Doron Rabinovici

2002 Max Kade Writer-in-residence

The Israeli-Austrian author and historian Doron Rabinovici was born in Tel Aviv in 1961. As a Jewish child of Vilna, Poland (now the capital of Lithuania), his mother miraculously survived the Nazi genocide, ultimately settling in Israel. His father, a Romanian Jew, fled to what was then Palestine, and it was in Israel that his parents met. At the age of three, Doron immigrated with his family to Vienna, which became their permanent place of residence. Until 1985 Rabinovici’s political focus was largely confined to the Israeli-Arab situation. A member of the Jewish youth movement and congregation (Kultusgemeinde), his work included fostering efforts towards the return of the occupied territories. The group also confronted Austrian anti-Zionist sentiment by informing Austrians of leftist factions within Israel. With the emergence of Kurt Waldheim and an overtly anti-Semitic political platform, Rabinovici’s concentration and efforts shifted to the domestic political arena. As he puts it: “One could say that Waldheim is the reason that I became an Austrian.” Rabinovici is a founder of the leftist Club Neues Österreich (New Austria) and one of the leading organizers and public speakers of the February 2000 demonstrations. Attended by 300,000 people, these demonstrators took a stand against the popular racist and nationalist policies and rhetoric of Jörg Haider’s extreme rightist Freedom Party (FPÖ). Rabinovici played and continues to play an active, vocal role as both a political dissident and a living reminder against the anti-Semitic elements of Austria’s historical and cultural heritage. His present political foci include the recognition of and resistance to the current resurgence of racism, xenophobia, nationalism, and conservatism in countries of the European Union (EU). During the years of his political activism, Rabinovici was also a student at the University of Vienna. Originally pursuing medicine, he also studied psychology, ethnology, and history. In 1986 history became his prime academic interest. In the early nineties he began research on his dissertation on the controversial topic about the role of the Jewish Council in Vienna under the National Socialist extermination policies against the Jews. This work culminated in the historical treatise Instanzen der Ohnmacht. Wien 1938-1945. Der Weg zum Judenrat (“Agencies of Powerlessness: The Jewish Council in Vienna 1938-1945”). The work maintains that the Jewish Council held no actual institutional power within National Socialist political and administrative structures, but was, rather, either a token agency or was intentionally misinformed by Nazi functionaries. Therefore the members of the Jewish Council cannot be held accountable as agents of the Holocaust. Beginning in 1995, Doron Rabinovici also began writing Suche nach M. (The Search for M), a novel that focuses on the lives of the children of survivors of the Holocaust and their particular constellations of identity, guilt and memory. He is also the author of a collection of political essays, Credo und Credit, various editorial and journalistic essays, and short stories. As his literary influences, Rabinovici mentions Bertolt Brecht, Max Frisch, Walter Serner (one of the founders of the Dadaist movement) and Leo Perutz, among others. He sees literary and journalistic writing as two interrelated, inseparable critical and creative activities. “When I invent a story, I don’t intend for it to be merely a flower, that doesn’t interest me, that’s not me. Rather, what interests me would be that what I write is absolutely necessary…so that afterwards I have the feeling that this book had to be written.” He prefers writing fiction and is currently working on his second novel set in Vienna against the background of contemporary immigration. As students in his seminar, we appreciate Doron’s honesty and openness in sharing his experiences and views. His off-the-cuff anecdotes and his knowledge of historical and contemporary events along with engaging readings of his work have made the class both enjoyable and informative. Above all, we will treasure Doron’s generosity with his time after class, in the true Wiener Kaffeehaustradition.

by Ethan Bair, Anne Royer, and Jacob Teter

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Books by Doron Rabinovici:

-Papirnik: Stories (1994)
-Suche nach M.: Roman in zwölf Episoden (1997)
-The Search for M.: Translated and with an afterword by Francis M. Sharp (2000)
-Instanzen der Ohnmacht: Wien 1938-1945: der Weg zum Judenrat (Agencies of Powerlessness: The Jewish Council in Vienna 1938-1945) (2000)
-Österreich: Berichte aus Quarantänien (Austria: Reports from “Quarantania”) Eds. Isolde Charim and Doron Rabinovici (2000)
-Republik der Courage: wider die Verhaiderung (Brave Republic: Against Haiderization)Eds. Robert Misik and Doron Rabinovici (2000)
-Credo und Credit: Einmischungen. Essays (2001)

He has also contributed to an anthology, Contemporary Jewish Writing in Austria, ed. by Dagmar Lorenz (Lincoln: U Nebraska P, 1999). In Germany, he publishes primarily with the prestigious Suhrkamp Verlag.

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Most recently, Doron Rabinovici was awarded the prestigious Jean Améry Prize (December 2002).