Die Technik im Drama des Expressionismus

This essay summarizes the representation of technology in Expressionist drama in general and the plays of Ernst Toller in particular and takes issue with the critical consensus that it was the First World War which triggered a decisive shift in the depiction of technology in German literature. It concludes that the presentation of technology remains ambivalent, but that around the time of the first World War there is a shift from a vitalistic enthusiasm for technology towards a more sober acceptance of the need to recognize the positive potential of technology, despite all its present negative effects.