Egon Friedell (born ''Egon Friedmann''; 21 January 1878, in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
– 16 March 1938, in Vienna) was a prominent
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n
cultural historian
Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past matter, encompassing the ...
,
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
,
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
and
Kabarett
Kabarett (; from French ''cabaret'' = tavern) is satirical revue, a form of cabaret which developed in France by Rodolphe Salis in 1881 as the ''cabaret artistique''. It was named Le Chat Noir and was centered on political events and satire. It ...
performer,
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
and
theatre critic
Theatre criticism is a genre of arts criticism, and the act of writing or speaking about the performing arts such as a play or opera.
Theatre criticism is distinct from drama criticism, as the latter is a division of literary criticism whereas t ...
. Friedell has been described as a
polymath
A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
. Before 1916, he was also known by his pen name Egon Friedländer.
Early life
Friedell's parents had immigrated to Vienna from the eastern parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.Bernhard Viel (2013), "Egon Friedell: Der geniale Dilettant". Friedell was the second child of
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
parents, Moriz Friedmann and Karoline (née Eisenberger), who were running a silk manufactory in
Mariahilf
Mariahilf (; Central Bavarian: ''Mariahüf'') is the 6th municipal district of Vienna, Austria (german: 6. Bezirk). It is near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850. Mariahilf is a heavily populated urban area with many res ...
. His older brother, , also later became a writer and journalist.
His mother left the family for another man when he was one year old, from then on he lived with his father. The divorce was made in 1887. After his father's death in 1889, Friedell lived with his aunt in
Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
, where he would attend school, until he was expelled for unruly behaviour three years later. Even at this young age, Friedell was considered a trouble maker and free thinker.
In 1897, he renounced Judaism and converted to the
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
faith.
He attended several schools in Austria and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Whilst attending school in
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
in 1897, he already attended lectures on history of philosophy by
Kuno Fischer
Ernst Kuno Berthold Fischer (23 July 1824 – 5 July 1907) was a German philosopher, a historian of philosophy and a critic.
Biography
After studying philosophy at Leipzig and Halle,
became a privatdocent at Heidelberg in 1850. The Baden gover ...
.Elisabeth Flucher (2015), Traces of Immanuel Kant in Friedell’s Work. In: Violetta Waibel, Detours: Approaches to Immanuel Kant in Vienna, in Austria, and in Eastern Europe. . page 365
In 1899, he finally passed his
Abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
(exit examination) after four attempts, in
Bad Hersfeld
The festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld (''Bad'' is "spa" in German; the Old High German name of the city was ''Herolfisfeld'') is the district seat of the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southeast ...
.
After graduation, he enrolled in
Heidelberg University
}
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
to study under the historian of philosophy and follower of
Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...
, Kuno Fischer.
Also in 1899, he had come of age and accepted his part of his father's inheritance. This enabled him to buy a tenement in Vienna at Gentzgasse 7, where he lived from then on. This is also where he tragically died. Neither of the brothers wanted to continue running the father's factory.
From 1900 to 1904, Egon Friedell studied philosophy and German literature in Vienna. During that time he meet
Peter Altenberg
Peter Altenberg (9 March 1859 – 8 January 1919) was a writer and poet from Vienna, Austria. He played a key role in the genesis of early modernism in the city.
Biography
He was born Richard Engländer on 9 March 1859 in Vienna. The nom de p ...
and began writing articles for ''März'' and ''
Die Schaubühne
Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life.
Die may also refer to:
Games
* Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers
Manufacturing
* Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicond ...
''.
In 1904, he received his PhD for the dissertation on ''
Novalis
Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (2 May 1772 – 25 March 1801), pen name Novalis (), was a German polymath who was a writer, philosopher, poet, aristocrat and mystic. He is regarded as an idiosyncratic and influential figure of ...
als Philosoph'', which he wrote under the guidance of . His dissertation was published soon after at in Munich.
Actor, theatre critic, essayist, translator and biographer
In 1905, he started publishing texts in Karl Kraus's journal ''
Die Fackel
Karl Kraus (28 April 1874 – 12 June 1936) was an Austrian writer and journalist, known as a satirist, essayist, aphorist, playwright and poet. He directed his satire at the press, German culture, and German and Austrian politics. He was nominat ...
''. The first was ''Vorurteile'' (issue no. 190), which included the following statement: "The worst prejudice we acquire during our youth is the idea that life is serious. Children have the right instincts: they know that life is not serious, and treat it is a game..." In the following issue he published ''Die Lehrmittel'' and ''Das schwarze Buch'', which was co-authored with
Peter Altenberg
Peter Altenberg (9 March 1859 – 8 January 1919) was a writer and poet from Vienna, Austria. He played a key role in the genesis of early modernism in the city.
Biography
He was born Richard Engländer on 9 March 1859 in Vienna. The nom de p ...
. Then followed by ''Zwei Skizzen: Der Panamahut & Die Bolette'' (issue 193), ''Pilatus'' (issue 201) and ''Ein Schmerzensschrei'' (issue 202). After these texts were published, he and Kraus fell out with each other.
In 1906, Friedell began
kabarett
Kabarett (; from French ''cabaret'' = tavern) is satirical revue, a form of cabaret which developed in France by Rodolphe Salis in 1881 as the ''cabaret artistique''. It was named Le Chat Noir and was centered on political events and satire. It ...
performances at venues called ''Cabaret Nachtlicht'' and '.
In 1907 he directed at ''Intimes Theater'' in Vienna, which was run by his brother, Oskar Friedmann. There, he staged plays by
August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...
,
Frank Wedekind
Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 – March 9, 1918) was a German playwright. His work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes (particularly towards sex), is considered to anticipate expressionism and was influential in the de ...
and
Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count (or Comte) Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...
and brought them to the audience in Vienna for the first time. Friedell was doing lighting, acting and directing.
Between 1908 and 1910 Friedell worked as the artistic director of the ', named after the Johann Strauss operetta. Most pieces were written either by
Peter Altenberg
Peter Altenberg (9 March 1859 – 8 January 1919) was a writer and poet from Vienna, Austria. He played a key role in the genesis of early modernism in the city.
Biography
He was born Richard Engländer on 9 March 1859 in Vienna. The nom de p ...
or jointly by Friedell and
Alfred Polgar
Alfred Polgar (originally: Alfred Polak) 17 October 1873, Vienna – 24 April 1955, Zurich) was an Austrian-born columnist, theater critic, writer and occasionally translator.
All in all, he was one of the most important protagonists of the Wie ...
, who were nicknamed the "Polfried AG". He also was acting there. Other people involved were Oscar Straus,
Hermann Bahr
Hermann Anastas Bahr (; 19 July 1863 – 15 January 1934) was an Austrian writer, playwright, director, and critic.
Biography
Born and raised in Linz, Bahr studied in Vienna, Graz, Czernowitz and Berlin, devoting special attention to philosophy, ...
,
Franz Blei
Franz Blei (pseudonyms: Medardus, Dr. Peregrinus Steinhövel, Amadée de la Houlette, Franciscus Amadeus, Gussie Mc-Bill, Prokop Templin, Heliogabal, Nikodemus Schuster, L. O. G., Hans Adolar; January 18, 1871, ViennaJuly 10, 1942, Westbury, Lo ...
,
Erich Mühsam
Erich Mühsam (6 April 1878 – 10 July 1934) was a German-Jewish antimilitarist anarchist essayist, poet and playwright. He emerged at the end of World War I as one of the leading agitators for a federated Bavarian Soviet Republic, for which h ...
,
Hanns Heinz Ewers
Hanns Heinz Ewers (3 November 1871 – 12 June 1943) was a German actor, poet, philosopher, and writer of short stories and novels. While he wrote on a wide range of subjects, he is now known mainly for his works of horror, particularly his trilo ...
Frank Wedekind
Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 – March 9, 1918) was a German playwright. His work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes (particularly towards sex), is considered to anticipate expressionism and was influential in the de ...
.
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...
described his impressions of the Fledermaus: "There, amid Jugendstil decor, Kokoschka mounted his Indian fairy tale "Des getupfte Ei" The Dotted Egg"on slides, writer Alfred Polgar ..read his short prose and caustic commentary, and Friedell and other authors of rising repute presented their sketches and short plays."
During this time, Friedell continued to publish essays and one-act plays. His first literary effort was ''Der Petroleumkönig'' (Petrol king) in 1908. The
parody
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
''Goethe im Examen'', written jointly Alfred Polgar, in which he also played the leading role, made him famous in German speaking countries and got mentioned in the Sunday Times. He played this role repeatedly until 1938. Also in that time he wrote ''Soldatenleben im Frieden''.
In 1910, Friedell was commissioned by publisher
Samuel Fischer
Samuel Fischer, later Samuel von Fischer (24 December 1859 – 15 October 1934), was a Hungarian-born German publisher, the founder of S. Fischer Verlag. Fischer was born in Liptau-Sankt-Nikolaus/Liptószentmiklós (now Liptovský Mikuláš), ...
to write a biography of the poet
Peter Altenberg
Peter Altenberg (9 March 1859 – 8 January 1919) was a writer and poet from Vienna, Austria. He played a key role in the genesis of early modernism in the city.
Biography
He was born Richard Engländer on 9 March 1859 in Vienna. The nom de p ...
. Fischer, who had expected something light, was unsatisfied with Friedell's analysis and critique of culture titled ''Ecce poeta'', and the book was not promoted in any way. Hence, the book was a commercial failure, but served to mark the beginning of Friedell's interest in
cultural history
Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past matter, encompassing the ...
.
He frequented the so called "literary cafés" among the
Viennese coffee house
The Viennese coffee house (german: das Wiener Kaffeehaus, bar, as Weana Kafeehaus) is a typical institution of Vienna that played an important part in shaping Viennese culture.
Since October 2011 the "Viennese Coffee House Culture" is listed as ...
s, notably the
Café Central
Café Central is a traditional Viennese café located at Herrengasse 14 in the Innere Stadt first district of Vienna, Austria. The café occupies the ground floor of the former Bank and Stockmarket Building, today called the Palais Ferstel after i ...
, where many notable people were patrons and where he got acquainted and befriended with many of them.
In 1912, Friedell went to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, wrote and performed in cabarets. In 1913, he temporarily worked as an actor for director
Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he i ...
.
In 1914, suffering from alcoholism and obesity, Friedell was forced to undergo treatment at a
sanatorium
A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...
near
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
. Friedell was enthusiastic about the beginning of
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 ...
, as were many of his contemporaries, and volunteered for military service but was rejected for physical reasons.
In 1916, he officially changed his name to ''Friedell''.
Friedell published the ''Judas Tragedy'' in 1920 and it was staged at the
Burgtheater
The Burgtheater (literally:"Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater"), originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in Vi ...
in 1923.
In 1922 published ''Quarry — Miscellaneous Opinions and Quotations''.
In 1924, while working as a critic for the journal ''Stunde'', Friedell was fired as a "traitor", for making satirical remarks.
Between 1919 and 1924, Friedell worked as a journalist and theatre critic for various publishers including ''Die Schaubühne'', ''Der Merker'' and ''Neues Wiener Journal''.
Between 1924 and 1927 he was
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to ...
at the
Theater in der Josefstadt
The Theater in der Josefstadt is a theater in Vienna in the eighth district of Josefstadt. It was founded in 1788 and is the oldest still performing theater in Vienna. It is often referred to colloquially as simply ''Die Josefstadt''.
Following ...
in Vienna, which was directed by
Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he i ...
. There he played, amongst others, roles in ''
The Servant of Two Masters
''The Servant of Two Masters'' ( it, Il servitore di due padroni, links=no) is a comedy by the Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni written in 1746. Goldoni originally wrote the play at the request of actor Antonio Sacco, one of the great Harlequins ...
Intrigue and Love
''Intrigue and Love'', sometimes ''Love and Intrigue'', ''Love and Politics'' or ''Luise Miller'' (german: Kabale und Liebe, ; literally "''Cabal and Love''") is a five-act play written by the German dramatist Friedrich Schiller. His third play, ...
'', ''
The Merchant of Venice
''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock.
Although classified as ...
''. He played with famous actors such as Hans Moser and
Heinz Rühmann
Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann (; 7 March 1902 – 3 October 1994) was a German film actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993. He is one of the most famous and popular German actors of the 20th century, and is considered a Ge ...
.
After 1927, health problems prevented any permanent commissions, and he worked as an independent essayist, editor and
translator
Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...
in Vienna.
Among the authors Friedell translated were
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...
,
Christian Friedrich Hebbel
Christian Friedrich Hebbel (18 March 1813 – 13 December 1863) was a German poet and dramatist.
Biography
Hebbel was born at Wesselburen in Dithmarschen, Holstein, the son of a bricklayer. He was educated at the ''Gelehrtenschule des Johann ...
in 1909,
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1 July 1742 – 24 February 1799) was a German physicist, satirist, and Anglophile. As a scientist, he was the first to hold a professorship explicitly dedicated to experimental physics in Germany. He is remembered for ...
,
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy.
Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...
and
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales.
Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...
in 1914,
Johann Nestroy
Johann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy (; 7 December 1801 – 25 May 1862) was a singer, actor and playwright in the popular Austrian tradition of the Biedermeier period and its immediate aftermath. He participated in the 1848 revolutions an ...
, and
Thomas Babington Macaulay
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, (; 25 October 1800 – 28 December 1859) was a British historian and Whig politician, who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster-General between 1846 and 1 ...
in 1924.
During his life he published 22 works with 15 different publishers. Additionally, he wrote for 17 different journals and newspapers. Since 1937, he worked on two unfinished books, which only were left as sketches: ''History of Philosophy'' and ''Novel on Alexander the Great''.
Cultural history
Cultural History of the Modern Age
During the early 1920s, Friedell wrote the three volumes of his ''Cultural History of the Modern Age'', which describes events from the
Black Death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
to
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 ...
in an anecdotal format. In 1925, publisher Hermann Ullstein received the first volume, but was suspicious of the historiography of an actor. Five other publishers subsequently rejected the book. The first volume was finally published by Heinrich Beck in Munich in 1927 and the following two volumes in 1928 and 1931. The book proved very successful and allowed Friedell to continue his work as an author and has been translated into seven languages. His approach to history was influenced by
Oswald Spengler
Oswald Arnold Gottfried Spengler (; 29 May 1880 – 8 May 1936) was a German historian and philosopher of history whose interests included mathematics, science, and art, as well as their relation to his organic theory of history. He is best known ...
and Jacob Burckhardt.
For instance, Friedell writes; "All the classifications man has ever devised are arbitrary, artificial, and false, but simple reflection also shows that such classifications are useful, indispensable, and above all unavoidable since they accord with an innate aspect of our thinking." Friedell summed up the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
as: "the Tsar of Russia falls in love for everyone; the King of Prussia thinks for everyone, the King of Denmark speaks for everyone; the King of Bavaria drinks for everyone; the King of Württemberg eats for everyone … and the Emperor of Austria pays for everyone."British Government. Foreign & Commonwealth Office, 18 December 2012. Speech - The Foreign Office, one of the great offices of state. by William Hague, Foreign Secretary /ref>
Cultural History of Antiquity
Friedell's ''A Cultural History of Antiquity'' was planned in three volumes. Because his publisher in Germany Heinrich Beck was, since 1935, not allowed to publish any of his works, the first volume on ''Cultural History of Egypt's Land and of the Ancient Orient'' was published in 1936 by the Helikon-Verlag in Zurich.
The second volume ''Cultural History of Ancient Greece'' was unfinished and published in Munich in 1950. Due to his death, he couldn't write the third volume on ''Cultural History of the Romans''.
Censorship and suicide
In 1933, when the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
came to power in Germany, Friedell described the regime as: "the realm of the Antichrist. Every trace of nobility, piety, education, reason is persecuted in the most hateful and base manner by a bunch of debased menials".
In 1937, Friedell's works were banned by the National Socialist regime as they did not conform to the theory of history promoted by the
NSDAP
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
, and all German and Austrian publishers refused to publish his works.
On the occasion of the
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
of Austria, anti-semitism was rampant: Jewish men and women were being beaten in the streets and their businesses and
synagogues
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
ransacked or destroyed. Friedell, knowing that he could be arrested by the
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
, began to contemplate ending his own life. Friedell told his close friend,
Ödön von Horváth
Edmund Josef von Horváth (9 December 1901, Sušak, Rijeka, Austria-Hungary – 1 June 1938, Paris France) was an Austro-Hungarian playwright and novelist who wrote in German, and went by the name of ''nom de guerre'' Ödön von Horváth. He was ...
, in a letter written on 11 March: "I am always ready to leave, in every sense."
On 16 March 1938, at about 22:00, two SA men arrived at Friedell's house to arrest him. While they were still arguing with his housekeeper, Friedell, aged 60, committed suicide by jumping out of the window. Before leaping, he warned pedestrians walking on the sideway where he hit by shouting "Watch out! Get out of the way!"
Friedell, of whom
Hilde Spiel
Hilde Spiel (19 October 1911 – 30 November 1990) (pseudonyms: Grace Hanshaw and Jean Lenoir) was an Austrian writer and journalist who received numerous awards and honours.
Biography Youth in Vienna
Hilde Spiel was born in Vienna in October 19 ...
said "in him, the exhilarating fiction of the
homo universalis
A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
rose once again", was interred in the
Zentralfriedhof
The Vienna Central Cemetery (german: Wiener Zentralfriedhof) is one of the largest cemeteries in the world by number of interred, and is the most well-known cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries. The cemetery's name is descriptive of its ...
cemetery in Vienna.
In 1954, a street in Vienna was named after him. In 1978, the Austrian postal service issued a stamp with his portrait in celebration of his 100th birthday. In 2005, his grave was given the honor of becoming an Ehrengrab.
The Time Machine
''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively for ...
, translated by Eddy C Bertin into English and republished as The Return of the Time Machine
* ''Kulturgeschichte des Altertums'', 1949
* ''Das Altertum war nicht antik'', 1950
* ''Kleine Porträtgalerie,'' 1953
* ''Abschaffung des Genies. Essays bis 1918'', 1984
* ''Selbstanzeige. Essays ab 1918'', 1985
Clive James
Clive James (born Vivian Leopold James; 7 October 1939 – 24 November 2019) was an Australian critic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and lyricist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1962 until his death in 2019.Cultural Amnesia
Cultural Amnesia (CA) are an England, English post-punk music group, first active between 1979 and 1983 as participants in the so-called cassette culture of the late 1970s and early 1980s in the UK. During this first period the band released t ...
"
Kulturgeschichte der Neuzeit - commented radio reading of the unabridged text (130 online archived episodes, broadcast 2008–2014 in German language) - ORANGE 94.0 Freies Radio Wien
* https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/friedell-egon
* https://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/buecher/reichtum-an-problemen-1.18148038