Hermann Menkes was a well-known writer, journalist and literary critic. Born in Brody in 1865, Menkes graduated from the departments of literary studies at the universities of Vienna and Berlin before beginning his work as a journalist at numerous Austrian and German papers, including Wiener Allgemeine Zeitung, Wiener Rundschau and the Frankfurter Zeitung. In 1907, Hermann became the editor of Neues Wiener Journal, before transferring to the same position at Czernowitzer Tagblatt a few years later. Nevertheless, Hermann was more successful as a literary critic and journalist than as a writer. Most of his stories, including Eine Erinnerung, Aus dem galizischen Ghetto, Die bessere Welt and Die Jüdin Leonora are dedicated to depicting the everyday life of residents of the Galician ghetto and are therefore typical examples of the ghetto literature genre. Menkes was acquainted with Theodor Herzl, with whom he corresponded for some time, even though Menkes maintained strong pro-Austrian liberal views and often criticized Herzl’s political ideas. Hermann Menkes died in 1931 in Vienna.
Published works:
- Menkes, Hermann. Die Jüdin Leonora.Wien: Renaissance.
- Menkes, Hermann. Anna. Aus dem galizischen Getto. Allgemeine Zeitung des Judentums. #6, 1891, 322-324. # 7 1891 334-335.
- Menkes, Hermann. Eine Erinnerung. Allgemeine Zeitung des Judentums. #6, 1891 71-72.
- Menkes, Hermann. Skizzenbuch eines Einsamen. Pierson, 1891.
Information taken from
- Glasenapp, Gabriele von. Horch, Hans Otto. Ghettoliteratur: eine Dokumentation zur deutsch-jüdischen Literaturgeschichte des 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhunderts. Tübingen: Niemeyer, 2005.
Software Development