Friedrich Torberg (16 September 1908, Vienna,

Alsergrund Alsergrund (; ) is the ninth district of Vienna, Austria (). It is located just north of the first, central district, Innere Stadt. Alsergrund was incorporated in 1862, with seven suburbs. As a central district, the area is densely populated. Accor ...

– 10 November 1979, Vienna) is the pen-name of Friedrich Kantor, an

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Biography

He worked as a critic and journalist in

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. ...

and

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until 1938, when his

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

ish heritage compelled him to emigrate to

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and, later, after being invited by the New York PEN-Club as one of "Ten outstanding German Anti-Nazi-Writers" (along with

Heinrich Mann Luiz Heinrich Mann (; March 27, 1871 – March 11, 1950), best known as simply Heinrich Mann, was a German writer known for his sociopolitical novels. From 1930 until 1933, he was president of the fine poetry division of the Prussian Academy ...

Franz Werfel Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of '' The Forty ...

Alfred Döblin Bruno Alfred Döblin (; 10 August 1878 – 26 June 1957) was a German novelist, essayist, and doctor, best known for his novel '' Berlin Alexanderplatz'' (1929). A prolific writer whose œuvre spans more than half a century and a wide variety of ...

Leonhard Frank Leonhard Frank (4 September 1882 in Würzburg – 18 August 1961 in Munich) was a German expressionist writer. He studied painting and graphic art in Munich, and gained acclaim with his first novel ''The Robber Band'' (1914, tr. 1928). When a Be ...

, Alfred Polgar, and others) to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, where he worked as a scriptwriter in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

and then for

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. In 1951 he returned to Vienna, where he remained for the rest of his life. Torberg is known best for his satirical writings in fiction and nonfiction, as well as his translations into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

of the stories of

Ephraim Kishon Ephraim Kishon (; August 23, 1924 – January 29, 2005) was a Hungarian-born Israeli author, dramatist, screenwriter, and Academy Award, Oscar-nominated film director. He was one of the most widely read contemporary satire, satirists in Israel a ...

, which remain the standard German language version of Kishon's work. A staunch

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

, Torberg used his prominence as a theater critic to boycott Bertolt Brecht's plays in most of Austria for over a decade. Austrian Olympic swimmer and swimsuit model

Hedy Bienenfeld Hedwig "Hedy" Bienenfeld, also known after marriage as Hedy Wertheimer (17 October 1907 – 24 September 1976) was an Austrian Olympic swimmer. She won a bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke at the 1927 European Aquatics Championships. She compe ...

was the inspiration for the character "Lisa" in his novel ''The Pupil Gerber'' (''Der Schüler Gerber'').

Honours and awards

* Julius-Empire Award (1933) * Title of Professor (1958) * City of Vienna Prize for Journalism (1966) *

Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

(1968) *

Austrian Cross of Honour 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 Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science and Art" was established by the National Co ...

, 1st class (1968) * Gold Medal of the Austrian capital Vienna (1974) * Richard Champion Medal (1974) *

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 ...

(1976) *

Grand Austrian State Prize The Grand Austrian State Prize () is a decoration given annually by Austria to an artist for exceptional work. The recipient must be an Austrian citizen with a permanent residence in Austria. It was originally created in 1950 by then education mi ...

for Literature (1979) * Naming of Torberggasse in Penzing (Vienna 14th District) (1981)

Selected works

* ''Der Schüler Gerber hat absolviert'' (1930) (this semi-autobiographical novel tells the story of a grammar school student under the oppression of a tyrannical teacher); later editions bore the shortened title ''Der Schüler Gerber'', under which the novel is now generally known. * ''… und glauben, es wäre die Liebe'' (1932) * ''Süsskind von Trimberg''. Roman. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 1972, (fictitious biography) * '' Die Tante Jolesch oder Der Untergang des Abendlandes in Anekdoten'' (1975) (a collection of amusing yet bittersweet

anecdote An anecdote is "a story with a point", such as to communicate an abstract idea about a person, place, or thing through the concrete details of a short narrative or to characterize by delineating a specific quirk or trait. Anecdotes may be real ...

s about Jewish life and personalities in pre-

Nazi 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 ...

Vienna and Prague, and in the emigration), translated by Maria Poglitsch Bauer and Sonat Hart, Ariadne Press, 2008, . * ''Die Erben der Tante Jolesch'' (1978) (the sequel to the above)

References

External links

* http://www.forward.com/articles/13829/ (Coffee talk: Reading Friedrich Torberg's Masterpiece)
Recordings with Friedrich Torberg
in the Online Archive of the

Österreichische Mediathek The Österreichische Mediathek ("Austrian Mediatheque") is the Austrian archive for sound recordings and videos on cultural and contemporary history. It was founded in 1960 as Österreichische Phonothek (Austrian Phonothek) by the Ministry of Educ ...

(in German). Retrieved 29 July 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Torberg, Friedrich 1908 births 1979 deaths People from Alsergrund 20th-century Austrian writers Translators to German Austrian expatriates in Czechoslovakia Austrian emigrants to France French emigrants to the United States Jewish Austrian writers Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art Recipients of the Grand Austrian State Prize 20th-century Austrian translators Writers from Prague Austrian magazine founders

Biography

Honours and awards

Selected works

Further reading

References

External links