Werfel, Franz (1890-1945)

Werfel, Franz (1890-1945)

Austrian poet, novelist, and playwright, born at Prague of Jewish parents, best known for his works expressing a semi-mystical belief in the brotherhood of man, the most outstanding being the best-selling novels The Forty Days of Musa Dagh (Die Vierzig Tage des Musa Dagh; 1934), concerning an Armenian siege during World War I, and The Song of Bernadette (Das Lied von Bernadette; 1942), the life of a French saint.

Other works include Weltfreund ( 1911), Wir Sind ( 1913), and Einander ( 1915), books of poetry; Verdi ( 1924); The Man Who Conquered Death ( 1927), a translation of Der Tod das Kleinbürgers; Paulus unter den Juden (Paul Among the Jews; 1928), a tragedy; Goat Song (Bockgesang; 1926), a play; Juarez and Maximilian ( 1926), a play; Class Reunion ( 1929), a translation of Der Abituriententag; The Pure in Heart ( 1932), a translation of Barbara, oder die Frömmigkeit ( 1929); The Pascarella Family ( 1932), a translation of Die Geschwister von Neapel; The Eternal Road (Der Weg der Verheissung; 1936), a Biblical pageant; Hearken unto the Voice (Höret die Stimme; 1938); Embezzled Heaven (Der Veruntreute Himmel; 1940).

Werfel was in France during World War II when that country was invaded by the German army ( 1940), and he took refuge in the church of St. Bernadette. It is said that he vowed to dedicate a literary work to the saint if he should make his escape. He eventually escaped to the U.S., and the successful Song of Bernadette was announced to have been inspired by his experience. His last work, The Star of the Unborn ( 1945), is a vast and fantastic panoratna of the experiences of F. W. (═ Franz Werfel) in a distant future when only the Jews and the Catholics from among our denominations will have survived.