Existentialism in Austria

This study centers on the Austrian reception of French existentialism, a philosophical-literary movement that had an international impact after the Second World War. It examines when and by what means the writing, thinking, and lifestyle of the Parisian circle around Jean-Paul Sartre spread in Austria, be it as a fashion among young people and artists, as an inspiration for writers and intellectuals, or as a provocation in the eyes of various critics. The strongest opposition came from communist critics who rejected Sartres philosophy of freedom as too abstract and idealistic and from Catholic critics who accused his concept of nihilism for its denial of any fixed human essence. The material reviewed includes coverage of existentialism in newspapers and magazines, theater performances, and academic research and teaching. As the first encounters with the movement took place in the years 1945 to 1955, special attention is given to the socio-historical background of the Allied occupation, particularly to French cultural policy in Austria. Finally, a number of case studies on how writers such as Ilse Aichinger, Andreas Okopenko, Milo Dor, Elfriede Jelinek, Josef Winkler, and Norbert Gstrein dealt with theories of commitment and adapted existentialist themes and motifs to their works ultimately help identify existentialism as an impulse for the literary and philosophical life in Austria to this day.