Robert Hohlbaum (28 August 1886 – 4 February 1955) was 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 ...

n-German

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

, writer, and playwright. He was born as a son of an industrialist Alois Hohlbaum in what is now

Krnov Krnov (; , or ''Krnów'') is a town in Bruntál District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. Administrative division Krnov consists of three municipal parts (in brackets population according to ...

in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, then part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

and known by its German name, ''Jägerndorf''. Hohlbaum studied at

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

and

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 received his doctorate from 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 ...

in 1910. He gained employment as a scientific librarian, but maintained an

avocation An avocation is an activity that someone engages in as a hobby outside their main occupation. There are many examples of people whose professions were the ways that they made their livings, but for whom their activities outside their workplaces w ...

as a writer, writing principally for the journal ''Muskete'', along with Mirko Jelusich and Rudolf Hans Bartsch. Hohlbaum was a nationalist and became an officer in the Austrian army during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After the war was over he became involved with the Austrian wing of the right-wing German People's Party. In 1933 Hohlbaum moved to Germany, where he became a citizen in 1937. He was a friend of Josef Weinheber. He thrived during the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

, becoming first the director of the municipal library at

Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...

and later, in 1942, that of the state library at

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

(now the

Duchess Anna Amalia Library The Duchess Anna Amalia Library () in Weimar, Germany, houses a major collection of German literature and historical documents. In 1991, the tricentennial of its opening to the public, the Ducal Library was renamed for Duchess Anna Amalia. Toda ...

). In disgrace after the war, Hohlbaum was able after a number of attempts to return to Austria in 1951. He settled first in Vienna, and later in Graz, where he died in 1955. His most significant work after the war ended was a book on

Anton Bruckner Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...

, ''Tedeum.''

Works

* ''Der ewige Lenzkampf'', 1913 * ''Deutsche Gedichte.'' ''A Cycle,'' 1916 * ''Unsterbliche. '' ''Novellas,'' 1919 * ''Die Amouren des Magister Döderlein'', 1920 * ''Grenzland'', 1921 * ''Franz Karl Ginzkey.'' ''His Life and Work,'' 1921 * ''Fallbeil und Reifrock. '' ''New Noverllas,'' 1921 * ''Zukunft. Novel'', 1922 * ''Himmlisches Orchester'', 1923 * ''Die deutsche Passion'', 1924 * ''Der wilde Christian. Novel'', 1925 * ''Die Pfingsten von Weimar'', 1926 * ''Die Raben des Kyffhäuser. The Novel of the Burschenschaft und their Age'', 1927 * ''Das Paradies und die Schlange. A Novel from South Tyrol'', 1928 * ''Winterbrautnacht. Novellas'', 1929 * ''Das klingende Gift'', 1930 * ''Deutsches Leid in Österreich'', 1930 * ''Die Stunde der Sterne. A Bruckner Novella'', 1930 * ''König Volk'', 1931 * ''Der Mann aus dem Chaos. A Napoleon Novel'', 1933 * ''Die Flucht in den Krieg'', 1935 * ''Der Held von Kolberg'', 1935 * ''Zweikampf um Deutschland. Novel'', 1936 * ''Fröhlicher Vormärz. Two Novellas'', 1936 * ''Grillparzer'', 1938 * ''Die stumme Schlacht. Novel'', 1939 * ''Der Kurfürst'', 1940 * ''Heroische Rheinreise'', Novelle, 1941 * ''Die Königsparade'', 1942 * ''Balladen vom Geist'', 1943 * ''Das letzte Gefecht'', 1943 * ''Symphonie in drei Sätzen. Novellas'', 1943 * ''Tedeum'', 1950 * ''Jesus-Legende'', 1951 * ''Der Heiratsvermittler'', 1953 * ''Der Zauberstab. Novel of Viennese Musical Life'', 1954 * ''Des reifsten Weines später Segen'', 1967

References

* Schneider, Josef: Begegnungen mit Robert Hohlbaum. - In: Sudetendeutscher Kulturalmanach. 6 (1967), S. 41-44 1886 births 1955 deaths 20th-century Austrian novelists 20th-century German novelists Austrian librarians German male novelists Austrian male writers 20th-century German librarians German people of Austrian descent Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I People from Austrian Silesia People from Krnov 20th-century German male writers Austrian emigrants to Germany {{Austria-writer-stub