Vienna 2010-09-16 Doron Rabinovici reading 009

Doron Rabinovici () is an Israeli-Austrian writer, historian and essayist. He was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

in 1961 and moved to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

in 1964. His literary work includes

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s and

essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

s, but also

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

Life

Doron Rabinovici was born in Israel on December 2, 1961, but the family moved to

in 1964. Rabinovici studied at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

and received his doctorate in 2000 with the historical work ''Instanzen der Ohnmacht''. ''The Viennese Jewish community leadership from 1938 to 1945 and their reaction to National Socialist persecution and extermination.'' Rabinovici's doctoral thesis concerns the reaction of the Viennese

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community's administration to the persecution by the

National Socialists Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

and the community's consequent

extermination Extermination or exterminate may refer to: * Pest control, elimination of insects or vermin * Extermination (crime), the killing of human on a large scale * Genocide, at least one of five "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in par ...

. Published in 2000 as Instanzen der Ohnmacht (Authorities of Powerlessness) by Jüdischer Verlag (a branch of Suhrkamp), it raises the painful questions of resistance and collusion that have come to dominate recent debates on the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. The study was published in English by Polity Books in 2011 under the title ''Eichmann's Jews''. Doron Rabinovici not only writes literary texts such as the short story collection ''Papirnik'' (1994) or the novels ''Suche nach M.'' (1999), ''Ohnehin'' (2004), ''Andernorts'' (2010), ''Die Außerirdischen'' (2017) and ''Die Einstellung'' (2022), but also numerous non-fictional texts in which he comments on developments in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and politics. He also provides information on Jewish identity, but also on poetological considerations, such as his writing intentions or the role of

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

. Rabinovici's first novel, ''Suche nach M'' (1997), deals with the aftermath of extermination. His other novels also repeatedly deal with dealing with memory, the Nazi past, foreignness,

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

right-wing extremism Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

in Austria and Jewish life in Vienna. In 2013 and 2014, he initiated and conceived the production ''"Die letzten Zeugen"'' at the Burgtheater together with

Matthias Hartmann Matthias Herbert Hartmann (21 March 1965 – 26 August 2020) was a German Professor of Business Administration and the Dean of the Department of Economics and Law at the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin (HTW – University of Applied ...

. The production staged the memory of seven survivors. The performance was set on the main stage of the

Burgtheater The Burgtheater (; literally: "Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater", originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in ...

. The testimonies of the seven survivors were based on their books or on interviews with them. The texts are recited by four actors. Rabinovici compiled the text book for the performance; the production referred to the November pogroms of 1938, the 75th anniversary of which was celebrated in 2013. In 2018, based on an idea by Florian Klenk, Doron Rabinovici put together the drama collage ''"Anything can happen!"'' A political theater, a mosaic of speeches and statements by

Europe's Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

racist populist government politicians that reveals the nature and intentions of these policies. The reading is merely commented on by individual quotations from

Hannah Arendt Hannah Arendt (born Johanna Arendt; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a German and American historian and philosopher. She was one of the most influential political theory, political theorists of the twentieth century. Her work ...

, Viktor Klemperer and

Erich Kästner Emil Erich Kästner (; 23 February 1899 – 29 July 1974) was a German writer, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known primarily for his humorous, socially astute poems and for children's books including ''Emil and the Detectives'' and '' Lisa an ...

and is framed by a few sentences written by Rabinovici. ''"Anything can happen!"''(Original title: ''Alles kann passieren!'') has been performed several times at the Burgtheater and other German-speaking stages. Doron Rabinovici is a member of the board of the Grazer Autorinnen Autorenversammlung. He has been an associate member of the Mainz Academy of Sciences and Literature since 2018. Doron Rabinovici's mother, Shoshana Rabinovici, comes from

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, the capital of

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, then still

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, survived the ghetto, concentration camps and the death march and came to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in the 1950s. Schoschana Rabinovici described the story of her survival in her book ''Thanks to My Mother''. His father, David Rabinovici, fled from

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

in 1944.

Works

Books

*''Papirnik: Stories''. Frankfurt/M.: edition suhrkamp, 1994 () *''The Search for M'', Novel in twelve episodes. Ariadne Pr, () *''Eichman's Jews, The Jewish Administration of Holocaust Vienna, 1938–1945'', Polity Press, 2011 (). Reviewed by

Christopher Browning Christopher Robert Browning (born May 22, 1944) is an American historian and is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). A specialist on the Holocaust, Browning is known for his work documenting the ...

New York Review of Books New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

, August 16, 2012, pages 70–75. * ''Elsewhere''. Haus Publishing, 2014 () *''Ohnehin. Roman''. Frankfurt/M.: Suhrkamp, 2005 () *''Credo und Credit: Einmischungen''. Frankfurt/M.: edition suhrkamp, 2001 () *''Der ewige Widerstand. Über einen strittigen Begriff''. Styria-Verlag, 2008 () *''Das Jooloomooloo''. Doron Rabinovici (Text), Christina Gschwantner (Illustration), jooloomooloo, Wien, 2008 ()

Theater

* 2013 - 2015: ''Die letzten Zeugen.'' A project of the Vienna Burgtheater staged by

. Text collage compiled by Doron Rabinovici * 2018 - 2019: ''Alles kann passieren! Ein Polittheater''; a project at the Vienna Burgtheater based on an idea by Florian Klenk, text collage compiled by Doron Rabinovici

Radio play

2014: Abrahams Stunde; Production

Hessischer Rundfunk (; "Hesse Broadcasting"), shortened to HR (; stylized as hr), is the German state of Hesse's public broadcasting corporation. Headquartered in Frankfurt, it is a member of the national consortium of German public broadcasting corporations, A ...

with

Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF ; , ) is the national public broadcaster of Austria. Funded from a combination of television licence fee revenue and limited on-air advertising, ORF is the dominant player in the Austrian broadcast media. Austria was the last country in ...

; Director: Götz Fritsch, Dramaturgy: Ursula Ruppel

Politics

Since 1986, Rabinovici has been speaker of the Republican Club New Austria, an intellectual group that was formed against the background of the anti-Semitic presidential campaign of

Kurt Waldheim Kurt Josef Waldheim (21 December 1918 – 14 June 2007) was an Austrian politician and diplomat. Waldheim was the Secretary-General of the United Nations#List of secretaries-general, secretary-general of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981 a ...

. In 1999, Rabinovici became the speaker of Demokratische Offensive (Democratic Offensive), a movement geared to mobilize the Austrian

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.Haider Haider is a predominantly Arabic name, with alternative spellings such as Haidar, Haydar and Heydar. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Haider Shah 15th-century sultan of Kashmir *Haider Al-Abadi, Iraqi politician * Haider Acke ...

's extreme right-wing party. The Demokratische Offensive called for mass demonstrations against

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

. The response was overwhelming – in February 2000, 300,000 people assembled on

's historic

Heldenplatz Heldenplatz () is a public space in front of the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. Located in the Innere Stadt borough, the President of Austria resides in the adjoining Hofburg wing, while the Federal Chancellery is on adjacent Ballhausplatz ...

to stage the largest demonstration in Austria's post-war history.

Awards

* 1994 3-Sat-scholarship at the Ingeborg Bachmann competition * 1997 Ernst-Robert-Curtius-Förderpreis für Essayistik (award for essays) * 1998 Hermann-Lenz-scholarship * 1999 Bruno-Kreisky-Anerkennungspreis * 2000 ** Mörike-Förderpreis of the city of Fellbach (literary award) ** Heimito-von-Doderer-Förderpreis of the city of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

(literary award) ** cultural award of the city of Vienna * 2002 ** Clemens-Brentano-award of the city of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

Jean Améry Jean Améry (31 October 191217 October 1978), born Hans Chaim Maier, was an Austrian-born essayist whose work was often informed by his experiences during World War II. His most celebrated work, ''At the Mind's Limits: Contemplations by a Surviv ...

-award * 2004 Author of the year of the literary journal Buchkultur * 2022:

Austrian Decoration for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Austria, Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science a ...

adwmainz.de - Dankesrede von Rabinovici zur Verleihung des Ehrenkreuzes
Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur.

References

External links

*
Official website
* 1961 births Living people 20th-century Austrian novelists 21st-century Austrian novelists 20th-century Austrian writers 21st-century Austrian historians Jewish novelists Austrian male novelists Austrian male essayists Israeli male essayists Austrian essayists Austrian Jews Jewish Israeli writers Israeli emigrants to Austria Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Austrian people of Israeli descent Austrian people of Romanian-Jewish descent Austrian people of Lithuanian descent Writers from Tel Aviv Writers from Vienna 20th-century essayists 21st-century essayists 20th-century Austrian male writers 21st-century male writers 21st-century Austrian male writers {{DEFAULTSORT:Rabinovici, Doron