Henry Kreisel had an eventful life. A native of Vienna, he left Austria in 1938 and was soon imprisoned as an enemy alien in England and taken to an internment camp in Canada. With his later career as a professor and author, he achieved something that many Jewish refugees were denied: a successful emigration. This paper talks about his life, influence and the works he published.
Henry Kreisel is born in Vienna on June 5, 1922, to a middle-class Jewish family. He lives a sheltered childhood and youth in the Leopoldstadt, the second Vienna district. With his parents and his brother, who is two years younger, he enjoys trips to the Danube and the Prater. He becomes interested in literature at an early age and starts writing poems and stories. As a high school student, he regularly attends the Burgtheater and the State Opera House with a friend. But in May 1938, an anti-Semitic incident at school leads him to stay away from classes for fear of increasing discrimination. With the support of a relative, he is able to emigrate to England as early as July 1938; his brother follows in January 1939, and his parents join him in August 1939 after their release from the Dachau and Ravensbrück concentration camps.
Table of Contents
1. A Successful Emigration
Objectives and Topics
This document examines the life and career of Henry Kreisel, a Jewish refugee from Austria who became a prominent professor and author in Canada following his displacement during World War II.
- Traumatic experience of internment as an "enemy alien" in England and Canada.
- Kreisel's transition from Austrian upbringing to Canadian academic and literary life.
- Analysis of his major literary works, including The Rich Man and The Betrayal.
- His significant contributions to Canadian studies and academic institutional leadership.
- Exploration of themes such as exile, identity, and the Holocaust.
Excerpt from the Book
A Successful Emigration
“May 1. 1940. Leeds. At 12:30 I am called away from work and told that I would have to be interned. Town Hall in Leeds for 5 hours. Then Pontefract, Yorkshire. Barracks full of dirt and dust. We sleep on the floor. Food very good. We are allowed to receive visitors. My mother comes to visit us, and I write a poem about it. For two hours we are taken out into the fresh air every day. We have variety and sometimes classical concerts. Our own people entertain us of course. There is an excellent violinist amongst us who plays every night after lights out. We do not see him, we just hear the sound of the violin. Really marvellous.” (Another Country, 25)
With these lines, the then 17-year-old Henry Kreisel begins his Diary of an Internment. The journal-like notes describe his imprisonment in England and internment in Canada. Shortly after Austria´s annexation to Nazi Germany in 1938, he manages to leave for England. Since then, he works as a tailor's assistant in a clothing factory in Leeds. When Hitler attacks Great Britain, he is declared an enemy alien and detained for weeks in a camp on the Isle of Man. In July 1940, he is taken with 1500 people on a transport ship to eastern Canada. He spends the first month in a camp near Trois-Rivières, the eighteen following months in a camp near Fredericton.
Summary of Chapters
1. A Successful Emigration: This chapter chronicles the biographical trajectory of Henry Kreisel, detailing his flight from Nazi-occupied Austria, his wartime internment, and his eventual rise to academic and literary renown in Canada.
Keywords
Henry Kreisel, Exile, Canada, Internment, Holocaust, Jewish Refugee, The Rich Man, The Betrayal, Canadian Literature, Academic Career, Emigration, Identity, Holocaust Literature, University of Alberta, Exile Writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this text?
The text provides a biographical overview of Henry Kreisel, an Austrian-born Jewish writer and academic who settled in Canada after fleeing Nazi Germany.
What are the central themes of the work?
The core themes include exile, the experience of displacement, the struggle for identity as an immigrant, and the intersection of academic duty and literary expression.
What is the main research question or objective?
The text aims to illustrate how Kreisel navigated the trauma of internment to eventually achieve a successful career as an influential author and university professor.
Which historical events impact the protagonist?
The narrative is defined by the annexation of Austria, the Second World War, the experience of being an "enemy alien," and the aftermath of the Holocaust.
What constitutes the main body of the work?
The text examines his early life in Vienna, his harrowing internment periods in England and Canada, his university studies, and his eventual literary success in Canada.
Which methods are utilized to present the narrative?
The author uses a biographical approach, incorporating personal diary excerpts, essay reflections, and historical context to reconstruct Kreisel's life story.
How does his internment influence his later writing?
His experiences in camps and as an exile provided the thematic foundation for his later works, particularly in his explorations of alienation and the moral complexities of the Holocaust.
What is the significance of the novel "The Rich Man" within the narrative?
The novel is used as a case study to show how Kreisel provided nuanced insights into both 1930s Austrian culture and the immigrant experience in Canada.
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- Bernhard Wenzl (Autor:in), 2022, Successful Emigration. Henry Kreisel's Career in Canada, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1281109
