Maria Lazar came from an assimilated Jewish family; children’s book author Auguste Lazar was her older sister. She published her first novel, “Die Vergiftung” (The Poisoning), in 1920 and also made a name for herself as a theatre author. Robert Musil vouched for her talent and “rich imagination” (Wiener Theaterereignisse, 30 March 1921). From 1922 on, she wrote for the Viennese daily newspaper Der Tag and other newspapers with social democratic leanings. She also worked as a translator.

In June 1933, she accompanied Helene Weigel and Bertolt Brecht into exile in Denmark, since she no longer saw a future for herself in an increasingly Fascist Austria. Her novel “Leben verboten!” (No Right to Live), written when she was still in Vienna, could no longer be published in the German language; instead, an abridged version was published in England in 1934.

Lazar’s literary and journalistic output during her exile in Denmark was prolific, receiving a decisive boost from her mastery of the Danish and Swedish languages. She found publishing opportunities in Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland. In 1935, she wrote the novel “Die Eingeborenen von Maria Blut” (The Natives of Maria Blut). However, only one chapter was published in her lifetime, when it was printed in the Moscow literary journal “Das Wort“.

In September 1939, Lazar moved on to Sweden. Her Swedish citizenship, acquired through a previous marriage, secured her right of residence there. She did not return to Austria after the war ended. Terminally ill, she committed suicide in 1948.

Selected works:
Leben verboten (Novel, 1932)
Der Nebel von Dybern (Drama, 1933)
Die Eingeborenen von Maria Blut (Novel, 1935)

Further reading:
Birgit S. Nielsen: Maria Lazar. Eine Exilschriftstellerin aus Wien, in: Text & Kontext. Zeitschrift für germanistische Literaturforschung in Skandinavien, Jahrg. 11, Heft 1, 1983, S. 138-194.
Johann Sonnleitner: Provinzfaschismus „made in Austria“. Zu Maria Lazars Die Eingeborenen von Maria Blut. Als Nachwort in: Maria Lazar: Die Eingeborenen von Maria Blut, Wien: DVB Verlag, 2. Auflage 2021.