was perhaps the fastest wit of the Weimar Republic. While he managed to escape the Nazi takeover, he died in Swedish exile only two years into the Nazi reign of an overdose that may or may not have been intentional.
Tropes associated with Kurt Tucholsky's works:
- Actual Pacifist: Tucholsky was a lifelong opponent of war and did not spare Germany's conduct during World War I from criticism. During his time in the Army (he was drafted and served largely on the eastern front) he - by his own admission - did what he could to avoid combat. (see the "Quotes" tab)
- Deadpan Snarker: Many of his works basically ooze snark.
- My God, What Have I Done?: During the 1920/21 referendum campaign in Silesianote Tucholsky worked for a German propaganda outlet. He later regretted having taken this job, as he felt the well paid propaganda job damaged his journalistic integrity.
- Non-Idle Rich: Tucholsky inherited quite a bit of money from his father when the latter died as Tucholsky was 15 years old, but it never stopped him from writing, writing, writing.
- Pen Name: As he wrote a lot and most publications he worked for liked the stuff he wrote but didn't want to give the appearance that half their stuff had been written by the same guy, he took several pen names, including "Ignaz Wrobel", "Kaspar Hauser", "Teobald Tiger" and "Peter Panter"
- War Is Hell: Perhaps his most famous quote is "Soldaten sind Mörder" - soldiers are murderers. He was sued for having written that, but ultimately acquitted. Even today one is legally allowed to say this sentence in Germany, but different wordings may get you in legal trouble.
