Karl Wolfskehl

Who was Karl Wolfskehl?

Karl Wolfskehl was a German Jewish author who wrote poetry, prose and drama in German. He also translated from French, English, Italian, Hebrew, Latin and Middle High German into German.

He was born in Darmstadt, Germany, the son of the banker and lawyer Otto Wolfskehl. He studied in Leipzig and Berlin. In 1898 he married Hanna de Haan, daughter of the Dutch Director of the Darmstadt Chamber Orchestra. They had two daughters: Judith and Renate.

He was active in the Munich Cosmic Circle, a group of intellectuals in Munich based around Alfred Schuler. This group broke up in 1904 due to a rift between Wolfskehl, supported by Stefan George, and Ludwig Klages, supported by Schuler.

He emigrated to Switzerland in, then to Italy and ultimately, with his partner Margot Ruben, to New Zealand. He died there in 1948.