Raoul Auernheimer (1876–1948): Viennese writer who survived Dachau

Bertha Czegka's caricature of Raoul_Auernheimer (1902)

Plot 48

Raoul Auernheimer (April 15, 1876 – January 6, 1948) was an Austrian-Jewish writer, dramatist, essayist, and literary critic best known for his work with Die Neue Freie Presse and his association with the Jung-Wien (Young Vienna) literary circle. He frequently wrote under the pseudonyms Raoul Heimern and Raoul Othmar.

Born in Vienna on April 15, 1876, Auernheimer earned a doctorate in law but devoted most of his life to literature and journalism. As a cultural critic and theater reviewer for Die Neue Freie Presse, he was a prominent voice in Viennese intellectual life during the early 20th century. His notable works include Kaiser Franz Joseph (1914), a reflective biography of the Habsburg monarch; Freundschaft mit Goethe (1926), a study of Goethe’s personal relationships; and Das neue Burgtheater (1923), a cultural examination of Vienna’s national theater.

Raoul Auernheimer's grave

He was closely associated with the Jung-Wien literary circle, which included figures such as Arthur Schnitzler, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Karl Kraus, Felix Salten, and Peter Altenberg. The group was known for its modernist aesthetics, psychological realism, and sharp critique of Viennese bourgeois society.

Following the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938, Auernheimer was arrested due to his Jewish heritage and interned at Dachau concentration camp. Although he was released later that year through outside intervention, the experience left a lasting mark on his life and work. He fled Austria and eventually immigrated to the United States, settling first in New York and later in California.

Autographed copy of "Casanova in Wien"

Auernheimer’s writing style—marked by irony, refinement, and cultural specificity—did not resonate with American audiences. His attempt to publish an account of his imprisonment at Dachau was rejected by American publishers for lacking sensationalism. Although a short excerpt appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, the complete narrative was only published posthumously in 1948 as part of his autobiography. Unable or unwilling to alter his literary style or adapt to topics with broader appeal in the American market, he remained largely unrecognized in exile and produced little in his final years.

Financially strained, Auernheimer relied on the support of his daughter and son-in-law, who had immigrated to California in the late 1920s. He spent his final years in Oakland, living modestly and in relative obscurity. He died on January 6, 1948, while planning a return to Austria—a journey he would never complete.

Sources: Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon, Jewish Virtual Library, Christian Science Monitor, Raoul Auernheimer: Ein Leben in Wien und im Exil by Elisabeth Lebensaft, Die Furche: Ein Buch gegen Hitler, Wikimedia Commons, and Lexikon Literatur in Österreich.