Adler: Walter Benjamin’s “Moscow.” Literarization of the Lifeworld (completed)

Caroline Adler, M.A.: Walter Benjamin’s “Moscow.” Literarization of the Lifeworld

The focus of this dissertation is Walter Benjamin‘s essay “Moscow” (1927), which the German-Jewish author and critic wrote for the ecumenical journal Die Kreatur after his trip to the capital of the young Soviet Union in the winter of 1926/27. Starting from a conflict-ridden history of the edition and reception, which understands “Moscow” primarily as a vivid ‚cityscape’ and has often neglected the attention in favor of the Moscow Diary written during the journey, which is characterized by intimate confessions and political positioning, the dissertation provides a detailed material analysis and reading of “Moscow” as a form of a literarization of the Soviet world (Lebenswelt).

The focus lies both on the process of literary construction – departing from the Moscow Diary towards the literary form(ation) of the essay itself – and on an evaluation of this writing experiment in relation to the “incessant organizational change” (Benjamin) of the Soviet Union in 1926/27 – just a few years after Lenin’s death and marked by tensions in public life that encouraged a critical reflection on the (own) role of the free intelligentsia.

The dissertation draws on the recently published volume 14 of the Critical Edition of the Werke und Nachlaß of Walter Benjamin, which includes previously unedited lists, drafts, and versions of the essay “Moscow” and thus offers a comprehensive insight into Walter Benjamin’s work processes. These materials form the basis for a detailed material analysis that aims to shed light on the textual design and aesthetic techniques that Benjamin uses in “Moscow” and to critically evaluate what he, based on his experiences documented in his diary, deemed presentable and communicable.

Subsequently, “Moscow” is contrasted with other journalistic projects that Benjamin undertook in the context of his trip to Moscow. It will be shown how his journalistic production collided with the demands and expectations of the various media outlets for which he received assignments. The present study shows that these projects (some of which also failed) also bear witness to a productive process of negotiation between his own experience and his public positioning in the context of his engagement with the Soviet world.