Hermann Broch

Hermann Broch (born Nov. 1, 1886, Vienna, Austria—died May 30, 1951, New Haven, Conn., U.S.) was an Austrian writer who achieved international recognition for his multidimensional novels, in which he used innovative literary techniques to present a wide range of human experience.

In 1927 Broch renounced his inheritance by selling his family’s textile mill and enrolling in the University of Vienna in order to pursue studies in physics, mathematics, and philosophy. His first major work was the trilogy Die Schlafwandler (1931–32; The Sleepwalkers), which traces the disintegration of European society between 1888 and 1918, depicting the triumph of the realist over the romanticist and the anarchist. Paralleling the historical process, the novel moves from a subtle parody of 19th-century realism through expressionism to a juxtaposition of many different forms, including poetry, drama, narrative, and essay.

Between 1934 and 1936 Broch worked on a novel that was published posthumously in 1953 as Der Versucher; three versions of it were later published together as Bergroman, 4 vol. (1969), and it has also appeared as Die Verzauberung (1976; Eng. trans. The Spell). This complex novel exemplifies his theory of mass hysteria in its portrayal of a Hitlerian stranger’s domination of a mountain village.

In 1938 Broch spent several weeks in a Nazi prison. His release was obtained through the international efforts of friends and fellow artists, including James Joyce. Later that year he emigrated to the United States.

One of Broch’s later works, Der Tod des Vergil (1945; The Death of Virgil), presents the last 18 hours of Virgil’s life, in which he reflects on his times, an age of transition that Broch considered similar to his own. Broch later turned from literature to devote himself to political theory and attempts to aid European refugees.

His other works include Die unbekannte Grösse (1933; The Unknown Quantity), Die Schuldlosen (1950; “The Innocents”), and numerous essays, letters, and reviews.