Join us for an evening with and for Egon Schwarz in celebration of his 85th birthday. The celebrant will relate stories from his life and read from his autobiography. In addition, the evening will hold numerous surprises for Schwarz and the audience, including musical gifts, sung by Michael Weinberg, the presentation of Schwarz auf Weiss. Ein transatlantisches Würdigungsbuch für Egon Schwarz (Black on White: A Transatlantic Celebration of Egon Schwarz; Vienna: Czernin Verlag), and honors from the Austrian government. Born on August 8, 1922 in Vienna to Jewish parents, Schwarz was not yet sixteen in March 1938 when the National Socialists assumed power in Austria, turning his life upside down. After many harrowing experiences and via circuitous routes, the family arrived in South America. Schwarz subsequently moved to the U.S. and launched on a career as one of the United States' most respected Germanists. Egon Schwarz is Professor Emeritus of German and Rosa May Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Humanities at Washington University, where he taught for 32 years. In addition to his many scholarly publications, he has written an autobiography, which first appeared under the title Keine Zeit für Eichendorff. Chronik unfreiwilliger Wanderjahre (Refuge: Chronicle of a Flight from Hitler) and a travel book, Die japanische Mauer. Ungewöhnliche Reisegeschichten.

September 17 | 7:30 pm | Embassy of Austria
Admission free. RSVP required: 202-895-6776 or via e-mail
Light refreshments will be served.