Read again: “Australian Landfall”

Egon Erwin Kisch (April 29, 1885 – March 31, 1948), journalist and communist, was known worldwide as “the whirling reporter”. At the end of 1934, he was invited to the “All-Australian Congress Against War and Fascism” in Melbourne as a representative of European anti-fascists. The Australian government under Joseph Lyons, supported by the Attorney General and Lyons’ successor Robert Menzies, used police-state means to prevent Kisch’s entry and that of a guest from New Zealand to Australia.

Authentic reports on the situation in Nazi Germany were not welcome. The extensive papers, which are digitally available in the Australian National Archives, show that both state representatives, members of the racist and Nazi-friendly United Australia Party (UAP), feared a strengthening of opposition forces and the trade unions. After a trip to Germany as Prime Minister in 1939, Robert Menzies[1] Cf. "Mr. Menzies' 'Departed Friends'" in The Mirror Nr. 891 from 15.7.1939 page 17 via Trove. let the brown cat out of the bag: “History will call Hitler one of the great men of the century”.

Kisch knew how to help himself: On November 13, 1934, as the ship was about to leave Melbourne, he jumped off the ship from a height of five meters, breaking his leg in the process. After much back and forth and public debate, the authorities (in accordance with xenophibic laws) required him to take a language test. This was conducted in Gaelic Scots to ensure that Kisch would not pass. Kisch finally won his right to stay in Australia in court.

The peace congress was long over, but Kisch was already being passed around as a speaker by trade unionists and other organizations during the court proceedings. Friends protected him from persecution by the police and secret service. For example, he spoke in front of 18,000 people in Sydney’s Domain.

The Nazis had burned his books and the Jewish reporter had to flee. It was not until 1937 that he was able to publish his book about Australia. In the Federal Republic of Germany, he remained “forgotten for years”, as Wikipedia discreetly describes the boycott of left-wing authors during the Cold War. As far as can be ascertained, “Australian Landfall” was not published in the West until 1975. This was done with a license from the GDR, where Aufbau Verlag had edited a complete edition in collaboration with Kisch’s widow Gisela.

In “Australian Landfall”, Kisch not only tells (and with a lot of humor) about the failed attempt to prevent his speeches. As a traveling reporter, he collects impressions, knowledge and opinions. Kisch combines his experiences with historical background. Naturally, he presents his findings from his point of view and in his typical captivating style of literary reportage.

Even almost 90 years after its first publication, “Australian Landfall” is still worth reading and timeless.