Schreiben in der Diaspora

Overview & Synopsis

The life of Hermann Grab (1903–1949), one of the leading figures of the last generation of German-language literature in Prague, offers insights into Prague Modernism, European music history, the establishment of sociology as an academic discipline during the Weimar Republic, and his exile in Paris and New York. Grab studied music theory under Alexander Zemlinsky and was connected to Arnold Schönberg’s circle; he was a close associate of Theodor W. Adorno and Gottfried Salomon. In 1935, his first, highly acclaimed novel, „Der Stadtpark“, was published. Four years later, returning to Prague from a concert tour in Paris was no longer possible. As one of Walter Benjamin’s last interlocutors, Grab recounted Benjamin’s flight through France and his death at the Spanish border before he himself escaped Europe and helped shape musical life in exile in Manhattan.