Contemporary Conversations: Jonathan B. Fine on Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and the German Enlightenment

About this episode

The episode features Jonathan B. Fine discussing Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's work and its significance in the context of the German Enlightenment and post-war culture.

On September 7, 1945, only a few months after the Allies accepted the Nazis’ unconditional surrender, the Deutches Theater in Berlin reopened its doors with a very deliberate choice of performance. Like many theaters across the country reopening in the wake of the Second World War, Deutches Theater began its new run with a production of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s comic drama about religious tolerance and reconciliation, Nathan der Weise, or Nathan the Wise, which had been banned under the Naz...

People in this episode

Hosts: Charles, Devin

Guest: Jonathan B. Fine

Topics covered

• German Enlightenment
• religious tolerance
• theater history
• post-war culture
• philosophy

Keywords

• Lessing
• Nathan der Weise
• German Enlightenment
• religious tolerance
• Deutches Theater
• post-war
• theater
• philosophy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Deutches Theater

Books & works: Nathan der Weise

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