Heinrich Heine: Biography, Achievements & Lasting Legacy

Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder (art songs) by composers such as Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann and Franz Schubert.

Heine's later verse and prose are distinguished by their satirical wit and irony. He is considered a member of the Young Germany movement. His radical political views led to many of his works being banned by German authorities—which, however, only added to his fame. He spent the last 25 years of his life as an expatriate in Paris.

As an exile in Paris, Heine became a celebrity avatar reflective of the liberal and cosmopolitan values of the mainstream press. To make “an appeal to Heine” was to make an appeal to these values.

In particular, Heine is accused by Karl Kraus of being the vector by which the feuilleton spread from France to Germany. In the Third Reich Heine’s name was invoked as an archetype of the extraordinarily influential Jewish opinion columnist and uber-literati. Hitler’s propaganda minister Goebbels wanted to purge the German language of Heinrich Heine’s influence but, according to a 1937 article in the New York Times, found that doing so proved impossible in practice.

But even before that, these associations accrued to Heine and his name became a symbol of the values and manners—both good and bad—of the liberal press. Today, Heine is best remembered for his well known phrase "Where they burn books, they will ultimately burn people also" which ultimately came true in the Holocaust.