Stefan Herz-Kestranek

Born:	05-19-1909
Faculty:	Law School
Category:	Deprivation of academic degree

Stefan HERZ-KESTRANEK (born on May 19^th, 1909 in Vienna as son of Eugen Herz (1875–1944, director of Alpine Montangesellschaft, president of the "Oesterreichische Industriellenkammer" and patron of the arts) and Ida Kestranek (1876-1963), had graduated from high school "Schottengymnasium" and begann to study law and graduated at the Law School at the University of Vienna  on May 13th, 1932 with the academic degree "Dr. iur.". He lived in Vienna's 4th district, Prinz-Eugenstrasse 30/I/5. He than decided to become an actor and went to Graz/Stryria, but soon returned and started to work as a lawyer in the steel industry. In 1934 he was adopted by his mother's brother, Hans Kestranek, to continue with the name "Kestranek" and called himself "Herz-Kestranek" since then. In times of Nazism he was deprived of his academic degree on April 1st, 1943 with the racist argument, that he as a Jew was not considered dignified an academic degree of a German university ('eines akademischen Grades einer deutschen Hochschule unwuerdig'). It took 12 years since the deprivation - and a very long time since the end of Nazism - until the regranting of the doctorate took finally place on May 15th, 1955.

>>> more detailled biography only in German - to be translated soon

Lit.: Archive of the University of Vienna, Rectorate GZ 151 ex 1942/43 (= S 127.9) ONr 12,13,74-80, Rectorate GZ 561 ex 1944/45 ONr. 15; graduation registry ("Promotionsprotokoll") IUR 1924-1939 Nr. 2327; Marie Therese Schwanda-Arnbom, Buegerliche, allzu buergerliche Begriffe... - Lebenserfahrungen in der Emigration am Beispiel von Dr. Stefan Herz-Kestranek, ungedr. phil. Diss. Wien 1994; Miguel Herz-Kestranek u. Marie-Therese Arnbom, Hg., "... also hab ich nur mich selbst!" Stefan Herz-Kestranek: Stationen eines grossbuergerlichen Emigranten 1938-1945, Wien u.a. 1997; POSCH 2009, 386; GAUGUSCH 2011, 1111f.; Albert Lichtblau, Der Fall Herz-Kestranek in der zweiten Generation, 2012; Miguel Herz-Kestranek im Interview mit Inge Dalma: "Ich habe staendig Heimweh", in: Zeitschrift der Auslandsoesterreicher  ROTWEISSROT 10/2005; WIKIPEDIA; Manfred Flügge, Stadt ohne Seele: Wien 1938, 2018.

Herbert Posch