Felix Kreissler

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Felix Kreissler (born August 1, 1917 in Vienna - Meidling ; † October 24, 2004 in Montreuil ) was an Austro-French historian .

Life

As a schoolboy he was already committed against the Austro-fascist dictatorship. For this reason he was arrested at the age of 17 and, as a result, excluded from all Austrian secondary schools shortly before his Matura. In 1937 he emigrated to France alone , part of his family followed shortly after Austria was annexed in 1938.

In France, Kreissler joined the Resistance and was arrested again and again, but he was able to flee every time. Not so with his fourth arrest, when he was taken to the Gestapo prison in Lyon . However, during the interrogations one could not even coax his true identity out of him and so he was brought to the Buchenwald concentration camp as Le Brun . He survived this terrible time with the help of his fellow prisoners and married Denise in Paris in 1945 , who was arrested at the same time as him and survived the Ravensbrück women's concentration camp .

In the same year he joined the Austrian Freedom Front in France, which enabled emigrants to return to Austria. He himself came back to Vienna in 1947. Here he began to work in RAVAG's “Russian Hour” program, initially as deputy director, and from 1950 to 1952 as its director. He then worked as an editor at the Austrian Peace Council and at the central organ of the KPÖ Österreichische Volksstimme .

In 1959 Kreissler began to study in France and achieved three doctoral degrees. After completing his studies, he played a key role in establishing the Institute for German Studies in Rouen . He subsequently founded the CERA (Center d'Études et de Recherches Autrichiennes) and the Austriaca magazine. Through its activities, Kreissler gained a great reputation in both French and Austrian scientific circles.

He spent most of the following years writing essays on current affairs in Austria and accompanying lectures.

In the new government founded in Austria ( ÖVP / FPÖ ) in 2000 , he saw the endangerment of his entire life's work, which was dedicated to Austria's positive image in France. For this reason, the already 83-year-old Kreissler was politically active again and attracted attention through statements made during the award of the Bruno Kreisky Prize for the political book . His rejection of this government went so far that he refused subsidies for his Austrian Center at the University of Rouen since it was founded .

literature

  • Helmut Kramer , Karin Liebhart , Friedrich Stadler (eds.): Austrian Nation - Culture - Exile and Resistance. In memoriam Felix Kreissler (= emigration, exile, continuity . Vol. 6). Lit, Vienna a. a. 2006, ISBN 3-7000-0558-X .
  • Lambauer, Barbara: About the Austrian exile in France: interweaving of personal and general struggle. Austrians in French exile and resistance using the example of Felix Kreissler. Diploma thesis, University of Graz 1994.
  • Scheichl, Birgit: Felix Kreissler. A life's work between Austria and France. Diploma thesis, University of Innsbruck 2007.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kreissler, Felix
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austro-French historian
DATE OF BIRTH August 1, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna - Meidling
DATE OF DEATH October 24, 2004
Place of death Montreuil