Max Übelhör

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Max Übelhör (born August 27, 1881 in Konstanz , † May 10, 1963 in Oberkirch (Baden) ) was a German journalist and writer . Übelhör was editor-in-chief of the Istanbul daily newspaper " Ottoman Lloyd " from 1916 to 1917 and became known as a satirist and writer in the 1920s, sometimes using the pseudonym Max Oxentott .

Biographical information

Übelhör grew up in Konstanz, from 1886 in Thann in Alsace and in Mannheim as the child of a senior postal worker. In 1900 he passed his Abitur in Mannheim and then went to Geneva and Paris , where he studied history and economics. In 1908 he received his doctorate in Zurich on the local press. He then became private tutor to Prince Hans von Pleß at Schloss Pleß in Upper Silesia. Schloss Pless served from April 1915 to February 1916 as the main headquarters of the German General Staff.

After his military service (he volunteered and lost an eye on the western front), he became editor-in-chief of the Constantinople daily Ottoman Lloyd in 1916, presumably because of his good relationships in "the highest circles" through the Pless family. At that time, the German position in Constantinople, which at that time was still strongly multi-ethnic, had become more difficult due to the increasing involvement of Germany in the crimes of the nationalistic Young Turkish regime. As a journalist and editor (in contrast to his predecessor EM Grunwald , who had been deputy editor-in-chief of the Vossische Zeitung ), he was completely inexperienced and had no idea of ​​the complex situation on site, and quickly got into conflict with the German embassy in Constantinople ( Wangenheim had just died and had been replaced by the Catholic Metternich, who had shown greater sympathy for the Oriental Christians who were persecuted by the Turks ), as well as with his deputy Dr., who had been living in Constantinople for 25 years and had a good network there, especially in non-Muslim circles. Friedrich Schrader (who had taught at the American Robert College and at a Francophone Armenian Lyceum and was married to a Bulgarian Jew). After a delegation trip to Beirut , the consul general there complained to the Foreign Office about Übelhör, who had made derogatory and offensive to sexist statements about Francophone Christian "Levantine women" in an article. The argument with Dr. Schrader escalated when he testified before the consular court as a witness in an Armenian woman's insult, Madame Nishanian. Since the newspaper was a semi-official propaganda organ financed by the Foreign Office and the investors of the Baghdad Railway, there were fears in Berlin that the reputation of Germany in the Ottoman Empire would be damaged by this affair. As a result, Übelhör was dismissed in the summer of 1917 on the instructions of the Foreign Minister and returned to Germany.

In the 1920s, Übelhör lived in Konstanz, where he founded the satirical magazine Skorpion in 1923 and also worked for Simplicissimus from 1924 . During this time he wrote several satirical novels. In 1925 he moved to Le Blanc Mesnil near Paris, where he wrote crime, espionage and adventure novels. In 1939 he was expelled from Paris and married a wealthy childhood friend in Constance.

From 1943, Übelhör lived in Oberkirch, where he worked as a translator for the French military government after 1945 and died in 1963. He corresponded with Arno Schmidt , who wanted to reprint some of his works. His memoirs remained unfinished, most of the material was destroyed after his death. A remaining estate is now in the Oberkirch local history museum.

Works

  • The Golden Republic (1920)
  • Traugott or Germany over everything
  • The Call of the Deep (unrealized film project with Conrad Veidt )

Under the pseudonym Max Oxentott:

  • The McLeod case, detective novel

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credentials

  1. ^ Irmgard Farah: The German press policy and propaganda activity in the Ottoman Empire from 1908 to 1918 with special consideration of the "Ottoman Lloyd". Beirut texts and studies, Volume 50, edited by the Orient Institute of the German Oriental Society, Beirut 1993, ISBN 3-515-05719-6
  2. ↑ Henrik Feindt: Writer's life with worries - Arno and Alice Schmidt: DIE ZEIT, issue 50, 2008

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Bad hearing, Max
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German writer and journalist
DATE OF BIRTH August 27, 1881
PLACE OF BIRTH Constancy
DATE OF DEATH May 10, 1963
Place of death Oberkirch (Baden)