25. Serious Signs of the Times

Mr. Edler Herr zu Putlitz has been appointed director of the Stuttgart Court Theater. When the news of this appointment was published in the newspapers, many a friend of the arts was no doubt surprised, for no one is aware of any qualifications that this gentleman brings to such a position. Indeed, the newly appointed official himself admitted with touching naivety when he took office that he was well aware that he did not have such prerequisites and that he owed his high position solely to the merits of his father. These lines do not in the least intend to belittle the undeniable merits of this father. They cannot and must not be forgotten. But in the face of such facts, the question is forced upon us: have we really come so far down the evil path of reaction that a son is given a high, responsible position simply because his father held a similar position? Where will we end up if we no longer fill important positions with people who are personally suited to them, but instead make the qualifications dependent on birth and descent! It must be particularly painful that this case could occur in the field of art. It shows a lack of understanding of the inner essence and dignity of art. In times when art was a pastime to fill idle hours, when people had no idea of its high value, the opinion that any gentleman could take the helm of an art institution could have been justified. But since the nation has come to realize that art is one of the most powerful levers of all culture, since that time, the influential circles should finally have come to the realization that only those who are deeply involved with the aspirations and activities of art are called to take a leading position in an art institute. How degrading it is for the performing artist to see the dilettante placed above him as judge and director! And truly lamentable is the objection that is often made against considerations of this kind: there are no right men in Germany for such a position. If only the Germans would once get rid of the unfortunate misjudgment of the merits of their contemporaries! As if every person really had to rest in the grave for fifty years before they could be recognized for their achievements. We have no doubt that future literary historians will celebrate Bulthaupt as a great dramatist who was wronged by his contemporaries. But why do people who claim to understand such things not step forward when a position needs to be filled and say with energy: this is the most worthy man for this place? In the long run, even those in positions of authority could not resist the unanimous and powerful declaration of discerning circles, which should become public opinion. But there is never any talk of our knights of the mind energetically standing up for their convictions. They consider “moderate restraint” to be the true characteristic of a true intellectual aristocracy. The fact that we are experiencing an ever more incredible decline in our cultural life, that we lack a true public opinion in matters of art, and that we are being led back into the dark conditions of dead cultural periods: no one is concerned about this. If things continue to develop in the same way, we will eventually end up with a situation where a man is appointed as a professor of political science or philosophy at a university because his father has rendered services to the corresponding disciplines or because he belongs to a socially privileged family, and without any further proof of his personal abilities being required. We will see optimistic people coming and saying: the man will settle into his office, he will learn. We have heard such judgments - from otherwise quite capable men - when Burckhard was appointed to the top position at the Burgtheater in Vienna from a purely bureaucratic position. Such people must allow us to find it natural when someone hires a layman as a doctor. For he will learn the duties of his profession and will settle in. A layman as theater director can certainly not cure a sick person to death. But he can kill good taste. But that is less noticeable. He will still be able to “amuse” people.

The author of the essay “Serious Signs of the Times”
(see “Litterar. Merkur” No. 4) has the following
to say in response:

The comparison with an unread book seems to me to be quite inadmissible: Mr. zu Putlitz is not a closed book, but an unwritten one. What our article was directed against was the fact of the appointment. There was not the slightest reason for it. Why appoint a man to the post of theater director who has not done anything to prove his ability to the public, when there are enough men in Germany who can be relied upon to fill this position? Even if we admit that Mr. zu Putlitz will settle in. The position of theater director is not one that should be filled by a man who has not in some way settled into the arts. In such serious matters, one does not count on possibilities. It may be that he will settle in; but it may also be that he will not. Mr. zu Putlitz is not even mentioned. Once he has been appointed, he must fulfill his task as well as he can. Our article was not directed against him, but against the views of those who appointed him.

The objection that, according to the demands of our article, the director must be a universal genius, equally experienced in drama, music, song, ballet, is not correct. We do not demand that the director be a master of every single art form, but only that he have a lively relationship with art. He does not need to have a relationship with all areas of art, but he must have become familiar with art from some side. Whether musician, dramatist, critic, etc.: that is less important. But something of all of them.

What the author of the reply says about the principle of familiarization could at best still apply to a member of the stage. The individual singer or actor will be able to be used with the right talent, even before he is finished. But the theater should not be a place of education for directors. The top manager must have certain goals and a clear, coherent artistic vision. It is quite possible that Mr. zu Putlitz is very capable and knows a lot. But that can mean nothing compared to the fact that there are men in Germany who have proven through their journalistic achievements that every theater can expect an artistic upswing under their direction. Where that is the case, there is no need to let someone settle in first. It is painful to see so much intellectual power that is not used in public life, while important things are accomplished by people who appear to have little vocation.