Horváth, Ödön von

PLAYWRIGHT (AUSTRIAN EMPIRE)
BORN 9 Dec 1901, Susak, Rijeka (now Croatia) - DIED 1 Jun 1938, Paris
CAUSE OF DEATH branch on head
GRAVE LOCATION Wien: Heiligenstädter Friedhof, Wildgrubgasse 20 (Teil A, Gruppe M, Nummer 4 (Wandgruft)(Ehrengrab))

Son of a Hubgarian diplomat. Educated in Budapest, Bratislava and Vienna. In 1919 he entered the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, but in 1923 he abandoned his studies to concentrate on writing. He moved to Berlin, but frequently stayed at Murnau in Bavaria, where his parents lived.

In 1929 he was contracted by Ullstein publishers, who payed him a fixed monthly sum for his entire literary production. After he had testified against a gang of nazis he was frequently attacked by right wing critics and this became even worse after he received the Kleist Prize in 1931. During the same year he wrote his famous play "Geschichten aus dem Wiener Wald" ("Tales from the Vienna Wood"). Apart from many plays he also wrote three novels.

When the nazis came to power he moved to Vienna and after the anschluss in 1938 he went to Paris. There he walked on the Champs-Élysées opposite the Théâtre Marigny when he was killed by a falling branch during a thunderstorm.

He was buried at the cemetery in Saint-Ouen. In 1988 his remains were transferred to the Heiligenstädter Friedhof in Vienna.

Related persons
• was a friend of Csokor, Franz Theodor
• had a relationship with Hoppe, Marianne
• had a love affair with Pauli-Basch, Hertha

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. [Mehring, Walter][Pauli-Basch, Hertha][Piscator, Erwin][Werfel, Franz]

Images

The grave of Ödön von Horvath at the Heiligenstädter Friedhof in Vienna.
Picture by Androom (23 Aug 2005)

 

Sources
• Bauer, Werner T., Wiener Friedhofsführer, Genaue Beschreibung sämtlicher Begräbnisstätten nebst einer Geschichte des Wiener Bestattungswesens, Falter Verlag, Wien, 1991
• Pleyel, Peter, Friedhöfe in Wien, Vom Mittelalter bis Heute, Pichler Edition, Wien, 1999
Ödön von Horváth - Wikipedia (EN)


Hosken, James

Published: 26 Sep 2010
Last update: 16 Jan 2022