Rudolf Pannwitz
Rudolf Pannwitz (27 May 1881, Crossen/Oder, Province of Brandenburg, Prussia – 23 March 1969, Astano, Switzerland) was a German writer, poet and philosopher. His thought combined nature philosophy, Nietzsche, an opposition to nihilism and pan-European internationalism: Pannwitz's elusive, difficult goal may be seen as the complete re-evaluation of man, art, science and culture envisaged as the expression of an evolving cosmos obeying the laws of eternal recurrence, with Nietzsche-Zarathustra as the supreme prophet.
Rudolf Pannwitz

Fotograf unbekannt, Rechte lagen beim Verlag, kein Rechtenachweis für dieses Bild im Werk enthalten. · Anselm Salzer: Illustrierte Geschichte der Deutschen Literatur von den ältesten Zeiten bis zur Gegenwart. Band 5. Regensburg 1932, S. 2220. · Public domain
- Born
- 1881. · Krosno Odrzańskie.
- Died
- 1969. · Astano.
- Nationality
- Germany.
- Occupation
- poet, writer, philosopher, playwright and critic.
- Honours
- Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Schiller Memorial Prize and Andreas Gryphius Prize.
- Languages
- German.
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Documentary summary
Rudolf Pannwitz (27 May 1881, Crossen/Oder, Province of Brandenburg, Prussia – 23 March 1969, Astano, Switzerland) was a German writer, poet and philosopher. His thought combined nature philosophy, Nietzsche, an opposition to nihilism and pan-European internationalism: Pannwitz's elusive, difficult goal may be seen as the complete re-evaluation of man, art, science and culture envisaged as the expression of an evolving cosmos obeying the laws of eternal recurrence, with Nietzsche-Zarathustra as the supreme prophet.
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Authority files
wikidata · Q72094 · wikipedia · Rudolf Pannwitz
In this article
Life
Life
Pannwitz was educated at the University of Marburg before moving to Berlin to continue studying. Through Gertrud Kantorowicz, a cousin of Ernst Kantorowicz and friend of Georg Simmel, he was introduced to Sabine Lepsius and the poetry of Stefan George. Pannwitz's poem 'Das Totengedicht' [The Poem of the Dead] was published in George's literary magazine, Blätter für die Kunst. George and Nietzsche were lasting influences upon Pannwitz. In 1904 Pannwitz cofounded the periodical Charon with Otto zur Linde, co-editing it until 1906. His 1917 book The Crisis of European Culture impressed Hugo von Hofmannsthal, though Hofmannsthal later distanced himself from Pannwitz. From 1921 to 1948 Pannwitz lived on the small island of Koločep. In 1968 he received the Gryphius Prize.
Prose
Prose
Die Erziehung, 1909 Formenkunde der Kirche, 1912 Die Krisis der europäischen Kultur, 1917 Die deutsche Lehre, 1919 Grundriß einer Geschichte meiner Kultur 1886 bis 1906, 1921 Kosmos Atheos, 1926 Die Freiheit der Menschen, 1926 Logos, Eidos, Bios, 1930 Der Ursprung und das Wesen der Geschlechter, 1936 Nietzsche und die Verwandlung des Menschen, 1940 Weg des Menschen, 1942 Das Weltalter und die Politik, 1948 Der Nihilismus und die werdende Welt, 1951 Nach Siebzig Jahren, 1951 Beiträge zu einer europäischen Kultur, 1954
Poetry
Poetry
Prometheus, 1902 Dionysische Tragödien, 1913 Mythen, 1919-1921, In 9 Parts, including Das Kind Aion, Der Elf, Das Lied vom Ehlen, Faustus und Helena, Der Gott, and Logos. Urblick, 1926 Hymnen aus Widars Wiederkehr, 1927 König Laurin, 1956 Wasser wird sich ballen, 1963

Memorial plaque, Akademie der Künste, Pariser Platz 4, Berlin-Mitte, Germany
OTFW, Berlin · Self-photographed

Rudolf Pannwitz (1881–1969)
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Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1881
Rudolf Pannwitz born at Krosno Odrzańskie.
1969
Rudolf Pannwitz died at Astano.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Krosno Odrzańskie.
Birth place
Astano.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Rudolf Pannwitz”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q72094: Rudolf Pannwitz
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
scholarly publication
- Pannwitz, Rudolf (1881–1969), A Companion to Twentieth-Century German Literature, 2003
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2003
authority file
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Pannwitz, Was ich Nietzsche und George danke, 1989
- 2.Raymond Furness (2000), Zarathustra's children: a study of a lost generation of German writers, pp.17ff.
- 3.'Pannwitz, Rudolf', in The Oxford Companion to German Literature, ed. Henry & Mary Garland, 3rd ed., 1997, pp.646-7
Bibliography printed in the source article · 1
- Alessandro Gamba, Mondo disponibile e mondo prodotto. Rudolf Pannwitz filosofo, Vita e Pensiero, Milano 2007.
References
Citations
References
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scholarly publication
Pannwitz, Rudolf (1881–1969), A Companion to Twentieth-Century German Literature, 2003Crossref registry
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Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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