Ernst Lothar - Schriftsteller, Kritiker, Theaterschaffender

I have dedicated half of my life to my narrative writing, the other half to fulfilling my duty as a public servant and as critic, but I have dedicated my whole life to theatre, writes Ernst Lothar, born in 1890 as a child of a Jewish lawyer, at the age of 65. At this point in his life he can look back over an impressive career as jurist, ministerial civil servant, Hofrat, writer, critic, editor, director, theatre director as well as professor for comparative literature, dramaturgy and theatre history. He has lived through two world wars, emigration and eight years of exile and has experienced a failed marriage and the loss of his two daughters. Today only few German scholars are familiar with Ernst Lothar although at the beginning of his career he was acclaimed as one of Austrias emerging talents and won the Bauernfeldpreis for his first novel. He was a very prolific writer: his published works feature two poetry books, five volumes of novellas and short stories, four books containing speeches and essays, six dramatizations, an autobiography as well as 16 novels that have been translated into more than ten languages and four of which have been made into movies in the 1930ies and 1940ies (e. g. Little Friend, The Angel with the Trumpet). This list does not include the many film and theatre critiques as well as a few poems published in various newspapers and magazines. They are enlisted in a bibliography that has been created for this publication, which also presents some of Lothars thus far unpublished manuscripts. This monograph not only analyzes the reception of Lothars work and his relationships with his publishers, it seeks to put the role Ernst Lothar played in cultural politics and cultural history into broader context. He very soon had an important role in the cultural life of Austrias First Republic (editor of the Neue Freie Presse, president of the Austrian National Association of Creative Artists, juror for the Award for Poetry of the City of Vienna, weekly radio appearances, director of the Theater in der Josefstadt, jury member for the Austrian State Prize for Literature in 1937). After he emigrated in 1938 he was involved in Austrian exile organizations in France and the United States, thanks to his connections he was able to return to Austria as soon as 1946. As Music and Theatre Officer for the American government he held a powerful position in post-war Austrias cultural sector. In this position he made many enemies especially since he was also responsible for de-nazification. He could reestablish himself in his home country not so much as an author but as theatre director: he was director for almost ten years at the Salzburg Festival as well as the Burgtheater. In addition as a result of his work for the Austrian Hugo von Hofmannsthal Society, the P.E.N.-Club Austria and the Presseclub Concordia he was very well connected. Therefore this monograph focuses mainly on the less known writer Lothar without neglecting his contribution to theatre. This book includes an analysis of his work as director of the Reinhardtsche Wiener Bühne from 1935 to 1983, the Austrian Theater (which performed in German) he founded during his exile in New York and the dramaturgical work he did at American colleges. The monograph depicts Ernst Lothars life, work and legacy trough unknown and unpublished correspondence, interviews, essays, speeches, lectures, articles, trough writings and letters about Lothar as well as newspaper articles. The biography includes examinations of published and unpublished texts of Lothars estate, which up until now have not been the object of literary research. The book focuses on his artistic and cultural activities, on the challenges and obstacles he had to face in his private life and in his career, the correlation between his life and his work, relying almost exclusively on primary sources. By investigating and evaluating the estate and using unpublished material this monograph offers a new understanding of Ernst Lothars oeuvre while also filling a gap in literary research.