Heinrich Mann

Professor Unrat, which translates as "Professor Garbage," is one of the most important works of Heinrich Mann and has achieved notoriety through film adaptations, most notably Der blaue Engel with Marlene Dietrich. The book caricatures the middle and upper class educational system of Wilhelmine Germany and the double …

First published in 1918, "Man of Straw" is a sharp indictment of the Wilhelmine regime and a chilling warning against the joint elevation of militarism and commercial values. The "Man of Straw" is Diederich Hessling, embodiment of the corrupt society in which he moves; his brutish progression through life forms the …