A year ago today I was in Düsseldorf, Germany to record celebrations marking the 225th birthday of poet, playwright and prophet, Heinrich Heine. The man who saw a century ahead into Germany’s future and wrote:
"Where they burn books, they will, in the end, burn human beings too."
The programme was called Heinrich Heine: the First Modern European, because that is what he was.
In addition to being the first modern European, Heine was also a forerunner of the modern Jewish diaspora intellectual. He wrote about society from the point of view of being assimilated but not wholly part of it. In his mordaunt, witty insights you see the beginnings of the authorial voice of Bellow and Roth.
Take a small break from the troubled state of our world and listen to the documentary. There is a lot of good music in it because Heine’s verse inspired composers from Schubert and Schumann to Grieg.
There will be plenty of time after you’ve listened and enjoyed to return to more difficult stories.