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Martin Pollack

マルティン・ポラック

Martin Pollack

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1944-05-23 （Bad Hall, Upper Austria, Austria）
Died
2025-01-17 age 80
Nationality
Austrian
Languages
German
Residence History
Amstetten, Lower Austria, Austria → Vienna, Austria

Career

Occupations
journalist, author, translator, Slavist, historian
Active Years
1968-2025

Education

University of Vienna
Polish Studies (Slavic studies)
Country: Austria
During secondary school he distanced himself from his family's Nazism and later specialized in Polish studies at the University of Vienna.

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Nach Galizien

1984 non-fiction (travel/history) 208 pages

An imaginative journey through the vanished world of East Galicia and Bukovina, combining travelogue and historical reflection.

memoryethnicity and culture of Eastern Europevanished communities

Der Tote im Bunker

2004 non-fiction (family history / historical investigation)

Combines family history and historical research around his father's violent death after WWII, prompting debates on memory and responsibility.

war responsibilityfamily perpetratorshistorical reconciliation

Die Frau ohne Grab

2019 non-fiction (family / history)

Through the life of his aunt, explores family history, wartime memory, and the entanglement of perpetration and victimhood.

memory and responsibilityfamily historywartime ethics

Kontaminierte Landschaften

2014 essays / non-fiction 120 pages

A collection of essays on history, memory, and the continuities and ruptures of landscapes.

geographies of memoryborderstraces of history

Topografie der Erinnerung

2016 non-fiction (history / essays) 172 pages

A work that compiles essays and research exploring the relationship between places and memory.

topography of memorycollective memoryvisualizing history

Kaiser von Amerika

2010 non-fiction (history)

Historical examination of migration from Galicia and resulting cultural ruptures.

migrationcultural identityhistory of Galicia

Bibliography

  • Nach Galizien (1984)
  • Des Lebens Lauf (1987)
  • Das reiche Land der armen Leute (1992)
  • Anklage Vatermord (2002)
  • Der Tote im Bunker (2004)
  • Sarmatische Landschaften (2005)
  • Von Minsk nach Manhattan (2006)
  • Warum wurden die Stanislaws erschossen? (2008)
  • Mythos Czernowitz (2008)
  • Kaiser von Amerika (2010)
  • In Your Face (2011)
  • Die Wolfsjäger (2011)
  • Kontaminierte Landschaften (2014)
  • Topografie der Erinnerung (2016)
  • Die Frau ohne Grab (2019)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
A sober style combining fact-based reportage and historical investigationNarration that links personal family history with academic research
Recurring Motifs
memory and forgettingborders and landscapesfamily perpetration and atonement

Legacy

Through works linking war memory and family history, he significantly influenced Austria's debate on WWII responsibility and reconciliation. He was acclaimed for blending factual inquiry with personal testimony.

Quotes

  • One of Austria's most distinguished public intellectuals.
    Source: IWM website — In Memoriam article (2025)

Trivia

  • Born into a family of strong Nazi supporters; much of his work confronted his family's past.
  • In secondary school his grandmother tried to bribe him to study German studies, but he chose Polish studies.
  • His 2004 book Der Tote im Bunker is considered to have helped create a new genre of WWII truth and reconciliation non-fiction in German.