Four-page letter, hand signed by Heinrich Heine, addressed to the author, journalist, and poet, Joseph Lehmann. Paris, October 5, 1854. German.

A lengthy letter, dictated from his sickbed by Heinrich Heine to his personal secretary, roughly two years before his death. Heine’s signature – clearly written with a stiff, unsteady hand, on account of his illness – appears in the bottom margin of the last page.

The letter deals at length with the issue of Heine’s Judaism – the last known recorded discussion of its kind before his death – at a time when the writer was struggling to decide whether to publish his works through a Jewish or a Christian publisher:

"I am publishing the French version of my works through "Michel Lévy Frères" who were recommended to me as publishers. It was a choice between them and an additional publisher, formerly known as "Bonnetier", a manufacturer of cotton nightcaps; I preferred to choose them, perhaps because they are members of the Tribe of ‘Levy’.

"I believe that M. Lévy is no less honest, that he is worthy, and that I – even if I’m taking a risk – must ignore old prejudices regarding Jews. I believe that when granted an opportunity to earn money, they are grateful for it, and are less likely than their Christian counterparts to exploit one. The beliefs the Jews harbor may be misguided, but not so their conscience. This grand civilization of the heart was preserved thanks to an unbroken two-thousand-year-old tradition. I believe they managed to absorb the European culture so swiftly simply because there was nothing for them to learn from it in the realm of sensitivity… but you know all this better than me, and at best my words may serve to offer a suggestion toward an understanding of my intentions regarding my ‘Confessions’ [Heine’s autobiographical work, published the same year, which included a number of references to his own Judaism]".

In the letter Heine also speaks of his longings for Germany, and of the loneliness he feels ("With the exception of my two secretaries, who are both too honest to fall into the trap of dabbling in German gossip, I don’t get to see a single German… My wife has thrown all the Germans out of my house, some of them quite literally"); he also pokes fun at the publisher Julius Campe, who was responsible for printing Heine’s works back in Germany ("If I instruct Campe to send you [the book], it will most likely arrive along with the Messiah, seeing as he makes his way – according to the ancient tradition – on the back of a donkey, and not by train"). In addition, Heine relates to a certain individual who he claims is sabotaging his business and is allegedly hoping for his early demise ("M. Friedland… actually succeeded in dissuading my brother Gustav from looking after my business affairs, by resorting to the most devious of lies; and he makes all sorts of assumptions regarding this sickness of mine which will undoubtedly someday put an end to his doubts. But he is wrong").

The letter was evidently completed when – apparently owing to the influence of the opium he was taking – Heine’s lucidity was slipping away: "I have only a vague idea of what I am dictating at the moment – the opium has made me so numb – and so I am signing off with additional gratitude for your kindness, and with the most heartfelt wishes, Heinrich Heine".

The letter’s recipient, the poet and journalist Joseph Lehmann (1801-1873) had been a close friend of Heinrich Heine since his days in Berlin, and toward the end of Heine’s life, his oldest surviving friend. As an editor and proofreader, Lehmann was deeply involved in the publication of Heine’s early works and was the first to attach footnotes to his poetry. Several of Heine’s works were dedicated to him.

The Michel Lévy Frères publishing house was established in Paris in 1836 by the Jewish publisher Michel Lévy (1821-1875), who was only 14 years of age at the time. He was widely regarded as one of the foremost of French publishers in the second half of the 19th century, and was responsible for printing the works of some of the greatest of France’s authors of that period, including Alexandre Dumas, Honoré de Balzac, Victor Hugo, Gustave Flaubert, among others. A French edition of the "Complete Works of Heinrich Heine" ("Oeuvres complètes de Henri Heine") was published by Michel Lévy from 1855 to 1885 in a series comprising a dozen volumes.

[4] pages (sheet folded in half). Good condition. Fold lines. Minor stains and creases. Several small holes and tears to edges, repaired. Small stain of scorched ink to second leaf.

The Question of Heine’s Return to Judaism Toward the End of His Life

In the last eight years of his life, the author and poet Heinrich Heine fell ill with an incurable disease that resulted in partial paralysis and rendered him bedridden. He was beset with spasms and throbbing headaches, and his eyesight was drastically impaired. His physical limitations essentially put a halt to all his social interactions, and seriously interfered with his ability to communicate both in speech and in writing. He referred to his bedridden condition during those years as "a grave of the mattress" and termed his overall condition as "a death lacking the decent privileges of the dead". But notwithstanding his debilitating state of health, he remained remarkably lucid, and his cognitive and creative skills did not appear to have deteriorated in any measurable way.

Despite essentially being on his deathbed, he persisted in his creative functions and managed to publish what were destined to become some of his most notable works. During this period he came to rely almost entirely on his wife and personal secretary, and from his sickbed he dictated everything to them, from poetry to correspondence.

Throughout his life, Heine’s attitude toward his Jewish roots remained complex, ambivalent, and filled with internal contradictions. He was born Jewish, and received a religious Jewish education as a youngster. He converted to Christianity at the age of 27 purely for reasons of convenience, to gain social acceptance and financial security; he viewed his own conversion as "an admission ticket to European culture". Nevertheless, he never attempted to hide or deny his Jewish origins, and his complex, multi-faceted approach to Judaism was clearly enunciated in many of his works, as were his thoughts regarding the tragic fate of the Jewish people, with identity issues and irony thrown into the confusing mix.

Heine’s final days were marked by an earnest attempt on his part to connect with his Jewish identity and faith; in his last will and testament, dated 1851, he even went as far as declaring his belief in a single, personal G-d. As he put it to one of his friends: "I make no secret of my Judaism, to which I have not returned, because I never left it". This attitude is also evident in his later works, in which he attempts to contend with questions of identity, religion, freedom, and tolerance.

Appearing in these final works – especially his composition "Geständnisse" ("Confessions") – are a number of remarks and hints that point to what seems to be a renewed closeness to his Jewish faith. The issue of Heine’s religious beliefs at the very end of his life is a subject that is debated among scholars to this day.