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THE SOUTHERN IS R A E L I T E 6 Franz Werfel — Europe s Ghandi An Interview with the Great Humanitarian By EGON MICHAEL Vienna. The fourth floor of an apartment house. On the door glitter two brass plates: Mahler and Werfel. You enter a simple anteroom, in which white varnished furni ture flanks the walls. Here, in the center of the city, with a view over the roofs, lives Frank Werfel, the poet. In appear ance he does not seem to fit in with our time. The broad rimmed soft hat, the black artist’s tie, the old-fashioned vest stamp him a typical Bohemian. Yet this Bohemian is a man of extraordinary capacity for work. In less than three months of unin terrupted labor, Werfel wrote his latest novel, a volume of eight hundred pages. Almost without intermission, he followed it up with a drama, “Reich Gottes in Boh- men,” when he finished in five weeks. When his “Barbara,” or as the American edition is called “The Pure in Heart,” ap peared, Werfel, the aloof poet, who feels best when left in peace in his ivory tower, found himself the center of a heated con troversy. In this novel, Werfel attempts to penetrate into the deepest recesses of Catholicism and succeeded so well in de scribing the religious views of the old gov erness, Barbara, that fanatic chauvinists read in his sincere approach to the Catho lic religion an escape from Judaism. Stories were published in Jewish newspapers that Werfel (who is married to the widow of Gustav Mahler, a non-Jewess) had ac cepted Catholicism. The poet denied these aspersions most vigorously. But when the Vienna Burgtheater produced his drama in which the author occupies himself again with the religious idea—this time from a political aspect—the rumors of his conver sion were resumed. We discussed these rumors. Werfel spoke of them in a detached yet serious vein. There is in his melodious voice an unfal tering note of patience, of forgiveness, of human understanding. In his early forties, Werfel impresses one as unusually mature and contemplative personality, utterly without pose and far removed from the petty jealousies of the professional liter ary circle. "It would be wrong to assume that I try to solve or even touch upon the problem of conversion. The idea that I have aban doned the Jewish faith is totally incorrect. Religion, as such, preoccupies me very much. I have dealt with it in several of my works and l intend to give it more at tention. I believe that 1 would feel more comfortable in an era that would come closest to the year 50 after Christ, the period of the beginning of Christianity. Then the Jewish and the Christian ethos were blended in one wonderful idea. I have tried to describe the era in mv “Paul Among the Jews.” Once embarked on the topic of religion, Werfel does not have to be coaxed to speak. One realizes that it is uppermost in his mind. The poet continued: The Seven Arts Feature Syndicate and The Southern Israelie present the first interview granted by Frank Werfel, one of Europe’s outstanding writers and spiritual leaders, to a newspaper corre spondent. In an intimate, informal con versation, Werfel discusses religion and his own method of work. FRANZ WERFEL “The views of the revolutionaries (of Bohemia) under the leadership of John Huss, who tried to reform the Church, were undoubtedly rooted in the ideas of original Christianity. At that time, polit ical events already influenced religious struggles. In both camps—among the Cath olics and the reformers—idealism predomi nated. Today I am convinced that every idealistic politician is doomed to fall. Pol itics represents the attempt of different groups to obtain power. Whoever wants to harmonize politics and religious morals is either self-deluded or a tragic figure. That is why political cynicism always triumphs over idealism.” it liueiesieu me to Know Weriers mo of work. Until I met him I had been und the impression that the author of “Verd was a slow, meticulous writer, with whe the writing of a novel or play consum many years of study and preparatic Thus, like a curious flapper, I asked hii How do you write?” Werfel did not smile superciliously. N did he try to avert a serious answer some shallow witticism. In a matter fact, yet warm voice, he explained: believe that a writer’s creation is the resi of long', unsystematic work. I do not , cupy myself with only one project or e one sketch at a time. A great deal of ma rial comes under the sun of conscious*, and then glides away mysteriously, adventure or some incident suddenly brir it back and ferilizes it, suddenly shifts into what I call the productive sphere. Oi ere, the work takes shape almost by self. I tiptoe around the idea, and try mv utmost not to project myself on the ideas that are growing organically. This is per haps the most difficult phase of the sub conscious development of creative work. The author must restrain himself from stamping his personality on the structure of his work and the characterization of his personnel. The work must be protected from the interference of the creator; the material must develop by itself; the char acters must grow out of themselves. Only then may the author be permitted to begin his manual work.” Werfel is recognized today as the out standing post-war literary figure of Central Europe. Born in Prague some forty-five years ago, he began writing quite early, but found himself only after the World War, which he opposed from the very beginning. For the last ten years he has been living sporadically in Hamberg, Leipzig and Vi enna. Shifting from the light, often gro tesque, literary output of his earlier years, Werfel has gradually become the great humanitarian. His leitmotif is a lamenta tion over the brutality of our time, and one great cry of yearning for the new person ality and a Paradisian future. His is a Tolstoyan confession of guilt, a pledge oi purification and a longing for liberation and purity. His ethical personality expresses itself ecstatically but never fanatically. There is in him the fervor of a prophet who longs for the amelioration and redemp tion of the world, but who never speaks with the self-righteousness of the reformer. If I try to define the literary (that is hardly the word) orientation of his work, it is because Franz Werfel the man is iden tical with Werfel the author. In what can be regarded as his program poem, which he composed four years before the confla gration that almost destroyed Europe, Y er- fel wrote: “Never again will I laugh at a human face; never again will I judge a man’s fate . . . From the most repulsive face God’s light may emanate.” There is no doubt that Werfel’s art re jects nationalism for romanticism, and places itself at the service of mankind. I tried to get Werfel’s reaction to the Jewish problem in Austria, the future o Zionism and the Jewish contribu ion world culture. He smiled—despite he nu bility of his face, it seemed to m 7P 1 •' ingly. “The Jews,” he remarked P ; ien “are facing the same problem as ,e ^ of humanity. It is true that the • of this age hits them harder tha: 111 others, because they are weaker protected by political machinery, this very helplessness lies their > Were they to imitate those who substitute uniform laws for jus who use guns to enforce mora could not escape persecution. The merely descend (Continued on I ’.ut m vngtb’ rv to e * and they would e 1-1)