BROCH, HERMANN

BROCH, HERMANN
BROCH, HERMANN (1886–1951), Austrian novelist and essayist. Broch was born in Vienna into a Jewish industrialist family. He was educated privately with the intention of getting an administrative position in his father's textile factory. It was not until he was in his forties that he turned to writing. Broch published his first novel, the trilogy Die Schlafwandler (3 vols. 1931/32; The Sleepwalkers,) dealing with the decay of values in Germany in the period between 1888 and 1919. The spread of fascism made Broch abandon his literary projects. He was arrested by the Nazis in 1938. Inspired by the visions of impending death in prison, he wrote a few elegies, which became the core of Der Tod des Vergil (1945; The Death of Virgil), a philosophical novel describing the end of Virgil's life after his return from Greece. Broch's interest in the collective psychological sources of Nazism was later expressed in Massenpsychologie (1951) and in Die Schuldlosen (1950). Broch traces the rise of Nazism to political apathy and the psychological disorientation of European society. His characters have lost their values; they are outsiders in their own life. Die Verzauberung (1976) also deals with mass psychology. The story is set in a small Tyrolean mountain village where farmers believe the promises of a fanatical fundamentalist and participate in the ritual murder of a young girl. Broch worked on the book periodically from the 1930s, but it was left unfinished. Broch's literary style has a lyrical, almost hymn-like quality. His writing is pervaded by the sense of man's mortality; his characters   struggle to overcome their constant awareness of their inevitable end. However, he perceives a redeeming spark of divinity which breaks through the contemporary decline of values and allows new hope to spring from apparent despair. On the eve of a planned return to Europe from the United States, where he had settled, Broch died in 1951. His Gesammelte Werke were published in 10 volumes (1952–61). -BIBLIOGRAPHY: R. Koester, Hermann Broch (1987); Luetzeler, P.M., Die Entropie des Menschen (2000); E. Kiss, Philosophie und Literatur des negativen Universalismus (2001). (Sol Liptzin / Ann-Kristin Koch (2nd ed.)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

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  • Broch, Hermann — born Nov. 1, 1886, Vienna died May 30, 1951, New Haven, Conn., U.S. German writer. A student of physics, mathematics, and philosophy, Broch published his first major work, The Sleepwalkers (1931–32), when he was in his 40s. A trilogy tracing the… …   Universalium

  • Broch, Hermann — ► (1886 1951) Novelista austríaco. Autor de Los sonámbulos (1932), La muerte de Virgilio (1945), Los inocentes (1950). * * * (1 nov. 1886, Viena, Austria–30 may. 1951, New Haven, Conn., EE.UU.). Escritor alemán. Estudiante de física, matemáticas… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Broch, Hermann — (1886 1951)    Austrian writer. Born in Vienna, he went to Realschule and was later given a vocational training. In 1909 he married and converted to Catholicism. He studied at the University of Vienna, while director of the family factory. He… …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

  • Broch — Broch, Hermann …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Hermann Broch — Hermann Broch, 1909 Hermann Broch (* 1. November 1886 in Wien; † 30. Mai 1951 in New Haven/Connecticut) war ein österreichischer Schriftsteller …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Hermann — Hermann, Ludimar * * * (as used in expressions) Boerhaave, Hermann Hermann Wilhelm Brandt Broch, Hermann Ebbinghaus, Hermann Fischer, Emil (Hermann) Ford Hermann Hueffer Göring, Hermann Hermann Goering Haitink, Bernard (Johann Hermann) Helmholtz …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Broch — (Hermann) (1886 1951) romancier autrichien. Les Somnambules (1929 1932) dépeint la société all. décadente. émigré aux È. U. (1938), il y acheva la Mort de Virgile (1945) …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Hermann — (as used in expressions) Boerhaave Hermann Hermann Wilhelm Brandt Broch Hermann Ebbinghaus Hermann Fischer Emil Hermann Ford Hermann Hueffer Göring Hermann Hermann Goering Haitink Bernard Johann Hermann Helmholtz Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von… …   Universalium

  • Hermann Broch — ( *1 de noviembre de 1886 en Viena, Austria 30 de mayo de 1951, en New Haven, Estados Unidos). Novelista, ensayista, dramaturgo y filósofo austriaco. Destacó por su capacidad para imbricar en su obra las más diversas experiencias, colectivas o… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Broch — bezeichnet: Broch (Turm), bronzezeitlicher bzw. eisenzeitlicher Turmbau in Schottland Broch ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Brigitte Broch (* 1943), deutsche Szenenbildnerin Henri Broch (* 1950), französischer Professor für theoretische… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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