Fritz Kalmar

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Fritz Kalmar ( December 13, 1911 in Vienna - June 8, 2008 in Montevideo , Uruguay ) was an Austrian exile author and stage artist.

Life

Fritz Kalmar trained as a lawyer and then worked in a law firm. After the National Socialists came to power , Kalmar had to flee Austria in 1938. Via London he reached Bolivia, where he found work in La Paz as a broadcaster for a German-English news program. In 1941 Kalmar was a co-founder of the non-partisan exile organization " Federación de Austríacos Libres "; In 1942 he became its president.

Also from 1942 he was an actor and playwright member of an Austrian theater group around Georg Terramare and Erna Terrel; In 1948, after Terramare's death, he became the leader of the group that brought both classics and revues to the stage in the style of pre-war Viennese cabaret. In addition, he directed an Anglo-American ensemble in which Erna Terrel also participated.

In 1953 he married Terrel and moved to Uruguay with her for health reasons. There Kalmar continued his artistic work at the Kammerspiele in Montevideo. Among other things, he was an opera director, narrator and essayist in Montevideo and a versatile actor in the local cultural life. In addition, Kalmar had also worked as a South America correspondent for the FAZ , NZZ , Die Presse and ORF since the late 1950s . Until 1990 he was also the Austrian Honorary Consul General of Uruguay. In 1985 his wife died.

As a narrative author, Kalmar was only perceived in 1997 with his autobiographically determined “homesickness stories ”, Das Herz, with a European weight ; In the years that followed, more stories about him appeared.

He died in Montevideo in 2008 at the age of 96.

Awards

Works (selection)

  • The heart heavy in Europe: Homesick stories from South America. Picus, Vienna 1997.
  • The miracle of Büttelsburg and other stories. Ibera, Vienna 1999.
  • From loud and quiet people. Stories. Ed. Atelier, Vienna 2001.
  • Don Juan's return. Stories. Ed. Atelier, Vienna 2003.
  • Viennese family fragments: six memories. Afterword by Erich Hackl . Ed. Atelier, Vienna 2005.

literature

  • Gert Eisenbürger, Gaby Küppers: From emigrant to consul. Fritz Kalmar from Vienna in Bolivia and Uruguay . In: ila , No. 240 (2000), pp. 44-48.

Documentary film

  • Erich and Libertad Hackl: The homesick bearer. Ninety minutes with Fritz Kalmar. Documentary film. Literaturhaus Wien, Vienna 2012, ISBN 978-3-900467-81-4 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kalmar, Fritz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian author in exile
DATE OF BIRTH December 13, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH June 8, 2008
Place of death Montevideo