Revolution als "Geschichte": Alfred Doblins "November 1918": Eine programmatische Lekture des historischen Romans

Revolutions are not only a fascinating political and historical phenomenon. The perception and description of revolutions also conform to a certain linguistic and literary pattern discernible both in historiography and political journalism. Historical novels centring around revolutions can (also) be read as a form of (political) historiography as they invariably engage with these forms of representation. At the same time, however, historical novels are literary texts and as such cast light on the linguistic nature of historical (re)construction. A literary approach to the epic depiction of revolution in "November 1918" lays bare these contradictory reception alternatives, and in so doing points up the connections between Döblin's presentation of the German November revolution of 1918 and national and international 'revolution (hi)stories' from a large variety of disciplines.