Pauli-Basch, Hertha

JOURNALIST, AUTHOR, ACTRESS (AUSTRIA)
BORN 4 Sep 1906, Wien - DIED 9 Feb 1973, Long Island, New York: Southside Hospital
BIRTH NAME Pauli, Hertha Ernestine
GRAVE LOCATION Wien: Döblinger Friedhof, Hartäckerstraße 65 (Gruppe 13, Reihe 2, Nummer 5)

Hertha Pauli was the daughter of the scientist Wolfgang Josef Pauli (1869-1955) and the feminist Bertha Schütz. Her brother Wolfgang won the Nobel Prize in 1945. She wanted to be an actress. Her mother took her to Hedwig Bleibtreu to talk the idea out of her head but it was said that Bleibtreu stated that Hertha was born for the theatre. Bleibtreu certainly gave her acting lessons.

From 1927 to 1933 she played small parts at Max Reinhardt's theatre in Berlin. She married the actor Carl Behr in 1929 but they were divorced in 1932. In also Berlin she befriended Walter Mehring and she fell in love with Ödon von Horvath, in whose "Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald" she performed. When Horvath told her about his intention to marry Maria Elsner she tried to kill herself. But Horvath's marriage soon ended and they remained close until his death in 1938.

After the nazis came to power in 1933 she moved to Austria. There she ran a literary agency with Karl Fucht and she wrote biographical novels. After the annexation of Austria by Germany she fled from Austria to France with Karl Fucht. In Paris she also met Mehring again. Together with Mehring and Karl Fucht she joined the circle around Joseph Roth (1894-1939) in Café Tournon. In Lourdes she met Franz Werfel and in 1940 she escaped to the USA after the nazis occupied France.

After the war she stayed in the USA, where she married Ernst Bach (1909-1983), who came from Munich and used the name of E.B. Ashton in the USA. With him she wrote a successful biography of Alfred Nobel. She also wrote children's books. Her last book was "Der Riss der Zeit geht durch mein Herz" (1970). She died in 1973 in New York.

Related persons
• was pupil of Bleibtreu, Hedwig
• had a love affair with Horváth, Ödön von
• was a friend of Mehring, Walter

Events
7/6/1938Funeral of Ödön von Horváth at the Saint-Ouen cemetery in Paris. The grave was at the back end of the cemetery. Walter Mehring, Franz Werfel, Carl Zuckmayer spoke and also present were his parents, Wera Liessem, Hertha Pauli, Erwin Piscator and many others. In 1988 his remains were transferred to Vienna. [Horváth, Ödön von][Mehring, Walter][Piscator, Erwin][Werfel, Franz]

Images

The grave of Bertha Schütz, Bertha Pauli and Hertha Pauli at the Döblinger Friedhof, Vienna.
Picture by Androom (13 Aug 2018)

 

Sources
Hertha Pauli - Wikipedia


Pauline, prinzessin von Württemberg

Published: 04 Jan 2020
Last update: 04 Jan 2020