I Was a German

First published in 1934, "I Was a German" is the autobiography of the expressionist playwright Ernst Toller. Like many others, Toller had volunteered in 1914 but the war turned him into a pacifist. When revolution broke out after Germany's defeat in 1918, he became a leading figure in the socialist movement in Munich and in 1919 joined the cabinet of the Bavarian Soviet Republic. When the revolution was brutally quashed by right-wing Freikorps, Toller was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for High Treason ('but with honourable intent'). After his release, he became one of the most celebrated playwrights of German expressionism. Forced into exile in 1933, he was internationally recognised as a courageous, tireless figure of resistance against the Nazis. Now, reissued for the first time since its original publication, "I Was a German" is Toller's autobiography - from his childhood and student days to war, revolution, and imprisonment. The book is a unique memoir that provides a fascinating insight into the 'generation of 1914' which returned from the trenches as fervent believers in the ideals of socialism. It also reveals that only with the knowledge of the events of 1918 and 1919 can we properly understand what happened in Germany in 1933.

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