Die Fackel

Die Fackel ("The Torch") was a literary and political review founded in 1899 by Austrian writer Karl Kraus. Kraus served as the sole author and editor of the publication from 1911 until its cessation in 1936 with the rise of Nazism in Austria.1

Through Die Fackel, Kraus became known as a sharp critic of Austrian society, expanding his critiques beyond the middle classes and liberal press to encompass broader cultural disintegration in Europe. He used the publication to express his views on language, morality, and the corruption of the age, often employing a highly precise and satirical style. The magazine's influence was significant, even though its idiomatic German made it difficult to translate. Die Fackel is noted as a radical political magazine from Germany, though it was founded and edited in Austria by Kraus.12