Theodor Kramer (1897–1958)

Theodor Kramer was born to a Jewish family in Niederhollabrunn, Austria. His father Max Kramer was the village doctor. He completed his secondary education with the matura examination, and then served as an officer in the Austrian army in World War I. He was seriously wounded in the war. Afterwards, he began to study Germanic philology and governmental studies, but gave up university to work at various occupations, including as a civil servant and later a book retailer. From 1931, he made his living writing poetry. His work was popular and he became well known in the German-speaking world. His 1929 collection Die Gaunerzinke was awarded the Literaturpreis der Stadt Wien (City of Vienna Literature Prize). After Nazi Germany's Anschluss (annexation) of Austria, Kramer was forbidden to publish. In 1939, against all odds, he managed to obtain immigration visas to Britain for his wife Inge and himself. From 1940 to 1941, he was interned in the UK as an enemy alien. In 1943, he started working as a librarian at Guildford Technical College, a post he held until 1957. He continued to write and publish his work in exile, and received British citizenship in 1946. Kramer served on the governing body of the Austrian PEN club, and was in close contact with other members, including Elias Canetti, Erich Fried, and Hilde Spiel. However, in the 1950s, beset by illness and financial difficulties, he gradually withdrew from social contact. In 1957, he returned to Vienna, where he died six months later. His work fell into obscurity among the general public, but he has been re-discovered in recent decades. The German folk singing duo Zupfgeigenhansel set some of Kramer's poems to music, helping to revive interest in his work. The Theodor-Kramer-Preis of the Theodor Kramer Society in Austria has been awarded annually since 2001 to authors writing in a context of resistance or exile.