Texts and Editions

DÖBLIN'S TEXTS were never unequivocal and easy to grasp; but the often contradictory opinions on his work were also caused by faulty, or at least differing, editions. Döblin's editors are faced with multiple problems. First and foremost, it is never easy to determine the definitive, final text. If an editor follows the principle of establishing and publishing the text that the author considered final, he is confronted with the fact that Döblin never stopped changing his works, and did not consider any of his texts to be “final.” Döblin wrote his works in longhand, in Gothic script and his hard-to-read doctor's handwriting. There are usually several stages and versions. His “final” manuscripts have many deletions and additions, so that his typists, even his wife, made mistakes or were unable to read some words. The typescripts show numerous handwritten corrections, and Döblin kept on making changes at the proof stage. Therefore, it is by no means easy to assess his true intentions.

The problems multiply with the works written during the exile period. Together with the obvious problems of geographical distance from the publisher and non-native typesetters and proofreaders, Döblin's eyesight worsened, and he had less patience for the painstaking work of proofreading. With some works published or re-published after 1945, problems of censorship arose as well, especially with November 1918.

In 1960, Walter Muschg began a first edition of Döblin's collected works, modestly called “Ausgewählte Werke in Einzelausgaben,” with the Walter-Verlag, then in Olten and Freiburg.