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Found History:  Europe through the eyes of Eman Robitschek, 1916 to 1929

by Charles M. Nelson

Originally given as a mini-course, these pages are now being expanded into an extended presentation. Initially, I will concentrate on providing each of the cards with a German transcription, English translation and a few brief notes. More extensive interpretation will follow thereafter. The Card Index provides thumbnails and links to all of Robitschek cards on this website.

 Everything in BLUE is an active link.

= RECENTLY ADDED MATERIAL.


Presentation description:         eMail the presenter
Academy for Life Long Learning ~ Fall/Winter Semester, 2013/14 ~ Eman Robitschek - prose stylist, satirist, poet, industrialist, Jewish philosopher. He created a fourteen-year graphic postcard blog. Though scattered, over 200 survived to be found on eBay. Eman is our window on Viennese culture, the changing role of women in early 20th Century Europe, Jewish moral philosophy, and the rise of the Pan-Germanic movement that led to the Nazis. By turns, he becomes the Patriot, Wunderrabi, Krampus (devil), Conductor of "Future Music", even Clio the Muse of History - all to more effectively play the wise man or the fool, the tragic hero or innocent. Emon reveals a rift in European society similar to the "culture wars" rift in our own - a lesson we would be wise to heed.

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 LAST UPDATE: 06-21-2014
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NEW CARD ADDED 06/21/14

TRANSLATION & INTERPRETATION
   Sample Card No. 1
   Sample Card No. 2
   Sample Card No. 3
   Sample Card No. 4
   Sample Card No. 5
   Sample Card No. 6

LABELS & STAMPS
   History/Meaning in Charity System
   Political Associations
     Turnverein

ROBITSCHEK FAMILY
   Memories of Family Life PDF 260k

BIOGRAPHIES
   Kasimir Badeni
   Paul Heyse
   Franz Joseph
   Ruth Kluger Interview
   Gottfried Semper
   Johannes Vermeer
     The Allegory of Painting

POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS
   Austrian Deutscher Schulverein
   German South Moravia
   Austrian Turnerbund
   Turnerbund in the USA

SYMBOLS
   Iron Cross
   Deutcher Schulverein Arms
   Deutscher Turnerbund

HISTORIES
   House of Habsburg
   WWI Time Line    
   Stockholm Conference  
         Short Version
         Long Version
   Southern Netherlands
   Tutonic Knights

THE KRAMPUS
   Krampus by Wiki
   The Krampus Website
   The Krampus of Graz
   Krampus of St. Anton, Arlberg Pass

Much more to come

 

SELECTED TOPICAL LINKS

The Robitschek Family
 Dramatis Personae Material added 06/20/14
 Curious Links
    To Vermeer's The Allegory of History
    Steckenpferd = Dada as in Dadaism
Robitschek the Man
 A man called Eman
 Death of his son, Gerhart   Grief & Acknowledgement
 Eman the sales manager
 Eman the banker? gives warning
 The man with a bad leg
 Personal fortunes in WWI
 Eman on reading & interpreting Eman
 Death of his daughter, Frida
Reflecting the Fragmentation of European society
Robitschek the Reluctant Patriot
 The Loyal Austrian vs. the Loyal German
    The failure of empire
 Germanic culture at the heart of European culture
    A nod to Gottfried Semper
 Jewish intellectual tradition within Germanic culture
 The Olympian view of patriotism
 Doesn't understand place of Jews in European society
 Bitter disappointment in Austrian & European Society
 Retreat into Jewish tradition
 Support for the 1917 Stockholm Peace Conference
The Consequences of War
 Go to war for "soft, white skin".
 Rebuilding the economy begins with food for all.
 What Spring, Death & the Draft have in common
 The Peace economy vs. the War economy
 Diplomats in the service of Hell
 The fate of a father vs the fate of nations
 Per aspera ad astra
 Post war states fail their peoples.
Historical Commentaries Stemming mostly from WWI
  The Triple Alliance & Peaceful Axis 21 MAR 1916
 Italy in the Spirit of the Times 05 JLY 1917
 On the defeat of Russia 30 JLY 1917
 Uncle Sam performs surgery 06 JAN 1918
 Communism comes to Russia 25 JAN 1918
 Karl and Nicholas compared 16 FEB 1918
 1914 compared to 1924 28 JUN 1924
The Philosophical Voices of Eman Robitschek
 "Musings" and "Future Music"
    The Bureaucrat and the Liberal
    The Cannon and the Mayor
    The Worldly Lady and the Nun
   The Minister Prosecutor & the Lady Defense Lawyer
    The Chief Physician and the Visitor
    The Globetrotter and Mrs. Blaschke
    The War Professor and the Skeptic
    Emperor Carl and the Archduke Franz Ferdinand
    "He" and "She"
    John Bull and Uncle Sam
    The Moralist and the Worldly Man
    The Fox and the Hamster
    The Prosecuting Attorney and the Defender
 April Fools Jests
    01 APL 1916 The joke is on the Axis
    01 APL 1926 April Fools? Not at all!
 Playful Dailogues & Musings
    The Arab and the Jew
    The Simpleton and the Fool
    The Rooster and the Sun
    The Dejected and the Timid
    Anatole France and God
    The heavenly architect rebuilds Europe
    A king is cured in death
    On the grand stage of Europe
 Professor Mäuselochs (= Mouseholes)
    His Unintended Philosophy
 The Mirror of the World
    Clio, the Muse of History
 The poetry of Eman
    The crown of rulers
    Fidelity
    What cares Death?
    The spring of peace
    The call of truth
    Who laughs of the dreamer?
    On the nature of a Judge
    St. Nicholas & the man from Hell
    Goblin dreams
    3 Kings
    The light of hope
    A prayer for Karl & Zita
    Laugh on Clown!
 Confessions of the Krampus - a devil in Austrian society
    Saint Nicholas Sits Out the War - 1917
    The Krampus Resigns - 1924
    The Devil becomes a pilgrim - 1924
    The Devil Trains a Replacement - 1925
 Tales of the Wonderrabbi (Wonder Rabbi)
    The Purpose of Suffering
    The Wonderrabbi's Fortune & the Meaning of a Thaler
    Understanding Insanity
    When is a sin, a sin?
    Sayings of the Wonderrabbi
    Singing to the Gypsies
Eman's conflicted view of Women
    Vanity hiding bareness or life from the well of peace
    Renewing the World from the well of peace
    As Germania, the spirit of the German people
    Germania and the Spring of Peace
    Truth = a serpent bracelet on the arm of a woman
    Woman as a reflection of her husband
    As a foil for the Devil
    The Morality Judge & the Grisette
    Chased glances but naked busoms
    Minister Prosecutor & Lady Defense Lawyer
German Political Associations in Austrian Society
 The story of the German School Associations
 Bifurcation of German society/culture in 1882
 Rise of regional German associations
 Independence movements & post WWI referenda
 Rise of Pro-Nazi government in Austria
 Parallels Eman's retreat into his Jewish tradition
 Charitable Societies and the Semi-Postal System
 Royal, religious & political players of the charity game

Expect additions; there are more than 300 cards.


 

©2013-2014 by Charles M. Nelson
All rights reserved.