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Biographical/Historical Information

Johannes Urzidil was born in Prague in 1896, the youngest son of a railroad official who was also an inventor. From 1914 through 1919 Urzidil studied German studies, Slavic studies, and art history at the University of Prague. In Prague’s Café Arco he became acquainted with the members of the "Prager Kreis," including Franz Kafka, Franz Werfel, and Max Brod. 1916 to 1918 Johannes Urzidil served in the Austro-Hungarian military. From 1918 to 1922 he worked as a translator for the German Consulate in Prague, also writing for the “Berlin Börsen-Courier” and the “Wolffsche Telegraphen-Bureau”. In 1922 Urzidil was appointed press attaché́ for the German Legation in Prague, a position he held until 1933. In 1922 Johannes Urzidil married the poet Gertrude Thieberger, the daughter of a rabbi. When the Nazis came to power, the Urzidils went to Italy and then received visas for Britain. The English writer Bryher (Anne Winnifred Ellerman), with whom Johannes Urzidil had exchanged letters, assisted them in affording the voyage to England and a place to stay. During the time they lived in England, Johannes Urzidil wrote articles for expatriate newspapers to support the position of the government of Edvard Beneš. In March 1940 Johannes Urzidil met Edvard Beneš and was sent to the United States as an official correspondent for the Czechoslovak expatriate publications “Cechoslovak” and the “Central European Observer”. In 1941, the Urzidils emigrated to the United States.

In New York, Johannes created leather handicrafts, and Gertrude Urzidil took care of children to earn extra income. Following their arrival in New York, Johannes Urzidil found himself at odds with the Beneš government's policy on the resettlement of Sudeten Germans, writing critical articles in 1941 and 1942 in the publication “Aufbau”. By 1951, he was working as a script writer and information specialist for “Voice of America”, a position he kept until 1953, when rising McCarthyism drove him out. He later returned to “Voice of America” in a freelance capacity. In the 1960s, Johannes Urzidil traveled to Europe to give lectures at various institutions and organizations. The topics of his lectures concerned such subjects as his own works; Franz Kafka and the "Prager Kreis"; Goethe; and the artist Vaclav Hollar.

Throughout his life Johannes Urzidil wrote articles, essays, and radio scripts as well as poetry and fiction. His first poems were published when he was only 17 years old, under the pseudonym Hans Elmar in a Prague newspaper. Some early writings were published in expressionist publications. In 1919 Urzidil's first volume of poetry “Der Sturz der Verdammten” was published. One of his best-known works, “Goethe in Böhmen”, was published in 1932. Bohemia was a common topic in most of Johannes Urzidil's writings, including such works as “Die verlorene Geliebte”, which won the Charles Veillon Prize in 1956; the lyrical work “Prager Triptychon”; and “Die Entführung und sieben andere Ereignisse”. Some of his works dealt with life in America, including “Das große Hallelujah”; and “Väterliches aus Prag und Handwerkliches aus New York”. In 1970, when he went to Rome to give a lecture for the Austrian Institute, Johannes Urzidil died. He was buried in Rome’s German cemetery, Campo Santo Teutonico.

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Citation

Johannes Urzidil wearing gloves : Studio portrait, Leo Baeck Institute, F 14508.