Raoul Auernheimer
Raoul Auernheimer was an Austrian writer and journalist born on April 15, 1876, in Vienna. He came from a family with a blend of German and Jewish heritage, which influenced his cultural perspectives. After earning a law degree, he turned to writing, working for the Neue Freie Presse and publishing under various pseudonyms. His literary work often reflected his keen observations of Viennese life, though he was not considered particularly innovative. Auernheimer was active in the literary community, serving as the first chairman of the Austrian P.E.N. Club in 1926. His career took a tragic turn when he was imprisoned in Dachau concentration camp in 1938, after which he emigrated to the United States. Unfortunately, his writing style did not resonate with American audiences, limiting his success there. Despite these challenges, he continued to write until his death, struggling to share his experiences and insights from his life in Austria and his imprisonment.
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Subject Terms
Raoul Auernheimer
Writer
- Born: April 15, 1876
- Birthplace: Vienna, Austria
- Died: January 7, 1948
- Place of death: Oakland, California
Biography
Raoul Auernheimer was born in Vienna, Austria, on April 15, 1876, to Johannes Auernheimer, a German businessman, and Charlotte Buchler Auernheimer, daughter of a Jewish family from Raab, Hungary. Auernheimer inherited his rigorous work habits from his father and his appreciation of the arts from his mother. To please his family, he obtained his law degree in 1900 from the University of Vienna, but he never practiced law beyond the required apprenticeship. This experience, however, may well have contributed to his style of writing and to ideas for plots. Auernheimer married Irene Guttman in 1906, the same year in which he was employed by the Neue Freie Presse and launched his career as a writer. His journalistic style was influenced by that of his cousin, Theodor Herzl, an accomplished writer of feuilletons. His first tales appeared in literary journals under the pseudonyms Raoul Heimer and Raoul Othmar.
Realizing that he could gain social acceptance as a writer, he began publishing plays. His early works contained the seed of his later literary productions. Auernheimer was not innovative, but he displayed exceptional talent in using language and developing imaginative plots. He also had the gift of perceptive observation of Viennese life. To make a living, he combined his journalistic pursuits with his creative writing. For twenty-five years, he was a theater critic for the Neue Firie Presse, but he resigned because of the newspaper’s pro-Nazi stance. The work he produced between 1901 and 1938 kept his name in the forefront; he was elected the first chairman of the Austrian P.E.N. Club in 1926 and later served as its vice president.
In 1938, after Auernheimer was released from the concentration camp at Dachau, he emigrated to the United States, hoping to resume his literary career. His writing style and the loss in translation of much of what made his work popular in Austria kept him from gaining acceptance from American audiences. He was forced to accept help from his son-in-law and daughter, who had come to California in the late 1920’s. The account of his imprisonment at Dachau was rejected by American publishers because it lacked sensationalism, and, except for an excerpt published in the Christian Science Monitor, he was never able to share with the American reading public information that could have been helpful in the years of American involvement in World War II. The full account was published posthumously in 1948, as a part of his autobiography. Because he could not find a way to alter his style of writing or turn to different subject matter that would appeal to American tastes, he could accomplish very little during the latter years of his life. He died in the midst of planning a move back to Austria.