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Germany-born writer who joined anarchist and socialist organizations, lived and traveled in Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Russia, and who eventually, upon the rise of Nazism, emigrated to the United States where he lived in New York City until his death in 1967.
Oskar Maria Graf was born on July 22, 1894 in Berg on Lake Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany. He was the youngest son of the eight surviving children of baker Max Graf and Therese Heimrath. Graf's father was successful as a baker, providing a comfortable home and surroundings for the Graf family. Oskar entered elementary school in Berg in 1900, however shortly after his father's death in 1905, he began an apprenticeship in the family bakery under his older brother Max. Although Oskar endured nearly five years under the strict supervision of his brother, in 1911, to escape the beatings of his brother, he ran away to Munich where he joined a Bohemian group. He made connections with the anarchist circle "Die Tat" and in 1912 tramped to the Tessin region in southern Switzerland to join an anarchist colony. He became disillusioned with the colony and returned to Munich. During this time, supporting himself with odd jobs, he began to write poems and short stories. It wasn't until 1914, however, that he was able to get several of his poems published in the expressionist periodical Die Aktion (Berlin).
Graf was drafted into the German army in 1915 to serve on the Eastern Front. Graf went on a hunger strike, feigning insanity, until he was finally committed to a mental institution. By 1916, he was both released from the mental institution and discharged from military service. Graf returned to Munich where he worked in a factory and wrote reviews for the Munich newspaper München-Augsburg Abendzeitung. In 1918, Graf published his first major work, Wir sind Revolutionäre, married his first wife, Karoline Bretting, with whom he had a daughter, his only child, Annemarie, a year later. In 1918, he also met Mirjam Sachs, the cousin of poetess Nelly Sachs, who would later become his second wife. Later in the same year, he took part in anti-war demonstrations, and in 1919 participated in a revolution which resulted in the short-lived Soviet Bavarian Republic, and, after its defeat, was imprisoned for his participation.
In 1920 Graf became the dramatic producer of the Socialist worker's theater "Die neue Bühne" in Munich, and in 1922, published both Frühzeit and Zur freundlichen Erinnerung, with his Bayrisches Lesebücherl following in 1924. It wasn't until 1927, however, that Graf gained international recognition with the publication Wir sind Gefangene. Graf continued to write, publishing Das bayrische Dekameron in 1928 and Kalender-Geschichten in 1929, followed by of Bolwieser: Roman eines Ehemanns in 1931 and Notizbuch des Provinzschriftstellers Oskar Maria Graf in 1932.
In the early months of 1933 Graf was on a lecture tour in Austria. It was during this time, shortly after Hitler's rise to power, that the Nazis ordered the first of the book burnings. With the exception of Prisoner's All, however, Graf's books were recommended rather than burned by the Nazi regime. This prompted Graf to write his famous "Verbrennt mich!" ("Burn me too"), perhaps one of the most famous anti-Nazi statements, which was published in the Wiener Arbeiter-Zeitung on May 22, 1933. Graf remained in Austria in exile, where he lived until 1934, working as co-editor of the German expatriate journal Neue deutsche Blätter. In 1934, after having participated in a political uprising of Austrian workers against the Engelbert Dollfuss regime, Graf escaped to (Brno) Czechoslovakia, where he remained until 1938. He left for a short period to attend the First Congress of Socialist Writers in Moscow, but returned to Brno where he continued to write. Graf's novel Anton Sittinger was published in 1937 by the German exile publishing company Malik in London.
In 1938, Graf left Europe without his wife and child and fled to New York City. Mirjam Sachs followed Graf to New York, however it wasn't until 1944 that Karoline agreed to a divorce and the couple finally married. Graf's only daughter, Annemarie, remained in Germany to be raised by his mother, and eventually joined a German Youth organization under Hitler called the Bund Deutscher Mädchen (BDM). Graf, who was vehemently opposed to Hitler, was never close to his daughter and there are no letters in the collection between Graf and his daughter. While in New York, Graf made speeches before German-American groups and wrote regularly for the New York City German-language newspaper Aufbau, edited by his wife's brother, Manfred George. He also became president of the German-American Writer's Association during this period.
For a short time Graf lived in the artist colony Yaddo, near Saratoga Springs in upstate New York, where he completed work on the German version of his novel The Life of My Mother (Das Leben meiner Mutter), which portrayed life in Germany from the Bismarck era to the time of Hitler. He followed this with the publication of Unruhe um einen Friedfertigen, the story of a Jewish cobbler killed by the Nazis after having lived for many years fully integrated into the life of a Bavarian village.
Graf was unable to return to Germany immediately following the war. Not only had the Hitler regime revoked his German citizenship, but he was also unwilling to sign American citizenship papers because it would require him to bear arms. Finally in 1958, after the removal of the clause on bearing arms, Graf became an American citizen, and with his American passport, he was able to revisit Germany, and did so four times before his death.
Graf's second wife, Mirjam, died in 1959 after a long battle with breast cancer. He never wished to return permanently to Germany, claiming he did not like the "New Germany" and having become extremely comfortable in his exile home of New York. He never mastered the English language, primarily because as a writer he wanted his German to remain "pure". He established a regular German "Stammtisch" called "Die blaue Donau" in New York, and in 1962, married fellow exile Gisela Blauner, who had earned her Ph.D. in jurisprudence in Germany before being exiled. In 1964 Graf became corresponding member of the German Akademie der Künste (Academy for Arts) in Berlin.
Oskar Maria Graf died on June 25, 1967 in New York City of complications arising from pneumonia. His ashes were buried a year later in Munich, June 28, 1968. Graf was survived by his third wife, Gisela, who assisted in publishing new editions of his works and organized exhibitions devoted to displaying his life and works. His daughter, Annemarie Koch, and granddaughter Ricarda reside in Germany.
Chronology of Events :
1891
Born on July 22 in Berg on Lark Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany.
1900
Entered elementary school in Berg.
1906
Began apprenticeship in the bakery of his oldest brother, Max.
1911
Ran away from home with the intention of becoming a free-lance writer in Munich; worked at different odd jobs, making connections with the anarchist circle "Die Tat".
1912
Traveled to the Tessin region of southern Switzerland with friend, the painter Georg Schrimpf, to join an anarchist colony; returned to Munich after becoming disillusioned with the anarchists.
1914
Publication of poems in the Expressionist periodical Die Aktion (Berlin). Drafted to military service after the outbreak of World War I.
1915
Served as a soldier on the Eastern front; after a hunger strike and feigned insanity, is placed in mental institution.
1916
Discharged from mental institution and also from military service (September).
1917
Worked in a factory in Munich, while writing reviews for the München-Augsburger Abendzeitung.
1918
First marriage to Karoline Bretting; publication of Die Revolutionäre; participation in anti-war demonstrations in Munich; meets Mirjam Sachs.
1919
Birth of daughter Annemarie; participation in the "Soviet Bavarian Republic" and temporary imprisonment after its defeat.
1922
Publication of Frühzeit: Jugenderlebnisse and Zur freundlichen Erinnerung.
1924
Publication of Bayrisches Lesebücherl: Weissblaue Kulturbilder.
1927
Publication of Wir sind Gefangene.
1928
Publication of Das bayrische Dekameron.
1929
Publication of Kalender-Geschichten.
1931
Publication of Bolwieser: Roman eines Ehemanns.
1932
Publication of Notizbuch des Provinzschriftstellers Oskar Maria Graf.
Feb. 17, 1933
begins lecture tour to Vienna, Austria; publication of anti-Nazi article "Verbrennt mich!" in the Wiener Arbeiter-Zeitung on May 11; books are banned in Germany shortly thereafter; co-editor of Neue Deutsche Blätter (Prague).
1934
Participation in the political uprising of Austrian workers and escape to Brno, Czechoslovakia; attends the first Congress of Socialist Writers in Moscow, Aug.-Sept.; returns to Brno.
1935
Publication of Der harte Handel: Ein bayrischer Bauernroman.
1936
Publication of Der Abgrund: Ein Zeitroman.
January 1937
Co-signer of the appeal to form the German popular front; publication of novel Anton Sittinger.
1938
June, attends International P.E.N. Congress in Prague as representative in exile of the German P.E.N. Club; emigrates to the U.S. (New York); becomes President of the German-American Writers Association (G.A.W.A.).
1940
Publication of The Life of My Mother; conducts political speeches before German-American organizations and contributes regularly to the New York German-Jewish newspaper Aufbau.
1944
Co-founder of the exile publishing house Aurora with Wieland Herzfelde and others; marriage to Mirjam Sachs.
1946
First German edition of Das Leben meiner Mutter.
1947
Publication of the novel Unruhe um einen Friedfertigen.
1949
Publication of Die Eroberung der Welt: Roman einer Zukunft.
1958
Becomes an American citizen and returns to Germany for the first time.
1959
Death of Mirjam Sachs Graf; publication of Die Flucht ins Mittelmässige: Ein New Yorker Roman.
1960
Receives honorary doctorate degree from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan; second visit to Germany.
1961
Publication of An manchen Tagen: Reden, Gedanken und Zeitbetrachtungen.
1962
Marriage to Gisela Blauner.
1964
Third visit to Germany; becomes a corresponding member of the German Academy of Arts in East Berlin.
1965
Last visit to Germany.
1966
Publication of Gelächter von aussen: Aus meinem Leben 1918-33.
1967
Death on June 25.
1968
Burial of Graf's ashes on June 28 in Munich, Germany.
Included in collection is correspondence with noted figures such as Heinrich Boll, Gunter Grass, Rainer Maria Rilke, Erich Maria Remarque, Heinrich Heine, Herman Hesse, Thomas Mann and others of Graf's contemporaries, such as Albert Einstein, Otto Preminger, and His Holiness, Pope Paul VI; and correspondence also with family, friends, colleagues, compatriots in exile, newspapers, publishers, PhD candidates, and others. Includes also are copies of all Graf's published literary works; his unpublished novels, essays, aphorisms, poems, political writings, fragments, critiques of other authors; speeches; radio plays; critiques of Graf; loose pages of writing. Also included are articles, books, and material about exhibitions in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and the USA; and materials from various Goethe institutions.
The Oskar Maria Graf Papers consist primarily of photocopies of Graf's works (originals at the Staatsbibliothek, Munich); correspondence (primarily copies, some originals); large collection of newspaper clippings about Graf; numerous photographs of Graf, his family and acquaintances. The collection also contains correspondence of Gisela Graf, much of it concerning the collection of materials pertaining to her late husband and exhibitions of Graf materials after his death. The collection is divided into 8 series: Biographical materials and documents; Correspondence of Oskar Maria Graf; Correspondence of Gisela Graf; Writings of Graf; Newspaper and magazine articles (clippings), 1930-1988, about all aspects of Graf's life and death, including birthday celebrations, obituaries, burial site, commemorations of the day of his death, etc.; Exhibition materials; Miscellaneous materials collected by Gisela Graf; Photographs and drawings.
All items in this manuscript group were donated to the University Libraries, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, by Gisela Blauner-Graf in December 1991.
Archival materials can be view in-person during business hours in our reading room, located on the top floor of the Science Library on the Uptown Campus.
We can also deliver digital scans for remote research for a fee.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives will provide information about copyright owners and other restrictions, but the legal determination ultimately rests with the researcher. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Oskar Maria Graf Papers, 1891-1967. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as [shortened name]).
The biographical materials in this series are a mixture of items from Graf's own files as well as materials were collected by Gisela Graf after his death. Included in the series are a large number of address files, citizenship materials, biographical and autobiographical statements by Oskar Maria and Gisela Graf, two scrapbooks of clippings by other authors collected by Graf, Graf's American passport, and miscellaneous financial documents.
Box
Folder
Contents
Date
2ee85a601189f3a7858669177599efbf
1
1
Address books, Germany and United States
Undated
5430fd2578b2c8fe642bd565c21a3d91
1
2
Addresses -- loose pages, cards, etc.
Undated
b956ee92607328c3f7d3f7a10d39dbe1
1
3
Addresses -- Germany
Undated
901473b09fe2978ee80f65df02dd096b
1
4
Addresses -- Other
Undated
b502bb527b3f3bcce6251ecba18f90a5
1
5
Addresses for invitations
Undated
7013c5589ef6e76059921a47b01b9174
1
6
Addresses for new books
Undated
dc223c3e59f6f6c124cde7f49bd8abc2
1
7
Autobiographical statements by Graf
Undated
e9d3797b94929477fcb9aa622316923c
1
8
Fragmentary biographical and autobiographical statements
1983, Undated
3f3dab1cb4d0de174d4c0b9723404f0e
1
9
Biographical statements by Gisela Graf
1983, Undated
a6c7822d2f7d7c43d18d3dbd47679ddf
1
10
Bibliographies of published and unpublished works by Oskar Maria Graf
Undated
2723fd3339a3640d318756be368e30b4
1
11
Spiral notebook containing alphabetical listing of Graf's writings (by Graf)
Undated
db0a1045e04196dc164beb73702d4133
1
12
Photocopy of front page of Reichsanzeiger, depriving Graf of German citizenship
1934 March 29
a1724d83408c363a0f8a89ab08e349da
1
13
Documents concerning Graf's citizenship (U.S)
1950-1958
e22681e898a43840e791abf2514e172d
1
14
Contents of Graf's Manhattan office
Undated
a629fcc0f6388f9707f42667c6130a68
1
15
Contents of Graf's safe, Chemical Bank, 113 St. & Broadway, New York
Undated
e784d0cbcbe783ad1ab93fbe26777486
1
16
Scrapbook of clippings, pasted over pages of diary dated 1940
Undated
ea91166a1e67e46076414992fc0df2dc
1
17
Scrapbook of clippings, pasted over pages of diary dated 1954
Undated
8fd47cb13d4ad762bd3228010c2d8fb6
1
18
Invitations, Oskar Maria Graf and Gisela Graf
1938-1984
8d2f02f95c120d5483aa3eb572bebd3b
1
19
Medical notes, correspondence
1960-1975
5dd708010bfdf1380d251d3a7ccaedc8
1
20
Lectures given by Graf. Advertisements, posters, newspaper clippings
Undated
3b737f0dad7620577096a4613a81a30b
1
21
"Meine Lieblingsgedichte". Collection of Graf's favorite poems
The correspondence in this series consists almost exclusively of photocopies of Graf's letters to and from prominent individuals collected by Mrs. Graf after his death. (Letters of Gisela Graf which continue Graf's correspondence after his death are also included in this series.) Included is a small amount of correspondence with family members, as well as correspondence with: Johannes R. and Lilly Becher, Siegfried Bernfeld, Heinrich Böll, Hermann Broch, Ferdinand Bruckner, Albert Ehrenstein, Albert Einstein, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Lion and Marta Feuchtwanger, Gustav and Else Fischer, Bruno Frank, Leonhard Frank, Günter Grass, Hugo Hartung, Th. Th. Heine, Hermann Hesse, Franz Jung, Prinz Hubertus zu Löwenstein, Erika, Heinrich, Katja, Klaus and Thomas Mann, Robert Neumann, Rudolf Olden, Rolf Recknagel, Erich Maria Remarque, Will Schaber, Dorothy Thompson, Sergei Tretiakov, Fritz von Unruh, Berthold Viertel, Ernst Waldinger, Wendell L. Wilkie.
The Gisela Graf correspondence files date predominately from the time of her husband's death until 1986. It is a mixture of originals, carbons and photocopies; much of the correspondence deals with the posthumous publication of her husband's works and exhibitions concerning his life and career. Correspondents include: Jean Améry, Günther Anders, Eric Bentley, Ernst Bloch, Hilde Domin, Walter and Anne-Marie Fabian, Erich Fromm, Helmut Hirsch, Uwe Johnson, Mascha Kaléko, Alfred Kantorowicz, Hermann Kesten, Annemarie Koch (Graf's daughter by his first marriage), Ernst Lothar, Helmut Pfanner and the University of New Hampshire, Johannes and Gertrude Urzidil, Walter Wicclair, and Carl Zuckmayer.
This series contains copies of Graf's published and unpublished writings, either in typescript or published form. The novels and story collections are listed first, followed by unpublished longer works, essays and short stories, and miscellaneous other pieces last. The series contains a mixture of original and carbon typescripts, clippings of published writings, and reviews of the individual works.
This series consists primarily of clippings of articles about Graf over eight decades, including general articles, as well as numerous commemorative articles on birthdays and anniversaries of his death. Also included are typescripts of a number of articles discussing Graf and his works.
This series consists of materials pertaining to exhibits of Graf and his work, and includes materials from the exhibits themselves, as well as notes and ideas by Gisela Graf in her efforts to assist with the exhibitions.
This series contains hundreds of photographs, drawings and reproductions of paintings, which document all aspects of Graf's life, his family, his colleagues and friends, and exhibitions of his works.
Box
Folder
Contents
Date
81df4ff0d8e7bfc360509ebc8f3ef384
9
33
Portrait photos of Oskar Maria Graf
1911-1955
4412650c91e6682ac0325946ebe90e1a
9
34
Portrait photos of Oskar Maria Graf
1960s
3a09dcf05ec266b298aeba3db2ad229f
9
35
Snapshot photos of Graf
Undated
27074d94228162243e7cc17e8d61bb44
9
36
Photographs of Graf and family members
Undated
2bcd238bebd7acfd21e79263516cc369
9
37
Oskar Maria Graf with second wife, Mirjam
1930s-1940s
d128afbbb56e7a78b94a243ea9530cec
9
38
Oskar Maria Graf with third wife, Gisela
1961-1977
0200147c18ba30eda000acb9f399035e
9
39
Photos of Graf with others (8" × 10"). Oversize photos (2) stored with German Émigré Photograph Collection
Undated
4dccc512e0faaa8a42a0b5fad3906714
9
40
Photos of Graf with others, snapshots
Undated
f54fdd947006ee93428ae198b6f08607
9
41
Photos of others (friends and historical figures), identified
Undated
fb299725dcec3dd251500d4f1f9588d4
9
42
Photos of others, unidentified
Undated
fdfa11850566981a684ba9e435f576bc
9
43
Photos of Graf's home, bust
Undated
39e064d894aae3393f81ea6aa9fa985e
9
44
Snapshots of Berg, Graf's place of birth, and Aufkirchen
Undated
784b57924860982a46a12ab03cd7f216
9
45
Photos of Graf's gravesite
Undated
7d9bf6da49d0a027412f1aa3244d2b17
9
46
Stammtisch photos
ca. 1964-1965
70a0e55ac4686081a9c7004801e9d19a
9
47
Vacation photos
1950s-1960s
b026b8c9ae33802f795f1424018b7ab1
9
48
Gisela Blauner Graf, alone and with others
Undated
62f37c66e29ffa9c9ed6e6b6b39e6a3e
9
49
Historical photographs
Undated
fd42a559737b5a2289d3c5f8abe6fd95
9
50
Photographs from Oskar Maria Graf exhibits
Undated
f48ecf66def5531761548be3cc64f2db
9
51
Negatives
Undated
48837ed04619d9acef8796bbdc2eafc4
9
52
Photos reproduced in newspapers
Undated
f6eda786f36f35faf056b5773e034e1f
9
53
Graf caricature by B.F. Dolbin
Undated
80187c8c5527a9ae64200717b478323d
9
54
Political cartoon featuring Graf
1943 December 6
3adafebf0d2007afff27c692dfddd975
9
55
Reproductions of Georg Schrimpf oil painting of Graf