Paul Kornfeld (playwright)

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Paul Kornfeld (11 December 1889 – 25 April 1942) was a Prague-born Jewish writer who wrote in German and became an important voice in expressionist theatre. He also wrote scholarly essays on how drama works.

Born in Prague, he studied at Charles-Ferdinand University. In 1913 he outlined his ideas in Der beseelte und der psychologische Mensch (The Spiritual and the Psychological Person) and drafted his early play Die Verführung (The Seduction). In 1916 he moved to Berlin, where he produced much of his best work during the Weimar era. In 1918 he published a revised version of his theory and staged Die Verführung. His later expressionist plays include Himmel und Holle (Heaven and Hell). He also wrote witty comedies showing his sense of humor.

Key works include Der ewige Traum (The Eternal Dream, 1922), Palme, oder Der Gekränkte (Palme, or The Offended One, 1924), and Kilian, oder Die gelbe Rose (Kilian, or The Yellow Rose, 1926). He collaborated with Max Reinhardt on a Berlin production in 1925. His 1929–1930 play Jud Süß (Suss, the Jew) gave a nuanced look at the 18th‑century financier Joseph Süß Oppenheimer; this story would later inspire films.

With Hitler's rise in 1933, Kornfeld left Berlin and returned to Prague. His writing slowed, and he began work on Blanche oder Das Atelier im Garten (Blanche or The Studio in the Garden), his only novel, which was published after his death in 1957.

In 1941 German authorities in Prague arrested him and sent him to Ghetto Litzmannstadt (Łódź) in occupied Poland. There he died in 1942 at age 52. For many years his work was largely neglected, though a critical edition appeared in 1977.