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Karl Kraus
(1874-1936)

Active: 1892-1936 in Austria, Continental Europe

By Andrea Kunne (Vrije University Amsterdam)

Indexing Data:

  • Active In: Austria, Continental Europe
  • Born In: Bohemia (now Czech Republic), Austria, Continental Europe
  • Activity: Essayist, Aphorist, Poet, Playwright, Cultural Critic, Literary Critic, Journalist, Satirist

Life, Works and Times

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Karl Kraus was born on 28 April 1874 in Jitschín in the north of Bohemia (today the Czech Republic), the ninth child of the Jewish paper manufacturer Jacob Kraus and his wife Ernestine, née Kantor. In 1877 the family moved to Vienna, where Karl Kraus after his graduation from high school in 1892 registered as a law student at the University. Between 1894 and 1896 he also studied philosophy, and German literature – but he left university without a degree. Instead of embarking on an academic career, he published his first critical articles in the journal Die Gesellschaft, among others. He tried his luck as an actor, stage-director and performer, and joined the members of the group Jung Wien [Young Vienna], which included He

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First published 04 September 2003

Citation: Kunne, Andrea. "Karl Kraus". The Literary Encyclopedia. 4 September 2003.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5411, accessed 20 November 2009.]