'The Red Count': Count Harry Kessler, the socialist nobleman who believed art would save the world

Count Harry Kessler is remembered today less for what he did — though he did quite a lot — than for what he wrote. His diaries, kept over six decades, are among the most extraordinary documents of the twentieth century. They record conversations with everyone from Rodin and Rilke to Einstein, Strauss, Cocteau, Hofmannsthal, and Diaghilev. They also record his impressions of the great turning points of modern history: the First World War, the Weimar Republic, the rise of Nazism. 

In this episode, we’re going to trace the arc of Harry Kessler’s life, with special attention to his Weimar years — when he tried, with extraordinary energy, to build cultural bridges across a divided Europe. I’ll take a look at his privileged origins, his aesthetic vision, his wartime disillusionment, and his relentless advocacy for art as a force for peace and meaning.