A dramatic public act defined the trajectory of Oskar Maria Graf when he published an appeal titled Verbrennt mich! in 1933. While authorities initially approved his works, his explicit demand for his books to be destroyed underscored his commitment to his principles during a period of rising political suppression in his home country.
Early Life and Rebellion
Born in 1894 in Berg, Bavaria, Graf was the ninth child of a baker. After his father died in 1906, he learned the trade but abandoned it in 1911 to pursue poetry in Munich. His early years were marked by conflict with his brother and a desire to escape, eventually leading him to participate in revolutionary movements in Munich and several arrests.
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Drafted into the Imperial German Army in 1914, Graf resisted military life. Following a command refusal in 1916, he underwent a ten-day hunger strike before being committed to a psychiatric hospital and subsequently discharged. He found his literary footing in 1927 with the memoir Wir sind Gefangene, which granted him the financial stability to focus on freelance writing.
Exile and International Career
After leaving Germany for Vienna in 1933, Graf lived in Brno before reaching New York City in 1938. In the United States, he served as president of the German American Writers Association and co-founded the publishing house Aurora-Verlag. He became an American citizen in 1958 and received an honorary doctorate from Wayne State University in 1960 for his intellectual independence.
Fast facts
- Born: 1894, Berg
- Died: 1967, New York City
- Citizenship: United States; Germany
- Notable work: Wir sind Gefangene (1927)
- Professional memberships: Academy of Arts, Berlin; Academy of Arts of the GDR
- Exile locations: Vienna, Brno, Moscow, New York City
- Burial site: Bogenhausener Friedhof
Questions readers ask
Did the authorities burn his books?
No. In 1933, most of his books were actually approved as recommended reading, which prompted him to publish his own protest, Verbrennt mich!, demanding they be destroyed.
What was his literary output?
He was a prolific novelist, poet, journalist, and publisher known for his autobiographical narratives about life in Bavaria.
