The Revolutionary Pulp Fiction

Ernst Fischer's 'Lenin' (1928) and 'Der große Verrat' (1950)

Abstract

In her contribution, Ivana Perica shows that Austria has a particular way of dealing with 'Avant-Garde and Kitsch' (Clement Greenberg): certainly, kitsch forms go hand in hand with reactionary political forces. But what is progressive art supposed to be an organ for when there is a complete lack of revolutionary consciousness? It is this diagnosis the study of Ernst Fischer's theatre works Lenin (1928) and Der große Verrat (The Great Treason, 1950) starts with, demonstrating the failure of revolutionary 'pulp fiction' in Austria: It neither reached the elites nor the masses.