Ödön von Horváth

Born in 1901 in Fiume (today's Rijeka in Croatia). Grew up in Budapest, Vienna and Munich. Studied German philology and theatre arts in Munich where he also wrote his first novels »Das Buch der Tänzer« (1922) and »Sportmärchen« (1924).
From 1924-33 Horváth lived in Murnau and in Berlin. Wrote numerous plays including »Revolte auf Côte 3018« (1927, reworked into »Die Bergbahn«, 1929), »Sladek, der schwarze Reichswehrmann« (1930), »Italienische Nacht« (»Italian Night«, 1931), »Geschichten aus dem Wiener Wald« (»Tales from the Vienna Wood«, 1931), »Kasimir und Karoline« (»Kasimir and Karoline«, 1932) and »Glaube, Liebe, Hoffnung« (»Faith, Hope, and Charity«, 1932). After the National Socialists seized power, his plays were prohibited from being performed. From 1935-38 exile in Vienna, Budapest, Amsterdam and in Paris where he wrote »Don Juan kommt aus dem Krieg« (»Don Juan Comes Back From the War«,1936), »Figaro läßt sich scheiden« (»Figaro Gets a Divorce«, 1937), »Der jüngste Tag« (»Judgement Day«, 1938) as well as the novels »Jugend ohne Gott« (»The Age of the Fish«, 1937) and »Ein Kind unserer Zeit« (»A Child of our Time«, 1938). In addition to a far-sighted criticism of the rise of fascism, his work is characterized by precise milieu studies and unmasking of the German petty bourgeoisie in times of economic depression.
In 1931 he was awarded with the Kleist Prize. Ödön von Horváth died in Paris in 1938.

Schaubühne:

Kasimir and Karoline, Direction: Jan Philipp Gloger (2014)
Zeppelin, based on texts by Ödön von Horváth, Direction: Herbert Fritsch (2017)
Italienische Nacht, Direction: Thomas Ostermeier (2018)
Youth without God, Direction: Thomas Ostermeier (2019)