Wien wörtlich

work by Weinheber

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July 23, 2026

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"Wien wörtlich" is a 1935 work by Austrian poet Josef Weinheber, translated as "Vienna Revealed in Words." In this collection, Weinheber adopts the persona of a "people's singer," exploring the essence of Vienna. The work is representative of Weinheber's technical mastery and his use of diverse poetic styles, which made him a favored poet of the Nazis due to his ideas about poetic language embodying the spirit of the Volk. Weinheber's other notable works include "Das Waisenhaus" (The Orphanage) and "Adel und Untergang" (Nobleness and Extinction). He died by suicide in 1945 as Soviet forces approached Vienna.1

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Josef Weinheber
Other important works included Wien wörtlich (1935; “Vienna Revealed in Words”), which cast the poet in the role of the people’s singer; O Mensch, gib acht (1937; “Hearken, Ye Men”), a series of vignettes and songs using folk tunes; and Zwischen Göttern und Dämonen (1938; “Between Gods and Demons”),…
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Other important works included Wien wörtlich (1935; “Vienna Revealed in Words”), which cast the poet in the role of the people’s singer; O Mensch, gib acht (1937; “Hearken, Ye Men”), a series of vignettes and songs using folk tunes; and Zwischen Göttern und Dämonen (1938; “Between Gods and Demons”),…
Read More