Max Tau was a German–Norwegian writer, editor, and publisher.

Life

Tau grew up in an environment characterized by what he later termed the "Jewish-German" symbiosis, in a Jewish household heavily influenced by the

Jewish enlightenment The ''Haskalah'' (; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), often termed the Jewish Enlightenment, was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Western Europe and th ...

. He studied literature,

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

, philosophy, and psychology at universities in Berlin, Hamburg, and Kiel. He earned his doctorate at the University of Kiel, defending a dissertation on the German writer

Theodor Fontane Theodor Fontane (; 30 December 1819 – 20 September 1898) was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language Literary realism, realist author. He published the first of his novels, for which he i ...

. With the assistance of Mildred Fish Harnack, an American active in the Red Orchestra anti-Nazi resistance group, Tau emigrated to Norway in 1935. During the Nazi-German occupation of Norway, he was a refugee in Sweden and returned to Norway after the war. He was noted for his contribution to promoting literary exchange between Germany and Norway, especially in the context of reconciliation after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He obtained Norwegian citizenship while in exile in Sweden in 1944.

Awards

*1950

Peace Prize of the German Book Trade is an international list of peace prizes, peace prize awarded annually by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (), which runs the Frankfurt Book Fair. The award ceremony is held in the Frankfurter Paulskirche, Paulskirche in Frankfurt. T ...

*1965

Nelly Sachs Prize The Nelly Sachs Prize (German: ''Nelly Sachs Preis'') is a literary prize given every two years by the German city of Dortmund. Named after the Jewish poet and Nobel laureate Nelly Sachs, the prize includes a cash award of €15,000. It honours ...

*1970

Sonning Prize The Sonning Prize () is a Danish culture prize awarded biennially for outstanding contributions to European culture. It is named after the Danish editor and author Carl Johan Sonning (1879–1937), who established the prize by his will. A prize ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tau, Max 1897 births 1976 deaths People from Bytom University of Kiel alumni Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Norway Naturalised citizens of Norway Refugees in Sweden Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Writers from the Province of Silesia German male writers