Feuerhalle Simmering - Urnenhain (Abteilung 2) - Roda Roda 04

Alexander Friedrich Ladislaus Roda Roda (13 April 1872 – 20 August 1945) was an Austrian writer and satirist.

Biography

Roda Roda was born as Šandor Friedrich Rosenfeld in Drnowitz,

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(now Drnovice,

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

). His sister was the physician Gisela Januszewska. As a child, he moved with his family to

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...

. He Germanized his name from Šandor to Alexander, and his surname from Rosenfeld to Roda Roda. Roda is the Croatian word for

stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...

. He chose his new surname because storks nested on the chimney of his house in Esseg (today

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

). In 1894, Roda Roda converted from Judaism to Catholicism.Kaiser, Max: "Roda Roda (bis 1899 Rosenfeld, 1899–1906 Roda), Alexander (Sándor) Friedrich (seit 1894 zusätzl. Ladislaus) (Pseudonym Aaba Aaba, Nikolaus Suchy)"
''

Neue Deutsche Biographie ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' (''NDB''; literally ''New German Biography'') is a biographical reference work. It is the successor to the ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, Universal German Biography). The 26 volumes published thus far cover ...

'' 21 (2003), pp. 687–689 In 1902, Roda Roda quit the military career and became a journalist (during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he was war correspondent); he contributed to the German satirical magazine ''

Simplicissimus :''Simplicissimus is also a name for the 1668 novel Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus, Simplicius Simplicissimus and its protagonist.'' ''Simplicissimus'' () was a satire, satirical German language, German weekly magazine, headquartered in Munich ...

''. In 1938, he emigrated to the US. He wrote many comedies (''Der König von Crucina'', 1892; ''Bubi'', 1912, with

Gustav Meyrink Gustav Meyrink (19 January 1868 – 4 December 1932) was the pseudonym of Gustav Meyer, an Austrian author, novelist, dramatist, translator, and banker, most famous for his novel '' The Golem''. He has been described as the "most respected Germa ...

), tales and novels (''Soldatengeschichten'', 2 volumes, 1904; ''Der Ehegarten'', 1913, ''Der Schnaps, der Rauchtabak und die verfluchte Liebe'', 1908; ''Die Panduren'', 1935), and autobiographical books (''Irrfahrten eines Humoristen 1914–1919'', 1920; ''Roda Rodas Roman'', 1925). He died in New York City. In 1911 Roda Roda published a series of articles for the ''

Neue Freie Presse ''Neue Freie Presse'' ("New Free Press") was a Viennese newspaper founded by Adolf Werthner together with the journalists Max Friedländer and Michael Etienne on 1 September 1864 after the staff had split from the newspaper ''Die Presse''. It ex ...

'', one of Austria's most respected newspapers. Between 1914 and 1917, he produced nearly 700 articles as war correspondent for the paper as well as the German-language newspaper published in Budapest, ''

Pester Lloyd ''Pester Lloyd'' is a German-language online daily newspaper from Budapest, Hungary with a focus "on Hungary and Eastern Europe". History during the Austrian Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire Its first stint of existence was from 1854 to ...

''. In the 1920s, Roda Roda's humorous and satirical book publications were largely successful. He appeared in cabarets, traveled extensively, and had contact with dozens of authors, actors, filmmakers, and other artists of his milieu. His work was part of the literature event in the art competition at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

. Roda Roda's ashes are buried at

Feuerhalle Simmering Feuerhalle Simmering is a crematorium with attached urn burial ground in the Simmering (Vienna), Simmering district of Vienna, Austria. It lies at the end of an alley, directly opposite Vienna Central Cemetery's main gate. Description Opened on ...

. Roda Roda was also a passionate chess player and often played in the Munich coffee house Café Stefanie. Here he found inspiration for his humorous text that discusses chess, "Das Pensionistengambit" (The Pensioners' Gambit), originally the chapter "Schach" in his 1932 collection ''Roda Roda und die vierzig Schurken''.Chapter 93, "Schach"
in ''Roda Roda und die vierzig Schurken'' (1932) In 1952, Vienna's city district

Floridsdorf Floridsdorf (; Central Bavarian: ''Fluridsduaf'') is the 21st district of Vienna (german: 21. Bezirk, Floridsdorf), located in the northern part of the city and comprising seven formerly independent communities: Floridsdorf, Donaufeld, Greater Jed ...

(the 21st district) named a street, Roda-Roda-Gasse, after the author. The city of

, Croatia, also boasts a bust of Roda Roda in front of the library building in Europska avenija.

Bibliography

*1892 – ''Der Gutsherr von Ljublin'' *1906 – ''Eines Esels Kinnbacken'' *1908 – ''Von Bienen, Drohnen und Baronen'' *1909 – ''Bummler,Schummler und Rossetummler'' *1913 – ''500 Schwänke'' *1925 – ''Roda Rodas Roman'', ''Roda Roda erzählt'' *1927 – ''Donner und Doria''

Filmography

Film adaptations

* '' Der Feldherrnhügel'', directed by Hans Otto and

Erich Schönfelder Erich Schönfelder (1885–1933) was a German screenwriter, actor, and film director of the silent film, silent and early sound film, sound eras. Early in his career he worked frequently with Ernst Lubitsch. Selected filmography Writer * ''Shoe ...

(1926, based on the 1910 play of that name) * '' Grandstand for General Staff'', directed by

Eugen Thiele Eugen Thiele (1897–1938) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter. Of Jewish backgroundPrawer p.213 he was the younger brother of Wilhelm Thiele. After a spell as an actor he established himself as a director in the Cinema of Germany, Germ ...

(1932, based on the play ''Der Feldherrnhügel'') * '' Der Feldherrnhügel'', directed by

Ernst Marischka Ernst Marischka (2 January 1893 – 12 May 1963) was an Austrian screenwriter and film director. He wrote for more than 90 films between 1913 and 1962. He also directed 29 films between 1915 and 1962. He wrote and directed the Sissi trilogy ...

(1953) * ''Der Knabe mit den 13 Vätern'', directed by Thomas Fantl (1976, TV series, based on the novel ''Der Knabe mit den 13 Vätern'')

Screenwriter

*'' K. und K. Feldmarschall'', directed by

Karel Lamač Karel Lamač (27 January 1897 – 2 August 1952) was a Czech film director, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He directed more than 100 films in Czechoslovakia, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Life Lam ...

(1930, German adaptation of a Czech screenplay) *''Er und seine Schwester'', directed by Karel Lamač (1931, German adaptation of a Czech screenplay) *', directed by

Géza von Bolváry Géza von Bolváry (born Géza Gyula Mária Bolváry Zahn, german: Géza Maria von Bolváry-Zahn; 26 December 1897 – 10 August 1961) was a Hungarians, Hungarian actor, screenwriter, and film director, who worked principally in Germany and Aust ...

(1931)

References

External links

"Roda Roda, Alexander"
, list of works * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roda Roda, Alexander 1872 births 1945 deaths People from the Margraviate of Moravia People from Vyškov District Moravian-German people Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism Austrian male writers Austrian emigrants to the United States Burials at Feuerhalle Simmering Olympic competitors in art competitions War correspondents of World War I