Josef Papesch

Josef Friedrich Papesch (born July 29, 1893 in Marburg an der Drau , † December 8, 1968 in Graz ) was an Austrian writer and cultural politician ( NSDAP ).

Life

Papesch studied German and classical philology at the University of Graz , interrupted by military service in World War I , where he was deployed in Russia and the Balkans. During his studies he became a member of the Association of German Students in Graz . Papesch received his doctorate in 1921 as Dr. phil. and worked as a secondary school teacher in Graz. From 1919 to 1924 he was editor-in-chief of the Südmark magazine of the German school association "Südmark" and , from 1925, of the follow-up publication of the Alpine Monthly Issues . In terms of writing, he first emerged in 1921 with the folk play Der steirische Hammerherr and published several stage plays and short stories with mostly regional and historical themes during the 1920s and 1930s. With the publication Fesseln um Österreich , Papesch took a stand for a "connection" of Austria to the National Socialist German Reich.

Papesch had a völkisch attitude and became a member of the then illegal NSDAP on January 1, 1934 ( membership number 6,355,948). He was also a member of the Association of German Writers in Austria . After the " annexation of Austria " to the German Reich , he became regional councilor for culture, schools and science in the National Socialist Styrian regional government of Gauleiter Sepp Helfrich ; from 1940 he was head of department II (culture and education) in the authority of the Reich governor for Styria with the rank of government director . Under Papesch's leadership, attempts were made to incorporate the Styrian national tradition for National Socialism (including on the occasion of the celebrations for the 100th birthday of Peter Rosegger in 1943). In 1941 the Neue Galerie Graz was founded under the direction of Hans Riehl . From 1943 Papesch was honorary professor for literary history at the University of Graz .

Papesch, who enjoyed a high reputation within the party, was still being discussed as a possible Lord Mayor of Salzburg at the beginning of 1945 . His appointment was u. a. supported by Heinrich Himmler , although Papesch had resigned from the SS in 1944 in protest against the murder of his disabled daughter as part of the euthanasia campaign .

At the end of the war, Papesch was relieved of all offices and banned from his profession. In the following years he worked as a construction worker. From 1952 he was "chief editor" of the magazine Die Aula in Graz and published a number of humorous stories.

In 1963, despite his Nazi past, he was awarded the Peter Rosegger Literature Prize, as it was believed that his popular plays represented a sufficiently significant artistic achievement. The decision of the jury - its members and a. Otto Hofmann-Wellenhof and Hanns Koren counted - triggered violent protests from the artist group Forum Stadtpark .

In 2017 Georg Friedrich Haas, as the keynote speaker for the 50th Styrian Autumn in Graz , claimed that Papesch had received the literary prize because of his Nazi past .

Works

• The new way. Published by the Südmark Graz Association. German printing association, Graz 1919, ÖNB .
• - (Ed.): Deutsche Volksbühne. A collection of old and new games for city and country stages. Verlag der Alpenland-Buchhandlung Südmark, Graz 1923–1942, ÖNB , OBV , ZDB -ID 2226170-9 .
• - (Ed.): Alpine monthly journals for the German house. Alpenland-Buchhandlung Südmark, Graz 1924–1935, ZDB -ID 535911-9 .
• Murder of Hella Karehn. Incident from the time. Volksbühnen-Verlag, Berlin 1929, OBV .
• Student Lectures. By Georg A. Lukas. New tools for teaching German. In: Annual Report. KK Staats-Oberrealschule in Graz . Volume 57.1928 / 29. Graz 1929, ÖNB .
• Reading culture of youth and school. In: Annual Report. I. Federal Realschule . Volume 58.1929 / 30. Graz 1930, ÖNB .
• Book letters. An overview of the work of German publishers. Styrian publishing house, Graz 1940, OBV .
• - (Ed.), Ernst Bierbrauer (collaborator): Eastern Alps and the Reich. 2nd, expanded edition. Das Joanneum, Volume 1. Steirische Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1940, ZDB -ID 570708-0 .
• - (Ed.), Ernst Bierbrauer (collaborator): Art and folklore. Das Joanneum, Volume 2. Steirische Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1940, ZDB 570708-0.
• - (Ed.), Ernst Bierbrauer (collaborator): Music in the Eastern Alps. Das Joanneum, Volume 3. Steirische Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1940, ZDB 570708-0.
• - (Ed.): Administration, economy and technology. Das Joanneum, Volume 4. Steirische Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1941, ZDB 570708-0.
• - (Ed.): Nature, research, use. Das Joanneum, Volume 5. Steirische Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1941, ZDB 570708-0.
• - (Ed.): Art and history. Das Joanneum, Volume 6. Steirische Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1943, ZDB 570708-0.
• - (Ed.): Cultural maintenance in Styria. Das Joanneum, Volume 7. Steirische Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1944, ZDB 570708-0.
• Styrian poetry of modern times. In: Berthold Sutter: Die Steiermark. Country, people, performance. Styria, Graz 1971, OBV .

literature

• Stefan Karner : Styria in the Third Reich. 1938-1945. Aspects of their political, economic-social and cultural development. 3rd, revised edition. Leykam-Verlag, Graz 1994 ISBN 3-7011-7302-8 .
• Ernst Klee : The cultural lexicon for the Third Reich. Who was what before and after 1945 (= The time of National Socialism. Vol. 17153). Completely revised edition. Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-596-17153-8 .
• Erich Stockhorst : 5000 people. Who was what in the 3rd Reich . 2nd Edition. Arndt, Kiel 2000, ISBN 3-88741-116-1 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Josef Papesch in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Louis Lange (Ed.): Kyffhäuser Association of German Student Associations. Address book 1931. Berlin 1931, p. 167.
2. ^ Joseph Papesch: About stories of ungrateful children. Dissertation. University of Graz, Graz 1920, Graz University Library .
3. ↑ Joseph Papesch, Viktor Zack (collaborator): Der Steirische Hammerherr. A home game. Two elevators and a wedding picture. Deutsche Verein-Druckerei Graz, Graz 1921, OBV .
4. ↑ Little Chronicle. (...) "A Styrian hammer gentleman". In:  Neue Freie Presse , Abendblatt (No. 20277/1921), February 9, 1921, p. 1, bottom center. (Online at ANNO ). .
5. ^ Joseph Papesch: Shackles around Austria. Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt, Hamburg 1933, OBV .
6. ^ Stefan Karner: Styria in the 20th century. Politics, economy, society, culture. Verlag Styria, Graz / Vienna / Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-222-12770-0 , p. 275 f.
7. ^ Uwe Baur, Karin Gradwohl-Schlacher: Literature in Austria 1938–1945. Manual of a literary system. Volume 1: Styria. Böhlau-Verlag, Vienna / Cologne / Weimar 2008, ISBN 978-3-205-77809-7 , p. 277.
8. ↑ Kurt Wimmer: The bridge builder. Hanns Koren and his time (1906–1985). A portrait. Leykam-Verlag, Graz 2006, ISBN 3-85489-132-6 , p. 223 f.
9. ↑ Georg Friedrich Haas: The autumn, Nazi fog and art about Graz , excerpt from the speech in the Vienna daily Der Standard , September 16, 2017, p. 38
10. ↑ Haas' speech of September 14, 2017 on the Styrian Autumn website ( Memento of the original of September 20, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.