Egon Kisch: Supplementing and Correcting the Biographical Record

When the colourful and boisterous Czech journalist Egon Erwin Kisch arrived on Australia's shores in November, 1934, he literally leapt into a whirlwind of publicity generated by his leg-breaking jump from ship to dock in Melbourne, a rash exploit undertaken to thwart the government's atte...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Labour history (Canberra) 2016-05 (110), p.161-171
Main Author: Terrence O'Keeffe
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anti-fascism
Attitudes
Bans
Biography
Career development
Communism
Communists
Confusion
Disclosure
Errors
Fascism
Government
Jewish ghettos
Journalism
Journalists
Kisch, Egon Erwin, 1885-1948
Labor history
Literary criticism
Memoirs
Periodicals
Publicity
RESEARCH REPORT
Supporters
World wars
Writers
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Summary:When the colourful and boisterous Czech journalist Egon Erwin Kisch arrived on Australia's shores in November, 1934, he literally leapt into a whirlwind of publicity generated by his leg-breaking jump from ship to dock in Melbourne, a rash exploit undertaken to thwart the government's attempt to ban him from attending an Australian pacifist and anti-fascist congress. When that effort failed the government moved to deport him. The ensuing legal battle, and Kisch's peregrinations throughout the country, resulted in daily newspaper coverage of the case for four months. Though he was widely known in Europe as the international star of "reportage," English translations of his work were few at the time. Changing Asia and Secret China, the first two of his books translated into English, were published in 1935, but were not available in Australia at the time of his visit. The man and the continent must have seemed equally exotic to each other upon their initial encounter. Despite the ongoing public discussion of his case, little was known about his earlier life. Both his Australian government opponents and his local supporters erred on the factual record and misrepresented his background. Through omissions and selective disclosure Kisch also contributed to the confusion. These lacunae and misrepresentations continued for several decades in Australia (and elsewhere) after Kisch's death in 1948. Ken Slater's 1979 article in Labour History, "Egon Kisch: A Biographical Outline," is a case in point.3 Slater noted some of these mistakes, was unaware of others, and made several himself.
ISSN:0023-6942
1839-3039
DOI:10.5263/labourhistory.110.0161