Ilse Aichinger (1 November 1921 – 11 November 2016) was an Austrian writer known for her accounts of her persecution by the

Nazi 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 ...

s because of her

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 ...

ancestry."Ilse Aichinger"
''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

'' She wrote poems, short stories and radio plays, and won multiple European literary prizes.

Early life

Aichinger was born in 1921 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 ...

, along with her twin sister, , to Berta, a doctor of Jewish ethnicity, and Ludwig, a teacher. As her mother's family was assimilated, the children were raised Catholic. Aichinger spent her childhood in

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

and, after her parents divorced, she moved to Vienna with her mother and sister, attending a Catholic secondary school. After 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 ...

in 1938, her family was subjected to Nazi

persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

. As a "

half-Jew The term Halbjude (English: Half-Jew) is a derogatory term for people with a non-Jewish and a Jewish parent. The overwhelming majority of the so-called half-Jews were legally classified as " first-degree Jewish hybrids" during the era of Nazi Germ ...

" she was not allowed to continue her studies and became a slave labourer in a button factory. Her sister Helga escaped from

Nazism 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 ...

in July 1939 through a

Kindertransport The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children (but not their parents) from Nazi-controlled territory that took place during the nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World ...

to England where she eventually gave birth to a daughter, who became English artist Ruth Rix."World War II saga: Gail Wiltshire revisits Ilse Aichinger’s novel"
by Tess Livingstone, ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'', 8 August 2015 During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Aichinger was able to hide her mother in her assigned room, in front of the Hotel Metropol, the Viennese

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 ...

headquarters. But many relatives from her mother's side, among them her grandmother Gisela, of whom she was particularly fond, were sent to the

Maly Trostenets extermination camp Maly Trostenets (Maly Trascianiec, , "Little Trostenets") is a village near Minsk in Belarus, formerly the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. During Nazi Germany's occupation of the area during World War II (when the Germans referred to it as ...

near

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

, and murdered.

Career

In 1945, Aichinger began to study

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

, while writing in her spare time. In her first publication, ' (''The Fourth Gate''), she wrote about her experience under Nazism. In 1947 she and her mother Berta were able to travel to London and visit Aichinger's twin Helga and her daughter Ruth. The visit was the inspiration for a short story, "Dover". She gave up her studies in 1948 in order to finish her novel, ' ("The greater hope", translated as ''Herod's Children''). The book went on to become one of the top German-language novels of the twentieth century. It is a surrealist account of a child's persecution by the Nazis in Vienna. In 1949, Aichinger wrote the short story "Spiegelgeschichte" ( en, "Mirror Story" or "Story in a mirror"). It was published in four parts in an Austrian newspaper, and is well known in Austria because it is part of the set of books taught in schools.See Resler, W. Michael: "A Structural Approach to Aichinger's 'Spiegelgeschichte'", in: ''Die Unterrichtspraxis / Teaching German'', Vol. 12, No. 1 (Spring, 1979), pp. 30–37
jstor-link
The story is written backwards, beginning with the end of the biography of the unnamed woman, and ending with her early childhood. In 1949, Aichinger became a reader for publishing houses in Vienna and Frankfurt, and worked with

Inge Scholl Inge Aicher-Scholl (11 August 1917 – 4 September 1998), born in present-day Crailsheim, Germany, was the daughter of Robert Scholl, mayor of Forchtenberg, and elder sister of Hans and Sophie Scholl, who studied at the University of Munich ...

to found an Institute of Creative Writing in

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

, Germany. In 1951, Aichinger was invited to join the writers' group

Gruppe 47 Gruppe 47 (Group 47) was a group of participants in German writers' meetings, invited by Hans Werner Richter between 1947 and 1967. The meetings served the dual goals of literary criticism as well as the promotion of young, unknown authors. In a de ...

, a group which aimed to spread democratic ideas in post-war Austria. She read her story "Spiegelgeschichte" aloud at a meeting of the group, and leading group members such as

Hans Werner Richter Hans Werner Richter (12 November 1908 – 23 March 1993) was a German writer. Born in Heringsdorf, Neu Sallenthin, Usedom, Richter is little known for his own works but found worldwide celebrity and acknowledgment as initiator, moving spirit ...

were impressed with the unusual narrative construction. The following year, she won the group's prize for best text, becoming the first female recipient. In 1956, she joined the

Academy of Arts, Berlin The Academy of Arts (german: Akademie der Künste) is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The Academy's predecessor organization was fo ...

. She was also a guest lecturer at the German Institute at the University of Vienna, teaching on literature and psychoanalysis. Reviewing a 1957 volume of her short works in translation, ''The Bound Man and Other Stories'',

Anthony Boucher William Anthony Parker White (August 21, 1911 – April 29, 1968), better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher (), was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio d ...

describes Aichinger as "a sort of concise

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typ ...

," praising the title story, "" ("The Bound Man"), for its "narrative use of multi-valued symbolism", The similarity to Kafka's work has been frequently commented on, however other critics state that Aichinger's work goes beyond Kafka's in her emphasis on the emotional side of human suffering. After the death of her husband, the German poet

Günter Eich Günter Eich (; 1 February 1907 – 20 December 1972) was a German lyricist, dramatist, and author. He was born in Lebus, on the Oder River, and educated in Leipzig, Berlin, and Paris. Life Eich made his first appearance in print with some poems ...

, in 1972, Aichinger and others edited his works and published them as ''Collected Works of Gunter Eich.'' In 1996, at the age of 75, she was the host of a German radio series ''Studio LCB'' for the Literary Colloquium Berlin. Aichinger died on 11 November 2016, aged 95.

Personal life

Aichinger met the poet and radio play author

through the Group 47 and they were married in 1953; they had a son (1954–1998), and in 1958 a daughter, Mirjam.

Awards

Group 47 Gruppe 47 (Group 47) was a group of participants in German writers' meetings, invited by Hans Werner Richter between 1947 and 1967. The meetings served the dual goals of literary criticism as well as the promotion of young, unknown authors. In a de ...

Literature Prize (1952) * Immermann-Preis (1955) * (1957) *

Großer Literaturpreis der Bayerischen Akademie der Schönen Künste Großer Literaturpreis der Bayerischen Akademie der Schönen Künste (in English: Literature Award of the Bavarian Academy of the Fine Arts) was a Bavarian literary prize by the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste. In 2010, it merged with the ...

(1961, 1991) *

Anton Wildgans Prize The Anton Wildgans Prize of Austrian Industry is a literary award that was endowed in 1962 by the Federation of Austrian Industry. The prize is worth 15,000 Euro and is granted by an independent jury to a young or middle-aged writer of Austrian c ...

(1968) *

Nelly Sachs Prize The Nelly Sachs Prize (German: ''Nelly Sachs Preis'') is a literary prize given every two years by the German city of Dortmund. Named after the Jewish poet and Nobel laureate Nelly Sachs, the prize includes a cash award of €15,000. It honours ...

(1971) *

Roswitha Prize The Roswitha Prize (german: Roswitha-Preis) is the oldest German language prize for literature that is given solely to women. The Roswitha-Medal has been given almost yearly since 1973 by the city of Bad Gandersheim. In 1998 it received its moder ...

(1975) *

Petrarca-Preis Petrarca-Preis was a European literary and translation award named after the Italian Renaissance poet Francesco Petrarca or Petrarch. Founded in 1975 by German art historian and publisher Hubert Burda, it was primarily designed for contemporary ...

(1982) *

Europalia Europalia is a major international arts festival held every two years to celebrate one invited country’s cultural heritage. Europalia was established in Brussels in 1969, and from the beginning Europalia was designed to be a multidisciplinary cu ...

Literature Prize (1987) *

Grand Austrian State Prize The Grand Austrian State Prize () is a decoration given annually by Austria to an artist for exceptional work. The recipient must be an Austrian citizen with a permanent residence in Austria. It was originally created in 1950 by then education mi ...

(1995) *

Austrian State Prize for European Literature The Austrian State Prize for European Literature (german: Österreichischer Staatspreis für Europäische Literatur), also known in Austria as the European Literary Award (''Europäischer Literaturpreis''), is an Austria Austria, , bar, Ö ...

(1996) *, co-recipient with W. G. Sebald and

Markus Werner Markus Werner (; 27 December 1944 – 3 July 2016) was a Swiss writer, known as the author of the novels '' Zündels Abgang'' (''Zündel’s Exit''), ''Am Hang'' ('' On the Edge''), and ''Die kalte Schulter'' (''Cold Shoulder''). Life Markus Werne ...

(2000)

Works

*1945: ''Das vierte Tor'' (The Fourth Gate), essay *1948: ''Die größere Hoffnung'' (The Greater Hope), novel, adapted to a stage play in 2015 *1949: "Spiegelgeschichte", short story *1951: ''Rede unter dem Galgen'' (Speech under the Gallows), short stories *1953: ''Der Gefesselte'' (The Bound Man), short stories *1953: ''Knöpfe'' (Buttons), radio play, adapted to stage play in 1957 *1954: ''Plätze und Strassen'' (Squares and streets), short stories *1957: ''Zu keiner Stunde. Szenen und Dialoge'' (Not at Any Time. Scenes and dialogues), radio plays, dramatised in 1996 at the

Volkstheater, Vienna The Volkstheater in Vienna (roughly translated as "People's Theatre") was founded in 1889 by request of the citizens of Vienna, amongst them the dramatist Ludwig Anzengruber and the furniture manufacturer Thonet, in order to offer a popular count ...

*1963: ''Wo ich wohne'' (Where I Live), short stories *1965: ''Eliza, Eliza'', short stories *1968: ''Meine Sprache und ich'', short stories *1969: ''Auckland'', radio plays *1970: ''Nachricht vom Tag'' (News of the Day), short stories *1973: ''Zweifel an Balkonen'' (Doubts about Balconies), short story *1974: ''Gare maritime,'' radio play *1976: ''Schlechte Wörter'' (Inferior Words), short stories; *1978: ''Verschenkter Rat'', poems *1996: ''Kleist, Moos, Fasane'', collection of short works *2001: ''Film und Verhängnis. Blitzlichter auf ein Leben'' (Film and fate. Flashlights on a life), autobiography *2005: ''Unglaubwürdige Reisen'', short stories *2006: ''Subtexte'', essay

Translations

* ''The Bound Man and Other Stories''. Translated by

Eric Mosbacher Eric Mosbacher (22 December 1903 – 2 July 1998) was an English journalist and translator from Italian, French, German and Spanish. He translated work by Ignazio Silone and Sigmund Freud.'Eric Mosbacher', ''The Times'', 10 July 1998, p.25 Life ...

. Secker & Warburg, London 1955 * ''Herod's Children.'' Translated by Cornelia Schaeffer. Atheneum, New York 1963 * ''Selected Stories and Dialogs''. Ed. by James C. Alldridge. Pergamon Press, Oxford, New York 1966 * ''Selected Poetry and Prose''. Ed. and translated by Allen H. Chappel. With an introduction by Lawrence L. Langer. Logbridge-Rhodes, Durango, Colorado 1983 * ''The Greater Hope''. Translated by Geoff Wilkes. Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2016 * ''Bad Words. Selected Short Prose''. Translated by

Uljana Wolf Uljana Wolf is a German poet and translator (from English and Polish) known for exploring multilingualism in her work. Wolf works in both Berlin and New York. She teaches German at New York University. Uljana Wolf was born in East Berlin in 1979. ...

and

Christian Hawkey Christian Hawkey (born 1969), is an American poet, translator, editor, activist, and educator. Life and work Hawkey was born in Hackensack, New Jersey. He is the author of several books of poetry, including ''Sonne from Ort'', ''Ventrakl,'' ''C ...

. Seagull Books, London / New York / Kalkutta 2019See the interview with U. Wolf�
"Out Into Nowhere-ness"
''Cagibi'', April 5, 2019. *''Squandered Advice''. Translated by Steph Morris. Seagull Books, 2022

References

External links

*
"Aichinger, Ilse"
''International Who's Who''. Accessed September 1, 2006. *
Aichinger, Ilse: "Spiegelgeschichte", in: ''Der Gefesselte'', Frankfurt am Main: Fischer, 1953. (worldcat-link)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aichinger, Ilse 1921 births 2016 deaths Austrian people of Jewish descent Writers from Vienna Austrian women poets Anton Wildgans Prize winners Austrian women writers Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin Members of the German Academy for Language and Literature Holocaust survivors Jewish Austrian writers Jewish women writers University of Vienna alumni