Heimat, bist du

Elisabeth Orth reads...

Paula von Preradović: Wiener Chronik, 1945
Music by Karl Schiske, Grete von Zieritz a. o.

During the winter of 1944-45, Austria’s fate was still very much undecided. It was during this time that Paula von Preradović, who would later be known as the lyricist of the Austrian national anthem, began to write down thoughts and poems in her war diary. Von Preradović’s intention was to create something from this tremendous historical turning point that she could leave to her sons. She had no thoughts of publishing her work nor was she even sure whether she would survive and so these moving texts weren’t discovered until much later. They are now to be read for the styriarte, accompanied by music also originating in 1945, a truly fateful year for Austria.