Hanns Johst (July 8, 1890 – November 23, 1978) was a German playwright and Nazi Poet Laureate.

Hanns Johst was born in Seehausen as the son of an elementary school teacher. He grew up in Oschatz and Leipzig. As a juvenile he planned to become a missionary. When he was 17 years old he worked as an auxiliary in a Bethel Institution. In 1910 he earned his Abitur in Leipzig and then started studying medicine and philosophy and—later—history of art.

He volunteered for the army in 1914. In 1918 he settled down in Allmannshausen (part of Berg) at the Starnberger See.


Johst has gained notoriety for writing a line misattributed to Hermann Göring:

"Wenn ich Kultur höre ... entsichere ich meinen Browning". Meaning: "Whenever I hear the word culture... I release the safety-catch of my Browning!" - Schlageter (Act 1, Scene 1)