The Candle and the Flame

George Sylvester Viereck was a German-American poet, author, and propagandist. He was born in Munich on 31 December 1884. His father, Louis Viereck, was elected to the Reichstag but imprisoned for attending Socialist Party meetings. At his mother's urging, Louis emigrated to the United States in 1896 and Laura followed some months later. Louis obtained American citizenship in 1901, but in 1911 he went back to Germany. In 1904, George Sylvester Viereck published his first collection of poems, Nineveh and Other Poems. His heroes were Napoleon Bonaparte, Oscar Wilde, and Jesus Christ. George and Peter were his two sons. George died while serving in the Second World War. Peter Viereck, his other son, was a historian, political author, and poet.