(1934- 2007)
Otmar Drekonja, professor emeritus of German at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, passed away on July 30, 2007.
(1926 - 2007)
Raul Hilberg, who established himself as the preeminent scholar of the Holocaust, died in Vermont at the age of 81. Born in Vienna, he left Austria with his parents one year after the Anschluss, narrowly escaping the Holocaust at the age of 13. The family fled first to Cuba, then to New York City.
“Mozart - His Life in Letters”
While the whole world knows Mozart the genius, the person Mozart remains strangely enigmatic and difficult to grasp. What was Mozart, the child, the man, the human being like - in his everyday life, in his relationships? Gloria Kaiser, a writer living in Austria and Brazil, does not attempt to answer these questions by writing just another biography. Instead, she allows Mozart to speak for himself through his correspondence which she has analyzed in meticulous archival work. Her book, Mozart - Perspectives from his Correspondence, which was recently presented at the Embassy of Austria in cooperation with the “American-Austrian Society,” not only traces the development of Mozart’s personality but also gives an idea of life in 18th century Europe.
Georg Eisler (1928 - 1998) was one of Austria’s international artists who was often better known outside his own country. His name has been acknowledged everywhere in Europe and also in certain regions of America, such as Taos Ski Valley. Since the late 1970s he has taught at special sessions of the University of New Mexico’s German Summer School. In 1976 and again posthumously in 2002, his sketches and drawings were exhibited in Vienna’s Albertina. His oils have been shown in many of Europe’s finest art galleries in Venice, London, Paris and Berlin. His last great exhibit was in Vienna’s Upper Belvedere during the year 1997.
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During the summer, Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico provides an ideal setting for cultural events. With its Alpine appearance it resembles a European conference center. As the most northerly possession of the Habsburgs in Latin America it was called Nuevo Mexico. Its capital Santa Fe was founded in the year 1610 and was connected with Mexico City by the Camino Real. Its beautiful mountain sceneries and the Indian and Hispanic cultures which have been retained over the centuries provide a perfect background for such distinguished attractions as the Santa Fe Opera. With its partly Austrian repertoire, from Mozart to Johann Strauss, Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Richard Strauss, it reminds many Austrians of home.
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Dr. Michael Häupl holding a handful of grapes
Austrian wine has clearly become more popular in the USA over the past ten years. Due to its unique and interesting characteristics it has received very high ratings from wine critics and sommeliers alike. Representatives of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board and the Austrian Tourist Office, as well as an Austrian wine broker, talked with Austrian Information about the primary reasons for this increased interest in Austrian wine and their current marketing strategies.
An Interview with Dr. Gordon “Nick” Mueller
by Hannes Richter
Some 30 years ago Dr. Gordon “Nick” Mueller launched the University of New Orleans Summer School at the University of Innsbruck, which contributed significantly to a close cooperation between the universities and cities of Innsbruck and New Orleans. Dr. Mueller, also current President and CEO of the National World War II Museum - one of New Orleans’ main attractions - talked with Austrian Information about the different stations of his career, his current responsibilities in New Orleans two years after Hurricane Katrina and his strong ties with Innsbruck, Austria.
In the year 2000, employees of the Jewish Community Vienna (Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien) made a startling discovery. In a vacant apartment in one of the community’s buildings in Vienna’s 15th district they discovered dozens of wooden cabinets containing index cards and 800 cardboard boxes filled with files and documents. Some of these materials are part of a cache of approximately two million pages of Holocaust-era documents and include reports, letters, emigration and financial documents, deportation lists, card files, books, photographs, maps, and charts detailing the final years of the Viennese Jewish community. They represent a substantial part of the archive of what was once the largest German-speaking Jewish community in Europe.A Life in Service of Remembrance
Leon Zelman
Leon Zelman, Holocaust survivor, passed away in Vienna on July 11 at the age of 81 after a prolonged illness. As co-founder and head of the Jewish Welcome Service, he was a bridge-builder and exceptional figure, and he left behind a lasting legacy as a passionate architect of reconciliation.
Born in 1928 in Szczekociny, Poland, Zelman survived the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Mauthausen-Ebensee. He was liberated in May 1945 by U.S. forces and came to Vienna in 1946. After graduating from secondary school, Leon Zelman began to study journalism at Vienna University, completing his doctorate in 1954. In 1963, Austria’s leading tour operator, Österreichisches Verkehrsbüro, entrusted Leon Zelman with the task of managing the City Travel Agency to develop Austrian tourism to and from Israel.