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Hellmut Butterweck, a long-standing contributor to the Austrian weekly newspaper Die Furche, has died at the age of 98. Butterweck, who was a writer, novelist, and playwright, was known for his decades-long commitment to documenting the Nazi era and warning against the resurgence of fascism and antisemitism.
Butterweck began writing for Die Furche in 1953, eventually joining the editorial staff full-time in 1969. He became particularly well-known for his contributions to the column Querschnitte, which he largely authored alone starting in 1971. Throughout his career, he produced a vast body of work, much of which was published anonymously. Before his death on September 9, Butterweck curated a collection of his previously anonymous columns, which the publication is now working to archive and attribute.
Throughout his life, Butterweck focused on the history of antisemitism. In his 2024 book, Der Ungeist der Stunde Null – Antisemitismus im befreiten Österreich, he analyzed how post-war political discourse in Austria often suppressed the reality of the Holocaust. He argued that a silence regarding Jewish victims emerged in the aftermath of 1945, which he described as a form of antisemitism that hindered the development of societal defenses against racism and nationalism.
Butterweck’s opposition to antisemitism remained a central theme in his later years. In October 2024, he published an open letter in Die Furche criticizing the Austrian PEN Club for signing a resolution by PEN Palestine. In the letter, he warned against what he termed a trivialization of the October 7 massacre and cautioned against forms of criticism that he believed undermined Israel’s right to exist.
In his final reflections, Butterweck characterized antisemitism as a persistent, virus-like phenomenon that continues to influence contemporary society. Die Furche continues to update its digital archives to include his extensive body of work, which spans reports, economic analyses, and editorials alongside his signature satirical glosses.
Article source: www.furche.at | Image credit: www.furche.at
