Gerhard Fritz Oberschlick (born August 30, 1942 in Irschen) is an

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 ...

essayist 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 ...

. From 1985 to 1995 he was the

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

of the political and cultural magazine

FORVM ''FORVM'' was an Austrian monthly cultural and political magazine, published in Vienna from 1954 to 1995, founded by Friedrich Hansen-Loeve, Felix Hubalek, Alexander Lernet-Holenia and Friedrich Torberg with the financial and logistical suppor ...

. Today he serves as the

literary executor The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film rights, film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially ...

Günther Anders Günther Anders (; born Günther Siegmund Stern, 12 July 1902 – 17 December 1992) was a German-born philosopher, journalist and critical theorist. Trained as a philosopher in the phenomenological tradition, he obtained his doctorate under ...

Life and career

After high school in Klagenfurt, Oberschlick studied

German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy ...

history of theatre The history of theatre charts the development of theatre over the past 2,500 years. While performative elements are present in every society, it is customary to acknowledge a distinction between theatre as an art form and entertainment, and ' ...

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

at the University Vienna. 1966/67 he edited the students paper ''en face'' and then served as an accounting clerk of three university institutes, as well as secretary of philosopher Erich Heintel. In 1969 he dissociated from the university because of Heintel's acceptance of the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. He joined the publishing house of NEUES FORVM and organized a petition for a referendum to abolish the Austrian military, that had been initiated by

Wilfried Daim Wilfried Daim (July 21, 1923 in Vienna – December 2016 in Vienna) was an Austrian psychologist, psychotherapist, writer and art collector. Between 1940 and 1945 Daim was active in the Catholic resistance in Austria. He founded the private Inst ...

and

Günther Nenning Günther Nenning (December 23, 1921 – May 14, 2006) was an Austrian journalist, author, and political activist. Günther Nenning was born in Vienna, Austria. After an excellent performance in high school, Nenning served from 1940 to 1945 in the ...

. The referendum was never carried out, although it was registered in 1970 and Oberschlick had succeeded to procure the obligatory number of 30.000 supporters. The reasons for the withdrawal were that socialist

Bruno Kreisky Bruno Kreisky (; 22 January 1911 – 29 July 1990) was an Austrian social democratic politician who served as foreign minister from 1959 to 1966 and as chancellor from 1970 to 1983. Aged 72, he was the oldest chancellor after World War II. Kr ...

had caught the momentum and won the 1970 elections with the slogan "Six months of military service is enough!" and that ''Nenning'' and other supporters were in fear to lose the vote and embarrass the cause. Nevertheless the failed attempt caused major upheaval and a scandal in the conservative circles of Austria - and it is today recalled as the major achievement of the

Movement of 1968 The West German student movement (), sometimes called the 1968 movement in West Germany (), was a left-wing social movement that consisted of mass student protests in West Germany in 1968. Participants in the movement later came to be known as ...

in Austria. At last the Anti-military referendum caused FORVM founder

Friedrich Torberg Friedrich Torberg (16 September 1908, Vienna, Alsergrund – 10 November 1979, Vienna) is the pen-name of Friedrich Kantor, an Austrian writer. Biography He worked as a critic and journalist in Vienna and Prague until 1938, when his Jewish h ...

to distance himself from the magazine with these words: ''The new FORVM is the magazine against which the old one was founded.'' Starting in 1971 Oberschlick organized a music festival with

Friedrich Gulda Friedrich Gulda (16 May 1930 – 27 January 2000) was an Austrian pianist and composer who worked in both the classical and jazz fields. Biography Early life and career Born in Vienna the son of a teacher, Gulda began learning to play the piano ...

Ossiach Ossiach () is a municipality in the Feldkirchen District in the Austrian state of Carinthia. The small settlement is mainly known for Ossiach Abbey. Geography It is located at the southern shore of Lake Ossiach, on the slope of the small ''Ossia ...

and two scientific symposia for the Kreisky government 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. ...

, created a

Happening A happening is a performance, event, or situation art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow in 1959 to describe a range of art-related events. History Origins Allan Kaprow first coined the term "happening" i ...

and worked as a

dramaturge A dramaturge or dramaturg (from Ancient Greek δραματουργός – dramatourgós) is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and pr ...

for plays by

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

and Pirandello. In 1975 he returned to FORVM as a publishing manager, 1982/83 he served as editor-in-chief and in 1986 he became the owner and editor of the magazine. During his editorship FORVM retained its high profile through

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...

and

social criticism Social criticism is a form of academic or journalistic criticism focusing on social issues in contemporary society, in respect to perceived injustices and power relations in general. Social criticism of the Enlightenment The origin of modern ...

, avid

anti-fascism Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

and its fight for

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

. Oberschlick became well known for his judicial controversies with right wing

FPÖ The Freedom Party of Austria (, FPÖ) is a political party in Austria, variously described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, and Eurosceptic. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the largest of five par ...

politicians like

Jörg Haider Jörg Haider (; 26 January 1950 – 11 October 2008) was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Au ...

- mainly because of their

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 ...

or their

nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a neoclassical compound derived from Greek language, Greek, consisting of (''nóstos''), a Homeric word me ...

for the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

regime. At the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

(ECHR) Oberschlick achieved several verdicts against the ''Republic of Austria'' because of violation of the

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

, and this caused finally in 1995 a change of Austria's

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

. Since then Austria's high courts are bound to all decisions of the ECHR, therefore implementing human rights in the legal system of the country. Since 1992 he has served as the

of philosopher and anti-nuclear activist

. In June 1995 Oberschlick chaired the

International Human Rights Tribunal The International Human Rights Tribunal (IHRT) was a symbolic tribunal which took place in Vienna, Austria, in June 1995. It was chaired by environmental and human rights activist Freda Meissner-Blau and Gerhard Oberschlick, editor of ''FORVM'' ...

. His co-chair was environmental activist

Freda Meissner-Blau Freda Meissner-Blau (11 March 1927 – 22 December 2015) was an Austrian politician, activist, and prominent figurehead in the Austrian environmental movement. She was a founder and the federal spokesperson of the Austrian Green Party. Early li ...

, and human rights activist

Christian Michelides Christian Michelides (born July 19, 1957) is an Austrian psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Convers ...

served as the

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

. The tribunal was dedicated to the persecution of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender persons in Austria during the period from 1945 to 1995. As a consequence of this endeavour and other efforts all discriminating laws against

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

-persons in Austria have been abolished between 1996 and 2005. At the end of 1995 Oberschlick had to close down FORVM due to lack of financial means. Since 2000 he has edited a modest internet issue of the former magazine. In 2022, together with Meral Şimşek, he received the Theodor Kramer Prize for Writing in Resistance and Exile.Theodor-Kramer-Preis 2022 an Meral Şimşek und Gerhard Oberschlick. In: Der Standard vom 1. Juni 202

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Publications

* (ed., with Marietta Torberg): ''Die Zukunft von Wissenschaft und Technik in Österreich'' he Future of Science and Engineering in Austria Europa Verlag, Vienna 1973. * (ed.): FORVM, Internationale Zeitschrift für kulturelle Freiheit, politische Gleichheit und solidarische Arbeit nternational magazine for cultural freedom, political equality and solidary labour Issue 387-394 bis 499-504 (September 30, 1986 till December 6, 1995) Vienna . ** (ed.): FORVM 1987-1995. In: Reprint FORVM 1954-1995. Ueberreuter, Vienna 2004, . * (ed.): Günther Anders, ''Obdachlose Skulptur. Über Rodin''. Beck, Munich 1994, . * (ed.): Günther Anders, ''Über Heidegger''. With a text by Dieter Thomä and two translations by Werner Reimann. Beck, Munich 2001, .

References

External links

FORVM Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oberschlick, Gerhard Living people Austrian editors Austrian human rights activists 1942 births