Prof. Otto Molden (13 March 1918 – 15 June 2002) was an Austrian publicist,

federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

and author of various books about European identity and history. He founded the

European Forum Alpbach The European Forum Alpbach (EFA) is an Austrian nonprofit organisation and foundation based in Vienna, Austria. It is best known for hosting the event of the same name in the village of Alpbach. It is an interdisciplinary platform for science, po ...

in 1945.

Early life

Otto Molden was born 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 ...

shortly before the end of World War I to Dr.

Ernst Molden Ernst Hermann Wilhelm Molden (30 May 1886, Vienna, Austria - 11 August 1953, Vienna) was an Austrian journalist and historian. An editor-in-chief of the '' Neue Freie Presse'' before WW2, he founded the Austrian daily newspaper ''Die Presse ' ...

and

Paula von Preradović Paula Preradović (; 12 October 1887 – 25 May 1951), known professionally as Paula von Preradović or by her married name as Paula Molden, was an Austrian writer and poet. She was the granddaughter of the poet, writer and military general Petar ...

, a poet and composer of Austria's national anthem. His father was a diplomat, writer, opponent to the

Nazi regime Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and later on founder of the leading Austrian daily newspaper ''

Die Presse ''Die Presse'' is a German-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vienna, Austria. It is considered a newspaper of record for Austria. History and profile ''Die Presse'' was first printed on 3 July 1848 as a liberal (libertarian)-bourgeoi ...

''. He is a great-grandson of Croatian poet, writer and military general

Petar Preradović Petar Preradović (19 March 1818 – 18 August 1872) was a Croatian poet, writer, and military general. He was one of the most important Croatian poets of the 19th century Illyrian movement and the main representative of romanticism in Croatia. ...

. He deserted from the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

in 1944 and was one of the founders of the Austrian Nazi resistance movement 05 before fleeing to Switzerland. After

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 ...

, he studied history 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 ...

and wrote his PhD on the Austrian resistance movement during the German occupation.

European Forum Alpbach

In 1945, together with Simon Moser, Otto Molden founded the ''

'' as an interdisciplinary forum where ideas for a peacefully united Europe were to be promoted and discussed. From 1945 to 1960 and from 1970 to 1992, Molden was president of the European Forum Alpbach. Nowadays, more than 3000 people from all over the world take part in the European Forum Alpbach per year.

Federalist advocate

Politically, Molden was an active proponent for European integration and founded the Federalist International (FI) in 1959, which subsequently opened sections in Austria, Germany and Switzerland and other countries. He was also active in defending the independence of Taiwan by founding a Committee for Chinese-European Co-operation in the early 1970s. In the late 1990s Otto Molden reactivated the idea of a federalist European party by founding the European National Movement (ENM). He died in

Paphos Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city of Pap ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

in 2002.

Bibliography

* ''Der Ruf des Gewissens. Der Österreichische Freiheitskampf 1938–1945.'' Beiträge zur Geschichte der Österreichischen Widerstandsbewegung. (Herold Verlag, 1958) * ''Geist und Gesicht der Gegenwart: Gesehen durch das Spektrum Alpbach''. (Europa Verlag, 1962) * ''Zweikampf um das Gelbe Reich. Wer überlebt in Ostasien?'' (Molden Verlag, 1968) * ''Der Mensch in der unvollkommenen Gesellschaft''. (1980) * Der andere Zauberberg: Das Phänomen Alpbach: Persönlichkeiten und Probleme Europas im Spiegelbild geistiger Auseinandersetzung. (Molden Verlag, 1981) * ''Zu den Grenzen der Freiheit''. Europäisches Forum Alpbach 1976. (Molden Verlag, 1982) * ''Konflikt und Ordnung''. Europäisches Forum Alpbach 1977. (Molden Verlag, 1982) * ''Die Europäische Nation. Die neue Supermacht vom Atlantik bis zur Ukraine''. (Herbig Verlag, 1990) * ''Dialog Westeuropa - Lateinamerika''. (Molden Verlag, 1992) * ''Dialog Westeuropa - Schwarzafrika''. (Molden Verlag, 1992) * ''Odyssee meines Lebens und die Gründung Europas in Alpbach''. (Amalthea, 2001)

References

Otto Molden
in Munzinger-Archiv

Early life

European Forum Alpbach

Federalist advocate

Bibliography

References

External links