Ludwig Jacobowski (1868–1900)

Ludwig Jacobowski was born to a Jewish family in Strelno, Posen, Prussia (present-day Strzelno, Poland). In 1874, the family moved to Berlin, where he spent most of the rest of his short life. After graduating from high school, he studied literature, philosophy, and history at the Humboldt University of Berlin. In 1889, he moved to the University of Freiburg, where he received his doctorate
in 1891 with a dissertation on the Shakespearomania of the late 18th century Sturm und Drang period. During his studies, together with Richard Zoozmann, he founded the journal Der Zeitgenosse. He also edited the literary youth magazine Die Gesellschaft. Jacobowski wrote several volumes of poetry including Funken (1891), Satan lachte (1898), Aus bewegten Stunden (1899), Ausklang (1901), and Leuchtende Tage (1901). His novel Werther, der Jude (1892), which expressed his inner turmoil, provoked more interest than his poems. His second novel was called Loki, Roman eines Gottes (Loki, Novel of a God, 1899). Jacobowski was also an essayist and author of a comedy, Diyab der Narr (Diyab the Fool, 1895). As a significant Jewish figure in the last decade of 19th-century German literature, his correspondence with many of the leading writers of his time, including Karl Kraus, Alfred Kerr, and Jacob Wassermann, is of interest . He was an active defender of Jewish rights and published a spirited reply to anti-Semitism, Offene Antwort eines Juden (Open Answer of a Jew) in 1891. His collected works in one volume (Gesammelte Werke in einem Band) appeared in 2000.