Joseph Georg Oberkofler

Joseph Georg Oberkofler (born April 17, 1889 in St. Johann , South Tyrol , † November 12, 1962 in Innsbruck ) was an Austrian lawyer , narrator and poet and is considered the most important Tyrolean author of the First Republic.

His works were written in the style of the local art movement . Among other things, he wrote saga-style peasant novels that take up the motifs of blood-and-soil literature . He is the older brother of the painter Johann Baptist Oberkofler .

Life

1889-1914

Joseph Georg Oberkofler was the youngest son of nine children. Oberkofler grew up in a world that was very much shaped by rural and Catholic influences. His father was a farmer and pastor in St. Johann im Ahrntal . He had spent his childhood on the so-called Gföllberg in St. Johann. That “mountain” was always a point of reference in his life and became a symbol of his home for him. After a pilgrimage to Ehrenburg, the then ten-year-old believed he had found his meaning in life and wanted to become a priest. When he was described by the teacher, the pastor and his parents as "suitable for studying", he came in 1901 to the bishopric of Brixen . There he should experience a humanistic education and be trained for future priestly life. At first he was a hard-working student who attended boarding school life with enthusiasm. The inquisitive person immersed himself more and more in the books until he finally became rebellious. He was forbidden to attend the funeral of his beloved and admired grandfather. Thereupon he left Brixen and went to Trient , where he passed the matriculation examination in 1908 at the German grammar school. Oberkofler later went to Innsbruck and showed the publisher Ludwig von Ficker a few poems. In 1911 two of his poems were published in the Brenner . The former farm boy came more and more into conflict with his family, who wanted to see him as a priest and not as a writer. In 1913 Oberkofler said to Ficker, who was on friendly terms with him: “I'm gradually becoming strangers to my people, even in my family. I can't talk for days… And the more I get lonely, the more I feel scorn. ”In Innsbruck, where he felt understood, he began to study philosophy .

First World War

In 1915 he signed up as a volunteer soldier . However, he was only used briefly at the front before he was called back to the Ahrntal valley to supervise and pay wages to the Russian prisoners. After 1918 Oberkofler was mentally and physically weakened. The Austro-Hungarian monarchy had collapsed and South Tyrol became part of Italy . Writing on his volume of poetry helped him to cope with the precarious political situation.

1919-22

In 1919 he attended the seminary in Brixen and now discovered his true calling as a poet. Oberkofler was worn down inside and fled back to his home on the Gföllberg. Oberkofler wrote: “And now that I was at the extreme limit, the peasant world woke up radiant in me and took me into its immortality. So the paternal inheritance became my final share and possession. It won't be taken from me anymore. For this reason, what is still created will grow. ”Since he was now 30 years old, he had to complete a degree in order to be able to work. He began to study medicine, but dropped out. He now tried law and hoped to graduate soon. In 1922 he received his doctorate from the law and political science faculty at the University of Innsbruck .

Bolzano

In 1923 Oberkofler became editor of the daily newspaper Der Tiroler . During the time of fascism in Bolzano he experienced the powerlessness of the South Tyroleans against the advancing Italianization . When the fascists banned the name of the province of South Tyrol and the newspaper Der Tiroler , in 1923 he wrote the article Adé, mein Land Tirol! .

innsbruck

In 1925 Oberkofler got a job as a lecturer at the publishing house Tyrolia in Innsbruck . During this time he wrote the novel Sebastian und Leidlieb in just under two months . The following year he married Olga Tasser from Bolzano. In 1929 he wrote the Nikolausspiel , which was broadcast on Radio Vienna and was published in 1930 as a book by Bühnenbundverlag Berlin . His son Wolfgang saw the light of day on February 7, 1929. Oberkofler was plagued by homesickness, because entry into South Tyrol was rarely allowed. The writer penetrated all the more into German-speaking areas. He gave readings in Vienna , Salzburg , Nuremberg , Rhineland and the Black Forest . In 1935 and 1938 Oberkofler was allowed to enter South Tyrol and he wrote: “Truly, only with the years do you learn to collect beauties for the soul, where they stand in front of us day after day, at home.” In the meantime his Visits was also the result of the volume of poems Never dies the land .

Illness and honor

Grave of Joseph Georg Oberkofler in the Innsbruck-Mühlau cemetery

After the so-called Anschluss of Austria to the German Reich in 1938 , Oberkofler contributed to the so-called Confession Book of Austrian Poets (published by the Association of German Writers of Austria ), which enthusiastically welcomed the "Anschluss", and turned increasingly to the blood and Soil ideology too.

In 1938 the poet was awarded the Austrian Cross of Merit 1st Class for Art and Science . In the same year he wrote the novel Das Stierhorn , about which the Germania magazine said: "Oberkofler has succeeded in a farmer's saga of the Alpine region in the Stierhorn that can only be compared with the Nordic counterparts." In 1939 the novel Der Bannwald was published for the Oberkofler the same year the Nazi reinterpreted and the NSDAP awarded Wilhelm Raabe prize was awarded, thereby allowing him the way to freelance writers in Germany. In 1942 he completed the novel Flax Bride .

Ten years later, Oberkofler suffered a stroke . The consequences were paralysis , which severely restricted him. The artist, who lives abroad, remembered his native South Tyrol. The South Tyrolean Artists Association made him an honorary member in 1953. In 1954 he was made an honorary citizen of his home community Ahrntal . The Austrian government also congratulated Oberkofler in 1954 and appointed him professor. In 1956 he received the medal of honor of the state of Tyrol . In 1959 Oberkofler was honored with the Ring of Honor of the Brother Willram Association and that of the City of Innsbruck . Joseph Georg Oberkofler died in North Tyrol on November 12, 1962. He was buried in the “Dichterfriedhof” in Mühlau near Innsbruck next to Trakl and Leitgeb .

Works

• The miners of Prettau - novel 1922
• Sebastian and Leidlieb - Novel 1926
• Triumph of Homeland - Poems 1927
• Reimmichl, a folk poet's life and work - contributions 1927
• Three boys of god - 1934
• The Land Never Dies - Poems 1937
• The bull horn - novel 1938
• The Bannwald - novel 1939
• The Flax Bride - Novel 1942
• South Tyrol, land of European probation, Canon Michael Gamper on his 70th birthday (et al.) - 1955
• Marienlob und Gloriasang - volume of poems with color pictures by the painter (his brother) Johann Baptist Oberkofler , Tyrolia Verlag 1959

literature

• Ilse Ausserlechner: The mythization of the peasantry with Joseph Georg Oberkofler . Univ. Hausarb., Innsbruck 1977.
• Johann Holzner: Joseph Georg Oberkofler in the stream of Tyrolean literature 1918–1945 . o. O., 1990.
• Bernhard Schretter: The Joseph-Georg-Oberkofler Library in the Paulinum . Innsbruck 1986.
• Karl Waldner: The mythization of the peasantry in Joseph Georg Oberkofler . Univ. Hausarb., Innsbruck 1977.
• Hansjörg Waldner: Joseph Georg Oberkofler: "The Bannwald", 1939 . In: Germany looks at us Tiroler , Vienna 1990, pp. 185–193.
• Hermine Zodl: The poetic form of JG Oberkofler's poetry. Univ. Diss., Vienna 1943.

swell

• Kofler, Erich: Joseph Georg Oberkofler. Poems and prose. Bolzano: Athesia 1983

Individual evidence

1. ^ Association of German writers Austria (ed.): Confession book of Austrian poets . Krystall Verlag, Vienna 1938.
2. ↑ On the classification of the Wilhelm Raabe Prize and its award winners in National Socialist cultural policy, cf. Horst Denkler : The Wilhelm Raabe Prize - A German Story. Radio essay. In: Hubert Winkels (Ed.): Rainald Goetz meets Wilhelm Raabe: the Wilhelm Raabe Literature Prize, its history and topicality. Wallstein Verlag, 2001, ISBN 3892444897 , pp. 20–46 (Oberkofler is mentioned as the winner of the year 1939 on p. 34 in the Google book search).

Web links

• Literature by and about Joseph Georg Oberkofler in the catalog of the German National Library
• Estate in the Brenner archive of the University of Innsbruck
• Entry in the Lexicon of Literature in Tyrol