Otto Nebel
Was die Fremdenüberwachung im Lande betrifft, so bestehen drei Prüfstellen, von denen jede einzelne Entscheide fällen kann. Die oberste ist die eidgenössische, die nächstfolgende die des Staates Bern, die dritte die der Stadt Bern. In das höchst verzwickte Herrschergetriebe dieser drei miteinander amtenden Behörden ist unser Geschick geraten. […] Die Stadt kann ablehnen, was der Staat erlaubt hat und umgekehrt. Auch die Eidgenossenschaft kann ablehnen, was der Staat Bern oder die Stadt Bern erlaubt haben usw. Die tollsten Möglichkeiten bleiben offen, wie man sieht.
[With regard to the surveillance of aliens in this country, there are three inspection agencies, each of which can make decisions independently. The highest is the federal agency, the next is Bern’s cantonal agency, the third is the agency of the city of Bern. Our fates have become entangled in the highly intricate mechanisms of these three co-ruling bodies. […] The city can refuse what the canton has authorised, and vice versa, while the Confederation can reject what the city or canton of Bern has approved, and so on. This leaves us with a wonderful range of opportunities, as you can see. (trans. ed.)]
Otto Nebel’s notes on the structure of the Aliens Police
| Born | on 25 December 1892 in Berlin, Germany |
|---|---|
| Died | on 12 September 1973 in Bern, Switzerland |
| Exile | Switzerland |
| Profession | Writer, Painter, Actor |
Berlin-based writer and painter Otto Nebel and his wife Hilda Nebel emigrated to Bern, Switzerland, on 15 May 1933, shortly after the National Socialists came to power. He remained there until his death in 1973. As an exponent of a form of expressionist word art with decidedly pacifist overtones, the result of his disturbing personal experiences during World War I (his anti-war satire Zuginsfeld is a prime example of this), and as an abstract artist influenced by Herwarth Waldens Sturm school, Nebel believed that the events which took place in the spring of 1933 placed him at grave risk: „Kandinsky and Klee, both of whom I was linked with through Sturm, were dismissed from the Bauhaus. The threats uttered against New Art also concerned me. […] We were constantly observed and spied on by the newly appointed janitor. We no longer felt safe in our apartment.” Although there was no longer any physical danger or risk of arrest in Switzerland, the possibility of deportation hung over Nebel like a sword of Damocles for many years. The Nebels repeatedly had to leave Switzerland for weeks or months at a time. The artist lived from one “tolerance” and residence permit to the next, each of them valid for only a few months. Like most exiles in Switzerland, he was also subject to a ban on practising his profession; this was deliberately encouraged by the Schweizerischer Schriftsteller-Verein (Swiss Writers’ Association, SSV) and uncompromisingly enforced by the Swiss Federal Aliens Police. He was forbidden to show his works (except for one exhibition at the Kunsthalle in Bern in 1935), and until the end of the war, his literary activity was limited to introspective entries in his diary, which served as a form of reflection and consolation. Nebel’s most important literary work written in exile, the runic fugue Das Rad der Titanen (“The Wheel of the Titans”), was published in 1957.
Otto Nebel’s written legacy is housed in the Swiss Literary Archives in Bern. Otto Nebel’s legacy of artworks is owned by the Otto Nebel-Stiftung (Otto Nebel Foundation).
Selected works:
Zuginsfeld (Satire, 1920)
Unfeig (Runen-Fuge, 1919/1960)
Das Rad der Titanen (Runen-Fuge, 1957)
Further reading:
Braun, Bettina: „Gefrorene Zeit“. Das Exil und Exilwerk. In: Otto Nebel. Maler und Dichter. Hrsg. von Therese Bhattacharya-Stettler, Steffan Biffiger und Bettina Braun. Bielefeld/Berlin: Kerber Verlag 2012, S. 209–225.
Gallery
