Wilhelm Stepper-Tristis

Wilhelm Stepper-Tristis (born Wilhelm Stepper; his given name is also rendered as Vily, Vilmos or William; 3 September 1899 – after 1941) was an Austro-Hungarian, Hungarian and Romanian novelist, journalist, and literary critic. He wrote his works in German, Hungarian and French. A communist militant during his youth, he actively supported the Hungarian Soviet Republic, and, during the interwar period, was a prominent figure in the cultural life of Timișoara city. His first novel, Brom-Delirium, was a critically acclaimed portrayal of Bohemian lifestyles.

An anti-fascist, Stepper-Tristis traveled extensively throughout Europe, preaching pacifism and drawing support for the League of Nations. He lived for a while in France, but was mostly reduced to homelessness and vagabondage. He joined the French Resistance following the occupation of France by Nazi Germany, was captured, and probably died in a concentration camp.

Early years

Born in Timișoara (known then as Temeschwar or Temesvár), Wilhelm Stepper-Tristis belonged to an old family of Jewish merchants.[1][2] Soon after receiving his matura at age 18, he enrolled in the Austro-Hungarian Army and took part in World War I, being sent to the Italian Front.[2] He fought in the Battles of the Isonzo, and specifically in the Battle of Gorizia.[2]

Travels

In 1919, in the wake of the Aster Revolution, Stepper-Tristis was in Budapest, where he became a supporter of the Communist Party of Hungary.[2] As the Romanian Army ended the communist experiment later in the year, he moved out of the city and embarked on a lengthy and perilous voyage through regions of Central Europe.[2] Eventually, he regained his native Timișoara, which was by then part of Greater Romania.[2] Stepper-Tristis started work for local German- and Hungarian-language newspapers, and became known inside the community of writers and artists.[2] He was a popular figure in the society of Timișoara, and a celebrated raconteur.[2]

Literary society

Fascinated with France, he frequently traveled there and was fully integrated into the Bohemian society of Paris.[1][2] This period was the subject of Brom-Delirium (1926), which was published in Timișoara and won the praise of modernist writers in Budapest.[2] By 1928, he was the head of a literary society (the "Artists' Club"), which grouped together intellectuals from all backgrounds—members of the German, Hungarian, Jewish and Serb communities alike.[1][2]

Activist activities

In 1930, Stepper-Tristis decided to permanently leave Romania and move to France.[1][2] Beginning in 1933, at signs that a war was under preparation, he became an activist in support of the League of Nations.[2] Trying to return to Romania,[3] Stepper spent time in Fascist Italy, passing through Verona and Milan—he was arrested there after being found sleeping on the streets, lacking any income.[4] Released soon after, he later claimed to have unsuccessfully asked the Italian authorities to escort him to the Yugoslavian border.[5]

Later years

Shortly before World War II erupted, he was again imprisoned in Nice for a duration of 30 days—it was then that he authored his second novel, Mon espace vital.[2][6] The volume was an account of his years as a drifter, and was published soon after in Paris.[2][6] After the fall of France, Stepper-Tristis joined the Resistance.[1][2] As the novel shows, he was romantically involved with a Frenchwoman named Clémence, who had promised to wait for him to be set free.[6]

Little is known about his life after that point, but it is clear that, in 1941, he was captured by the Gestapo at a train station in Lyon.[1][2] He was soon after sent to a concentration camp.[1][2] No proof of his death was found.[1][2]

Stepper's work was ignored in post-war Romania, although texts by him were first translated and republished in 1986 Bucharest-based magazine Secolul 20.[2] Additional interest for his literature was raised by literary critic and West University professor Adriana Babeţi.[7]

Notes
  1. (in French) Adriana Babeţi, "Provincia inter confinia: Un paradis aux confins, le Banat", in Cultures d'Europe centrale, No 4, at the University of Paris IV: Paris-Sorbonne, Centre interdisciplinaire de recherches centre-européennes; retrieved August 2, 2007
  2. Babeţi, biographical note to "Spaţiul meu vital", p.324
  3. Stepper-Tristis, "Spaţiul meu vital", p.325
  4. Stepper-Tristis, "Spaţiul meu vital", p.330-335
  5. Stepper-Tristis, "Spaţiul meu vital", p.335-336
  6. Susan M. Dolamore, French Autobiographical Writing 1900-1950: an Annotated Bibliography, Tamesis Books, London, 1997, p.349. ISBN 0-7293-0396-9
  7. (in Romanian) Cornel Ungureanu, "De la o enciclopedie la alta", in Revista 22, Nr. 719, December 2003

References
  • Wilhelm Stepper-Tristis, "Spaţiul meu vital" (Romanian translation of Mon espace vital), fragment published in Adriana Babeţi, Cornel Ungureanu, Europa Centrală. Memorie, paradis, apocalipsă, Polirom, Iaşi, 1998, p. 324-336. ISBN 973-683-131-0
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