Besprechungen / Reviews 177 a broader approach, such as the ones offered by cultural criticism, much of which Weber curiously chides for not doing what Benjamin does, who «never forgets that whatever his subject matter may be, its distinctive specificity always entails a certain structure of language, and hence, of its interpretation» (227). Weber does not indicate what branches of cultural criticism he has in mind, but his remark seems to disregard the strong tradition of cultural studies that has benefited from deconstruction and poststructuralism for sustained «readings» - quite in Benjamin’s sense - of material culture within the enabling or limiting parameters of their signifying practices, discursive networks, and self-representational strategies. Regrettably, it is only in passing that Weber discusses the best-known of Benjamin’s -ability terms, Reproduzierbarkeit (reproducibility), which informs Benjamin’s hugely influential critique of photography and film. Weber’s reading of Origin of the German Mourning Play in terms of history, myth, and allegory, is extremely thorough and often illuminating, but is only tangentially related to the -abilities theme. The same can be said of the chapters on the connection between Benjamin and Carl Schmitt, or Benjamin and Giorgio Agamben. Finally, it is somewhat puzzling to see how little Weber cites from the vast resource of the secondary literature on Benjamin, especially from more recent critics, a few notable exceptions, such as references to Werner Hamacher, notwithstanding. Is it that Weber prefers to engage Benjamin’s texts immediately, which of course would be illusory, especially for a deconstructionist? Or does he wish to remain untainted by what some have already denounced as a veritable Benjamin industry? Nonetheless, Weber’s interpretations are often innovative and refreshingly unorthodox, especially his reading of Wagner’s Ring cycle through the lenses of Benjamin and Derrida, where Weber argues that the two features that for Benjamin mark modernity - «on the one hand, it presents itself as nightmare; on the other, as its staging (Inszenierung)» - also define the notion of myth in Wagner’s tetralogy (283). This chapter is especially valuable because, owing to Benjamin’s own preference for visibility, image, and visual media, the topic of music has been rather neglected in the critical literature. All in all, Weber’s authoritative study will be of considerable interest to anyone wishing to learn more about Benjamin’s profoundly self-reflexive (proto-deconstructive? ) attention to the intricate and often elusive ways in which his own conceptual language works. University of Alabama in Huntsville Rolf J. Goebel R ICHARD D. C RITCHFIELD : From Shakespeare to Frisch: The Provocative Fritz Kortner. Heidelberg: Synchron Publishers, 2008. 223 pp. € 34,80. In seventeen tightly argued chapters this recent study offers a psychobiography of the renowned Austrian character actor and stage director Fritz Kortner whose struggle with his Jewish heritage is at the core of his life story. Growing up in Vienna, which had the largest Jewish population of any European city around the turn of the century, the resistance to Judaism was a pervasive and depressing experience for the impressionable and sensitive young man who, in his early adulthood, changed 178 Besprechungen / Reviews his name from Cohn to Kortner just to blend in and be accepted. Anti-Semitism at that time had made the transition from religious intolerance to racial discrimination which, on a pseudo-scientific basis, carried the fateful exclusion of conversion. Jewish otherness was no longer considered a religious choice but a hereditary affliction that preempted the avenue of assimilation through baptism. Simultaneously, an aggressive and ultimately eliminationist anti-Semitism emerged in the paranoid notion of a Jewish conspiracy, threatening to undermine all Western, and especially German, values. Built on the belief of an unalterable parasitic defect, this new anti-Semitism already carried all the ensuing rationalizations of the Nazis, and Kortner fit the mold of the «ugly,» «greedy,» and «parasitic» Jew in his outward appearance as well as in his evolving professional persona. With intimate factual knowledge, Critchfield chronicles three essential phases in Kortner’s life, all centered on the issue of his Jewish identity. Suffering under a pervasive stigmatization in his early years, Kortner tried to escape by pursuing an acting career that allowed him to be someone else, if only temporarily. In his own words, he represented the Jewish artist fighting not only for his voice but also for his professional, and eventually, existential survival in a world of anti-Semites. Notwithstanding such outspokenness and the reputation for being difficult, Kortner matured into one of the most visible actors of his time with access to the best stages in Germany and Austria. Yet his success had its corollary in persistent vitriolic reactions to his acting, and later, his directing, both of which showed the same demanding disposition that reinforced his growing reputation as a feisty non-conformist. That impression fully came to the fore with the assumption of power by the Nazis and Kortner’s forced emigration. Officially, he became the most hated and persecuted actor, accused of the «Judaization» of the German theater, which left him no choice but to leave Germany immediately on a journey that took him via Austria to England and eventually the United States, where he tried to rebuild his career in Hollywood within the community of other famous German expatriates. Critchfield describes these wanderings with emphasis not only on the difficult process of adapting to a foreign culture, but also with attention to Kortner’s ever more pronounced emergence as a politically engaged artist. In London he worked briefly in cinematic production but soon found himself unemployed due to a Nazi boycott against any film in which he was even marginally involved. Rather than succumbing to adversity, however, it only enhanced his motivation to effect political change, and it is this motivation that largely defines his efforts in America. In contrast to his success during the Weimar Republic, Kortner found sufficient (if only marginal) employment during his Hollywood years, which fueled his determination to resume center stage in Germany again. To facilitate this process he contacted one of the most influential American journalists (Dorothy Thompson) whom he convinced to support Roosevelt’s reelection on the correct assumption that only a decisive American president would be able to stand up to Hitler. More engaged than most of his fellow exiles, the defeat of fascism and the eventual return to Germany became his defining goal. Kortner returned as early as 1947. In addition to acting, he now expanded into directing, also with considerable success. While he was never offered the directorship (Intendant) of a major German theater, he became a powerful figure in German the- Besprechungen / Reviews 179 ater, film, and TV - not, however, without the familiar controversies that accompanied him in this third phase of his life. One provocative role in particular had defined his career, i.e., that of Shylock in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, whom he had first played in 1927 to equal acclaim and disparagement. In his revival of this role 41 years later, nothing substantial had changed. In 1968 Kortner again portrayed Shylock not as the prototypical vengeful Jew, but as the much more differentiated and historically accurate victim of prior Christian offense and marginalization. That reading, with its inversion of cause and effect, had a powerful historical corollary as it retraced arguments from the beginning of the emancipation debate in the late eighteenth century. In this debate, which took place in the circle around Moses Mendelssohn, Jewish behavior was first seen as a reaction to Christian abuse and exclusion. Kortner adopted this argument with its humanistic as well as pragmatic implications, which raised the critical issue of efficacy: Was it helpful in his lifelong fight against anti-Semitism, or were his recurring portrayals of an alleged everyday fascism ultimately fueling anti-Semitic resentments even after the demise of the Third Reich? There can be little doubt that his combative stance against any real or perceived anti-Semitism contributed greatly to the complexities of his life. Yet it is also true that the actor, stage director, and «dictator» Kortner left a legacy built on the continuing task of great art to foster the advancement of humanity. It is that commitment that Critchfield’s study lays out in exemplary detail. University of California, Davis Karl Menges S IEGFRIED M EWS : Günter Grass and His Critics from The Tin Drum to Crabwalk. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2008. 434 pp. $ 90.00. Grass attended a portion of the Bremen conference later documented in the volume Die Medien und Günter Grass (2008). At the conclusion of a celebratory roundtable discussion, he rose from his first-row seat, turned to the audience, and uttered a word of thanks prefaced by the remark - «Es freut mich, daß ich Arbeitgeber bin […].» Truer words were never spoken, proof positive being the roughly 1050 secondary titles - from Ábbe to Zweig - Mews lists under the rubric «Works Cited» (346-405). And even if these titles are largely restricted to German and American scholarship and press reviews, it is clear that Mews has rendered a great service to Grassforschung. Mews outlines his method - «I first comment on the critical reaction upon the publication of the German original […] and then survey the reception of the English translation, and, finally, investigate the critical contributions by scholars […]» (7) - and he dutifully lists the print bibliographies of his predecessors (O’Neill, 1976; Neuhaus, 1992) as well as the periodically updated online bibliography by Hermes, Mertens and Neuhaus, each of which simply list title citations. The book under review seems to have had its inception in his own «Review Article» (GQ 74.2 [2001]), and Mews has recently updated the current work in Monatshefte 101.2 (2009). His masterful commentaries, deft summaries, occasional corrections and sensible evaluations of the work of other researchers represent all but the last word on content and methodology.