Oskar Maria Graf
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Oskar Maria Graf (born July 22, 1894 in Berg, Bavaria ; died June 28, 1967 in New York) was a German author.
He wrote several socialist-anarchist novels and narratives about life in Bavaria, mostly autobiographical.
In the beginning Graf wrote under his real name Oskar Graf. Since 1918, he edited his works for newspapers under the pseudonym, Oskar Graf-Berg; for himself as "worth being read", regarded his works, he selected the name Oskar Maria Graf.
[edit] Life
Oskar Maria Graf was born on July 22, 1894, as the 9th child of master baker Max Graf and his wife Therese—a farmer´s daughter, formerly Ms. Heimrath. Since 1900, he went to the public school in Aufkirchen—part of the community of Berg—located in the pittoresque landscape around Lake Starnberg near Munich. After his father had died in 1906, he learned the profession of baker and worked for his brother Max, who had taken over their father's bakery.
In 1911, hoping for an existence as a poet, he fled from maltreatment caused by his brother, to Munich. He joined the Bohème-circles survived with little jobs such as post office helper or lift boy. In 1912 and 1913, he traveled as a vagabond in Tessin and in Northern Italy.
On December 1, 1914, he was drafted for military service. A year later, in 1915, the magazine Die Freie Straße (in English: "Free road" or "Free street") published one of his tales for the first time. In 1916, Graf was nearly sentenced to jail for refusing a command. However, after 10 days of a hunger strike, he was taken to a psychiatric hospital and dismissed from the military.
On May 26, 1917, he married Karoline Bretting. One year later, on June 13, 1918, their daughter Annemarie (called Annamirl) was born. In the beginning of the same year, Oskar Maria Graf was arrested for participating in an ammunition worker's strike. In 1919, he was arrested again for participating in revolutionary movements in Munich—compare with Bavarian Soviet Republic.
In 1920, he was active as a dramaturg at the working class theater Die neue Bühne (in English: "New Scene"), until, in 1927, he realized a literary breakthrough with his autobiographical oeuvre Wir sind Gefangene (in English: "We are prisoners"), which allowed him to live as a freelance author.
On February 17, 1933, he traveled for some lectures to Vienna. Quite surprinsingly, this was the start of his voluntary exile. Since his books were not only NOT sacrificed during the Nazi's book burning happening then, but also recommended for reading, he published in, May 12, 1933, in the Vienna newspaper Arbeiterzeitung (in English: "worker's newspaper") his famous appeal Verbrennt mich! (in English:"Burn me!"). He felt abused by Nazis because of misunderstood völkisch content.
One year later, in 1934, his books were prohibited in Germany. On February 16, he emigrated to Brno in Czech Republic. On March 24, Graf was expatriated. From Brno he took part in the 1. Convent of Soviet authors in Moscow.
In 1938, he escaped via The Netherlands to the USA, where he settled in New York in July. In October 1938, he was appointed president of the German American Writers Association. In 1942, he founded with Wieland Herzfelde and other emigrated German writers a publishing house (Aurora-Verlag, New-York, succeeding Malik-Verlag.
In the year of 1958, Oskar Maria Graf got United States citizenship. In the same year he set out on a journey to Europe for the first time after World War II.
In 1960, he was awarded the honorary degree of a doctor by the Wayne State University of Detroit in recognition of his uncompromising spiritual attitude. In appreciation of his important literary works, he was awarded the Honorary Prize of Munich, in 1962.
Oskar Maria Graf died on June 28th 1967 in New York. A year after his death his urn was transferred to Munich and buried on "Alter Bogenhausener Friedhof"-cemetery .
[edit] Works
German Publications
- Die Revolutionäre (1918), Gedichte
- Amen und Anfang (1919), Gedichte
- Frühzeit (1922), Jugenderlebnisse
- Ua-Pua (1921), Indianerdichtungen
- Zur freundlichen Erinnerung (1922), soziale Novellen
- Bayrisches Lesebücherl (1924), Kulturbilder
- Die Traumdeuter (1924), Erzählungen
- Die Chronik von Flechting (1925), Roman
- Finsternis (1926), sechs Dorfgeschichten
- Wunderbare Menschen (1927), Chronik und Autobiographie
- Wir sind Gefangene (1927), Autobiographisches ISBN 3-423-01612-4
- Licht und Schatten (1927), soziale Märchen
- Bayrisches Dekameron (1928), Erzählungen ISBN 3-548-60345-9
- Die Heimsuchung (1925), Roman
- Im Winkel des Lebens (1927), Erzählungen
- Kalendergeschichten (1929) Geschichten aus Stadt und Land ISBN 3-423-11434-7
- Notizbuch des Provinzschriftstellers Oskar Maria Graf (1932), Satire ISBN 3-935877-49-8
- Bolwieser (1931), Roman; Neuausgabe 1964 unter dem Titel Die Ehe des Herrn Bolwieser ISBN 3-442-72253-5
- Einer gegen alle (1932), Roman
- Dorfbanditen (1932), Jugenderinnerungen
- Der harte Handel (1935), Bauernroman ISBN 3-423-11480-0
- Der Abgrund (1936), Roman (überarbeiteten Fassung "Die gezählten Jahre"(1976)
- Anton Sittinger (originally Sittinger bleibt obenauf) (1937), Roman ISBN 3-423-12453-9
- Der Quasterl (1938), Dorf- und Jugendgeschichten
- Das Leben meiner Mutter (1940 in englischer Sprache, 1946 in deutscher Fassung) ISBN 3-423-10044-3
- Unruhe um einen Friedfertigen (1947), Roman, New York, Aurora-Verlag ISBN 3-471-77264-2
- Mitmenschen (1948), Erzählungen
- Die Eroberung der Welt (1949), Roman; Neuauflage 1959 unter dem Titel Die Erben des Untergangs ISBN 3-423-11880-6
- Menschen aus meiner Jugend auf dem Dorfe (1953), Erzählungen
- Der ewige Kalender (1954), Gedichte
- Die Flucht ins Mittelmäßige (1959), Roman
- An manchen Tagen. Reden, Gedanken und Zeitbetrachtungen (1961)
- Der große Bauernspiegel (1962), Erzählungen
- Größtenteils schimpflich (1962), Jugenderinnerungen
- Altmodische Gedichte eines Dutzendmenschen (1962)
- Er nannte sich Banscho (1964), Roman
- Gelächter von außen. Aus meinem Leben 1918-1933 (1966)
- Reise in die Sowjetunion 1934 (1974)
