goethe’s "faust" had an enormous influence on all art in western countries. in germany many writers were fascinated by the legend. they often felt that faust represented the spirit of the german people. dramas, epic poems and novels were written about faust. composers wrote operas or orchestral music about him. thomas mann wrote a novel "dr faustus" which compares faust’s pact with the devil to the way the german people supported hitler.