Verdrängung und bekenntnis: Zu Franz Werfels Jüdischer identität

The German expressionist writer Franz Werfel (1890-1945), seen by most literary critics as a "believer in Christ", was torn between Christian and Jewish worlds; he was deeply attached to both. Out of consideration for his Christian wife, Alma Mahler, Werfel long repressed his Jewish identity. One can perceive this inner turmoil in Werfel's short story Pogrom (1926), which until now has received little attention from literary researchers. An examination of several of Werfel's texts reveals how Werfel's commitment to Judaism as a spiritual force increased over the years and his initial repression transformed into a clear confession of his Jewish identity, culminating in his novel Jeremias (1937). Charting the extent of Werfel's Jewishness, this article also traces his knowledge of Jewish sources, customs and rituals.