Egon Friedell

Egon Friedell (born as Egon Friedmann on 21 January 1878 in Vienna, died 16 March 1938 in Vienna) was a prominent Austrian philosopher, historian, journalist, actor, cabaret artist and theatre critic.

Related Topics:
21 January - 1878 - Vienna - 16 March - 1938 - Austrian - Philosopher - Historian - Journalist - Actor - Cabaret - Theatre critic

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Friedell was born as the third child of the Jewish silk manufacturer

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Moriz Friedmann and his wife Karoline (née Eisenberger). In 1887,

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his parents divorced and his mother left the family. After his

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father's death in 1891, Friedell lived with his aunt in

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Frankfurt am Main, where he attended school until he was expelled

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for unruly behaviour two years later. Even at this time, Friedell was

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considered a trouble maker and free thinker. He attended several

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schools in Austria and Germany, until he finally passed his

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abitur at the fourth attempt in Heidelberg in 1899.

Related Topics:
Abitur - Heidelberg - 1899

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In 1897, he had already enrolled as a guest student at

Related Topics:
1897 - Guest student

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Berlin University, reading German literature, natural sciences and philosophy. After passing his abitur, he enrolled

Related Topics:
Berlin University - German literature - Natural sciences - Philosophy

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at Heidelberg University, in order to study under Kuno Fischer, a historian of philosophy and follower of Hegel. In

Related Topics:
Heidelberg University - Kuno Fischer - Hegel

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1897, Friedell converted to the Lutheran faith. In 1899, he

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accepted his inheritance, which enabled him to live financially

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independently in Vienna.

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From 1900 to 1904, Egon Friedell studied philosophy in Vienna

Related Topics:
1900 - 1904

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for nine terms. In 1904, he received his PhD for his thesis

Related Topics:
1904 - PhD

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Novalis as a Philosopher before starting to perform in a

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cabaret. In 1905, he published his article Prejudices in

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Karl Kraus's journal Fackel, which includes the following

Related Topics:
Karl Kraus - Fackel

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quote:

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::The worst prejudice we acquire during our youth is the idea that life is serious. Children have the right instincts: they know that life is not serious, and treat it as a game...

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From 1908 on, Friedell published essays and one-act plays. His

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first literary effort was The Paraffin King. The sketch comedy

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Goethe made him famous in the German speaking countries. He

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also became the director of the cabaret Fledermaus.

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::There he stood, Egon Friedell, Doctor of Philosophy, jester of the audience, and like most jesters, far superior to his master. (Felix Salten)

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In 1910, Samuel Fischer commissioned Friedell to write a

Related Topics:
1910 - Samuel Fischer

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biography of Peter Altenberg. However, Fischer, who had expected

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something light, was unsatisfied by the book titled Ecce poeta, an

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analysis and critique of culture. The book, which was not promoted in

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any way, was a commercial failure, but marked the beginning of

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Friedell's interest in cultural history.

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In 1912, Friedell performed in Berlin, and in 1913, he

Related Topics:
1912 - Berlin - 1913

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worked as an actor for Max Reinhardt for a short time. From

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1914 on, Friedell suffered from alcoholism and obesity, and had to

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undergo treatment at a sanatorium near Munich. Friedell was as

Related Topics:
Sanatorium - Munich

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enthusiastic about the beginning of World War I as most of his

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contemporaries.

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In 1916, he officially changed his family name to Friedell. He

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had used Friedländer as a pen name for several of his

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publications, but had not used his family name Friedmann since his

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student days. In 1916, Friedell published the Judas Tragedy,

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and in 1922, he published Quarry — Miscellaneous Opinions and Quotations. In 1924, a satricial treatment of the journal Stunde ended his work as a critic for this publication: Friedell was fired as a "traitor."

Related Topics:
1922 - 1924

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From 1919 to 1924, Friedell worked as a journalist and theatre

Related Topics:
1919 - 1924

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critic for various publishers including the Neues Wiener Journal. He also accepted an offer from Max Reinhardt to work as a

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dramatic advisor, theatre director and actor for the Deutsches Theater in Berlin and the Burgtheater in Vienna. From 1927 on,

Related Topics:
Dramatic advisor - Theatre director - Deutsches Theater - Burgtheater - 1927

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his health problems prevented any permanent commissions, and he worked

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as an independent essayist, author and translator in Vienna.

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During this time, Friedell wrote the three volumes of his Cultural History of the Modern Age, which describes events from the

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Renaissance to the age of imperialism in anecdotes. In

Related Topics:
Renaissance - Imperialism - Anecdote

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1925, the publisher Hermann Ullstein received the first

Related Topics:
1925 - Hermann Ullstein

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volume, but he was suspicious of the historiography of an actor. After

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five other publishers had rejected the book, it was finally published

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by Heinrich Beck in Munich in 1927. The book proved very

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successful and allowed Friedell to continue his work as an author. It

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has been translated into seven languages.

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After the National Socialists came to power in

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Germany in 1933, all German and Austrian publishers refused to

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publish his works. In 1935, Friedell described the regime as

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::the realm of the Antichrist. Every trace of nobility, piety,

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education, reason is persecuted in the most hateful and base manner by

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a bunch of debased menials.

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In 1936, the first part of Friedell's Cultural History of Antiquity was published by Helikon in Zurich. Late in 1937,

Related Topics:
1936 - Zurich - 1937

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Friedell's works were confiscated by the National Socialist regime as

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they did not conform to the theory of history promoted by the

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NSDAP. In February 1938, Friedell's cultural history was

Related Topics:
NSDAP - 1938

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banned in Germany. On the occasion of the Anschluss of Austria,

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Friedell told Ödön von Horvath in a letter written on 11 March: "I am always ready to leave, in every sense." Friedell began

Related Topics:
Ödön von Horvath - 11 March

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thinking about acquiring poison or a pistol.

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On 16 March 1938, at about 22:00, two SA men called at

Related Topics:
16 March - SA

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Friedell's house in order to take him away. While they were still

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arguing with his housekeeper, Friedell committed suicide by jumping

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out of the window. Friedell, of whom Hilde Spiel said "in him, the

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exhilarating fiction of the homo universalis rose once

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again", was interred in the Zentralfriedhof.

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