Kurt Offenburg (4 works by) (birth name: Kurt Dreifuss ) (a.k.a. Kurt Dreifuss Offenburg; Kurt Dreifus Offenburg )
Born: Established: 25 Nov 1898 Offenburg ; Died: 16 May 1946 Sydney
Gender: Male
Arrived in Australia: 1927
Consulted KK NFB SS 18/10/06 have no other info to go on. Wondering if title translated by Brennan is eligible? SS 12/10/06 have requested 'World in Dust' from Warehouse @QU SS 12/10/06 FOS: Libraries Australia: DOD 1946. Howarth, in his piece about Brennan translating Offenburg's novel (Southerly 10.4, 1949) says Off. died in 1947. SS 11/10/06 not listed in ADB or DNB revisted per KKs NFB list. JK 19/2/07 As result of further info - now eligible for BAL - 15/3/07 HamiltJudi@aol.com Sent Thursday, March 15, 2007 8:51 pm He was born in Offenburg in Germany on 25.11.1898 and took what was originally his pen name from his place of birth. His original surname was Dreifuss which I think he kept as a middle name. In Germany he worked for the Frankfurter Zeitung as a foreign correspondent. He and my grandmother (Olga Dreifuss nee Abramson) were married for only a year before divorcing and had a daughter Ruth. After living in Australia for some years he became an Australian citizen in November 1936 and married Dulcie Irene Cooke (known as Irene) in 1938. As well as writing he was a broadcaster for ABC and died on 16 May 1946 aged only 47 on his way to give a broadcast. The Public Library of Victoria holds some information about him (a memorial fund was set up after he died) and I also obtained copies of transcripts of some of his broadcasts from ABC but you probably don't need so much information. Hope this has been of help. Judith Other german works publ in 1920s on LibAust + Karlruhe/OCLC + front of World in Dust. KK decision JK 15/3/07 - Also consulted IP JK 20/3/07 To IP for downloading - KK has seen. JK 20/3/07

BiographyHistory

Kurt Offenburg was a newspaper correspondent who travelled in many parts of the world, including the United States and Asia. In Germany he worked for the Frankfurter Zeitung as a foreign correspondent. After living in Australia for some years he became an Australian citizen in November 1936 and married in 1938. He was a broadcaster for the ABC and has also written non-fiction books about the Second World War including Does Russia Matter? (1941) and Japan at Our Gates : the Thermopylae of Australia is at Singapore (1942). All titles were published by Gayle Publishing, Sydney. VSL holds a Kurt Offenburg Memorial Collection of books.

Notes

  • A Biographical Register 1788-1939: notes from the name index of the Australian Dictionary of Biography (1987) erroneously lists his date of birth as 1899.