Timeless Hamlet: A Journey Through the Ages
In the early 20th century, German-Jewish writer and satirist Kurt Tucholsky penned poignant critiques of society, politics, and culture, often highlighting the contrast between traditional small-town life and the forces of social and political change. His phrase, "small-town people of time," encapsulates the ordinary, provincially minded individuals whose worldview is shaped—and often limited—by their historical and cultural context.
Small-town people, as Tucholsky portrayed them, represented a microcosm of societal attitudes resistant to modernity or progressive ideas. They embodied the inertia of tradition, symbolizing how time and place combine to create a social environment difficult to change. In stark contrast to urban, cosmopolitan, or avant-garde perspectives that Tucholsky favored, these small-town dwellers could stand as symbols of societal stagnation.
Tucholsky's work often underscored the tension between tradition-bound small-town life and the forces of social and political change. He suggested that small-minded people are confined in the mania of their self-righteous time, their worldview resistant to the wonders of simultaneity and change. The well-traveled stranger may laugh at the narrowness but cannot change or expand it, as the importance of people and things often does not correspond to the noise made about them.
In 1926, Tucholsky wrote a piece for the "Vossische Zeitung" that explored these themes. The year was described as gloomy, and he penned the quote, "It's beautiful to see the things, it's terrible to be them." He suggested that many people are like small-town residents, stuck in their own time, requiring the language of another epoch to travel through time. Contemporaries, he implied, are often irritable and intolerant towards each other, much like small-town dwellers.
The text resonates even today, as it reminds us that travel—whether physical or temporal—can broaden one's perspective, questioning assumptions about the world and revealing the customs and ideals of other eras that may differ significantly from our own. In every era, there's one who expresses a desire to escape their current situation, and Tucholsky's "small-town people of time" continues to symbolize those who cling to tradition, resistant to change.
In the summer of 2025, Tucholsky's beautiful, evergreen newspaper texts were revisited, reminding us that the megalomania associated with every epoch persists, and that the small-minded are as much a part of our world as they were in Tucholsky's time. People may return from travel changed, shaken up, and wiser, questioning their assumptions about the world, much like Tucholsky's small-town people of time question the world that surrounds them.
People, much like Tucholsky's small-town residents, can become entrenched in their traditional ways, resistant to change. This resistance can be seen in various aspects of life, such as fashion-and-beauty trends and lifestyle choices.
In the realm of entertainment, one may encounter individuals who are intolerant to new ideas, mirroring the small-mindedness portrayed by Tucholsky. These individuals may find it challenging to appreciate modern music, movies, or books, often preferring the familiar to the unfamiliar.
As for travel, some people return from journeys with a broader perspective, just as Tucholsky's characters question their assumptions about the world. This realization may lead to a reevaluation of one's values, comparable to the shift in perspective experienced by Tucholsky's small-town people of time.
