Günther Nenning (December 23, 1921 – May 14, 2006) was an Austrian journalist, author, and political activist.
Günther Nenning was born in
Vienna, Austria. After an excellent performance in high school, Nenning served from 1940 to 1945 in the German
Wehrmacht. At the end of
World War II he was arrested by US forces, but soon released on condition that he stay in the Western sector. He studied
linguistics and
religious studies in
Graz
Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
, being promoted Dr. phil. and Dr. rer. pol. in 1949 and 1959 respectively.
He died in
Waidring
Waidring is a municipality in the Kitzbühel district in the Austrian state of Tyrol located 20 km northeast of Kitzbühel and 9 km east of Kirchdorf in Tirol near the border with Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; ba ...
,
Tyrol aged 84.
Journalism
During his studies he started his journalistic career, first as a writer, later as vice chief editor of the socialist daily newspaper ''Neue Zeit''. In 1958 he switched as co-owner to the cultural journal
FORVM in Vienna, in 1965 he followed
Friedrich Torberg as owner and chief editor, changing the name to ''NEUES FORVM''. Nenning left the journal in 1970, handing it over as community property to a club of writers and employees. He founded a youth journal in 1973, but due to legal and financial problems had to stop it in 1975. Since the early 1970s he wrote as a columnist for major Austrian newspapers.
Joining the socialist faction of the
Austrian Trade Union Federation
The Austrian Trade Union Federation or Austrian Federation of Trade Unions ( de: ''Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund'', abbreviated OeGB or ÖGB) is a labour union of employees. It is constituted as an association and is subdivided into seven ...
(ÖGB), in 1960 he became chairman of the Austrian Journalists' Union. Accused of intending to form his own media union, in 1985 he was expelled from the Austrian Trade Union Federation, causing hundreds of journalists to leave the ÖGB in protest. In 1990 he was fully rehabilitated, and received honors for 50 years of membership in 2000.
Politics
Nenning's political views were "multicolored", and not confined to a single party. He termed himself "Rot–grün–hellschwarzer" (red–green–light-black, referring to
socialism,
greens
Greens may refer to:
*Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc.
Politics Supranational
* Green politics
* Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics
* Global Greens
* Europ ...
and conservatism). He participated in the protests for an Austrian media reform in 1964, in the early 1970s against the
war in Vietnam, and in 1978 against the planned nuclear power plant in
Zwentendorf
Zwentendorf an der Donau is a small market municipality in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is located at , in the Tulln Basin on the southern bank of the Danube. The place attained public attention as the site of the only Austrian nuclear ...
.
In 1984 he was one of the leading
protesters against the
Danube power plant at
Hainburg, which earned him the nickname "Auhirsch" (meadow deer). He was one of the most influential mentors in the early years of the then forming
Austrian Green Party
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
. His green activities and ecologically motivated rants against socialist members of parliament caused the
Austrian socialist party
The Social Democratic Party of Austria (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs , SPÖ), founded and known as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (german: link=no, Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs, SDAPÖ) unti ...
to expel him in 1985. A month later Nenning joined the
Swiss socialist party.
Nenning had always been an ardent activist for women's rights, and called himself a convinced
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
.
Books and TV
Günther Nenning was a prolific author, who also directed TV movies and a documentary for the
ORF
ORF or Orf may refer to:
* Norfolk International Airport, IATA airport code ORF
* Observer Research Foundation, an Indian research institute
* One Race Films, a film production company founded by Vin Diesel
* Open reading frame, a portion of t ...
(Austrian television). Among others, he was TV host of the talk show ''Club 2'' (
ORF
ORF or Orf may refer to:
* Norfolk International Airport, IATA airport code ORF
* Observer Research Foundation, an Indian research institute
* One Race Films, a film production company founded by Vin Diesel
* Open reading frame, a portion of t ...
) and host of the German TV talk show ''III nach 9'' (
ARD).
In addition to his many authored books, Nenning spent the final year of his life editing a 21-volume anthology of Austrian literature after 1945, first called "Austrokoffer" (Austro-suitcase; it was designed to fit in a large, brightly decorated carrying case) and then received the less controversial title of "Landvermessung" (Land-measuring or Land-surveying). It became a cause celebre when critics felt that Nenning was unqualified to edit such a collection and some major authors like
Elfriede Jelinek refused to contribute work due to government funding of the project. 139 authors eventually found representation in the well-designed collection, which had to be issued in a second limited edition due to public demand.
Notes and references
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nenning, Gunther
1921 births
2006 deaths
Theodor Körner Prize recipients
Recipients of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
Radio Bremen people
20th-century Austrian journalists
German military personnel of World War II