Franz Werfel, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1940
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Werfel's grave in the Zentralfriedhof, Vienna
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Franz Werfel (September 10, 1890 – August 26, 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet. Carl Van Vechten ( June 17, 1880 &ndash December 21, 1964) was an American Writer and Photographer who was a The Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery is situated in the district of Simmering, Simmeringer Hauptstraße 230–244 Vienna 1110 Austria, and is the Events 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul meet in the Council of Agde. Year 1890 ( MDCCCXC) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1071 - Battle of Manzikert: The Seljuk Turks defeat the Byzantine Army at Manzikert. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Austrians (Österreicher are a nation and an ethnic group originating from the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states ( March of Austria, Bohemians are the people of Bohemia, in the Czech Republic, inhabitants of the former Kingdom of Bohemia located in the modern day Czech Republic A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. A poet is a person who writes Poetry. Etymology From the Ancient greek: ποιέω, poieō: "I make or compose"
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Biography
Born in Prague (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), Werfel was the first of three children of a wealthy manufacturer of gloves and leather goods. Prague (ˈprɑːg Praha (ˈpraɦa see also other names) is the Capital and Largest city of the Czech Republic. His mother, Albine Kusee, was the daughter of a mill owner. His two sisters were Hanna (born 1896) and Marianne Amalie (born 1899). [1] He was a contemporary and colleague of Franz Kafka, Max Brod, Martin Buber, and other Jewish intellectuals who flourished in the first decades of the 20th century. Max Brod ( May 27, 1884 – December 20, 1968) was an Austrian - Jewish Author, Composer, and Journalist Martin Buber ( 8 February 1878 – 13 June 1965) was an Austrian Israeli Jewish Philosopher, translator PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ The twentieth century of the Common Era began on [2] He served in the Austro-Hungarian army on the Russian front and in the press office in Vienna, where he met and fell in love with Alma Mahler. The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy (1867 - 1918 The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and primarily Eastern Europe. [2]
In 1920 Alma, widow of Gustav Mahler, divorced architect Walter Gropius in order to be with Werfel, and the couple lived together from that point on; they finally married in 1929. Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel (born Schindler) (31 August 1879 &ndash 11 December 1964 was a Viennese-born socialite well known in her youth for her beauty and vivacity An architect is a licensed individual who leads a design team in the Planning and Design of buildings and participates in oversight of Building Construction Walter Adolph Georg Gropius ( May 18, 1883 &ndash July 5, 1969) was a German Architect and founder of Bauhaus [2] Werfel was already an established author, having assumed a leading place in German letters as an expressionist playwright; but his true claim to international fame came in 1933, when he published The Forty Days of Musa Dagh, a chilling novel that drew world attention to the Armenian genocide at the hands of the Turks. The Forty Days of Musa Dagh is a 1934 Novel by Austrian Jewish Author Franz Werfel Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches [2]
An identified Jew, Werfel left Austria after the Anschluss in 1938 and went to France. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich The ( German: "link-up" also known as the, was the 1938 Annexation of Austria into Greater Germany by the Nazi This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. After the German invasion and occupation of France during World War II, and the deportation of French Jews to the Nazi concentration camps, Werfel had to flee again. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people commonly in large groups without trial [2] With the assistance of Varian Fry and the Emergency Rescue Committee in Marseille, he and his wife narrowly escaped the Nazi regime and traveled to the United States. Varian Mackey Fry (October 15 1907 &ndash September 13 1967 was a Taft School and Harvard University educated American Journalist who ran Marseille, ( English alt Marseilles mɑrˈseɪ — French: maʁsɛj locally — Provençal Occitan: Marselha maʀˈsijɔ The United States of America —commonly referred to as the [2]
While in France, Werfel made a visit to the shrine of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes, where he found spiritual solace. Lourdes ( Occitan: Lorda) is a town and commune situated in the southwest of the Hautes-Pyrénées department, lying in the first Pyrenean He also received much help and kindness from the Catholic orders that staffed the shrine. [2] He vowed to write about the experience and, safe in America, he published The Song of Bernadette in 1941. The Song of Bernadette is a 1942 novel that tells the story of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, who from February to July 1858 in Lourdes
In southern California, Werfel wrote his final play, Jacobowsky and the Colonel (Jacobowsky und der Oberst) which was made into the 1958 film Me and the Colonel starring Danny Kaye. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Danny Kaye ( January 18, 1913 – March 3, 1987) was an American award-winning Actor, Singer and Comedian Before his death, he completed the first draft of his last novel Star of the Unborn (Stern der Ungeborenen), which was published posthumously, in 1946. [2]
Franz Werfel died in Los Angeles in 1945 and was interred there in the Rosendale Cemetery. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West However, his body was later exhumed and returned to Vienna for reburial in the Zentralfriedhof. Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. The Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery is situated in the district of Simmering, Simmeringer Hauptstraße 230–244 Vienna 1110 Austria, and is the
Bibliography
In English (some of these titles are out of print):
- The Forty Days of Musa Dagh
- The Song of Bernadette
- The Song of Bernadette – The Immortal Story of Bernadette of Lourdes by Franz Werfel (abridged by John Martin)
- The Man Who Conquered Death
- Embezzled Heaven
- Verdi
- Class Reunion
- Juarez and Maximilian – play
- Star of the Unborn – science-fiction novel
- A pale-blue woman's handwriting (Eine blass-blaue Frauenschrift) -> Key sentence
References
- ^ Hans Wagener. The Forty Days of Musa Dagh is a 1934 Novel by Austrian Jewish Author Franz Werfel Class Reunion (original title Der Abituriententag) is a novel by Franz Werfel first published in German in 1928. Understanding Franz Werfel (University of South Carolina, 1993) ISBN 0872498832
- ^ a b c d e f g h Franz Werfel. Books and Authors. Retrieved on 2007-12-05. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations.
External links
- Overview
- A small album of miscellaneous photographs
- Franz Werfel author profile
- Jeremiah - Symphony after the novel by Franz Werfel
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Werfel, Franz |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet who wrote in German |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 10, 1890 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Prague |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 26, 1945 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Los Angeles |
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