MUNK, KAJ

(1898-1944)

A Danish playwright, Munk was raised in a religious home and took a degree in theology, after which he served as a minister in the Lutheran Danish People's Church for the rest of his life. He was also a very productive writer and wrote more than 50 plays. These dramas are traditional in form, but their content is sui generis; Munk was very much the individualist and his work reflects that fact.

Munk's first drama to be performed wasEn Idealist(1928; tr.Herod the King, 1953), but it was a failure. Although his hero worship at times included admiration for AdolfHitler and Benito Mussolini, Munk's playSejren(1936; The Victory) is nevertheless critical of Italy's actions in Ethiopia.InHan sidder ved Smeltediglen(1938; tr.He Sits at the Melting Pot, 1953), the protagonist discovers that Jesus was a Jew and not an Aryan, as his government masters would like him to conclude. Although Munk admired Hitler, he was not in agreement with the Nazi treatment ofthe Jews. InFør Cannae(1943; tr.Before Cannae, 1953), Munk favors the Churchill figure in the play at the expense of the Hitler figure.

Munk's most successful drama isÖrdet(1932; tr.The Word, 1953), which, like the Norwegian dramatistBjørnstjerne Bjørnson's playÖver ævne I(1883; tr.Pastor Sang, 1893), discusses the possibility ofmiracles. Munk, in contrast to Bjørnson, shows a miracle on stage as he contrasts the attitudes ofboundless faith with those ofmore common Christian belief.

During WorldWarII Munk became the spiritual leader of the resistance in Denmark. When he was arrested and executed by the Gestapo, he became a martyr to the cause. His dramas have withstood the test of time rather poorly, however.

See alsoTheater.