Honesty V. Political Opinions in Imperial Germany

The political situation in Germany during the 1880s is delicately interwoven with the plot in “The Beaver Coat” by Gerhart Hauptmann. I would like to preface this argument with a synopsis of modern German history. After the Franco-Prussian War, Germany’s Imperial Empire was established in 1871 with the unification of the German-speaking, Prussian-influenced states. Chancellor Otto von Bismark and Emperor Wilhelm I led this new-found nation into the industrialized, imperial world (Bismark did more of the actual ruling than Wilhelm I, but that is another argument entirely.) In an imperial civilization, there is generally a singular authority/head of state with several chancellors or legislators that help create and enforce policies that ensure the growth and survival of the state. Nationalism plays a significant role in the political ideology of imperialism.

In Hauptmann’s play, Dr. Fleischer is one of the more interesting individuals, primarily because his background and character are foreign to the main group of people in town. He is mentioned multiple times during the play before his character is actually seen; “Glasenapp: The mailman says he subscribes to twenty papers.--And there are some democratic ones among them, too...Von Wehrhahn: I’ve had my eye on that man for a long time”. Dr. Fleischer proves throughout the duration of the play that he is an honorable man by bringing both of the cases of theft against Mr. Kreuger to the attention of the proper authorities, however because his political views are questionable at best to the other characters in the play, his word is not accepted at its true value; “Mitteldorf: I heard it [the firewood theft] ...I heard it from Mr. Fleischer.” However, the word of Mrs. Wolff, the criminal mastermind in this play, who is well known by the townspeople and who generally appears to go along with the political preferences of the townspeople, is highly valued; “Von Wehrhahn: You aren’t unknown to us. No one will deny that you are honest and industrious.” 

The point of this argument is to highlight the cultural significance of imperialism to German history. The inherent nationalism (German-ness) of an individual was highly valued and this adherence to cultural norms or nationalism could be measured through their political opinions and character. Democracy was not a key German political ideology, especially not during the early years of the German Empire, and any idea that came from an outside source or different country and did not support the reign of Emperor Wilhelm I/Chancellor Bismark was interpreted as an unwelcome protuberance. Although xenophobia is a relatively easy trait to portray in a play, it does not excuse the poor judgement and idiocy of the main characters.