Peter Kien was born in January 1919 in Warnsdorf, Czechoslovakia, the son of a textile manufacturer, whose business collapsed during the economic crisis of 1929. He began painting whilst a student at the German Realschule in Brünn and continued his schooling in art at the Prague Academy where he studied under Willi Nowak. The situation in Czechoslovakia got steadily worse particularly for Jews after the annexation of Austria in March 1938. During this time he met Ilse Stransky. They married in September 1940. In December 1941 he was deported to Theresienstadt. In Theresienstadt he met many more artists and writers whilst working in the graphics department. He became increasingly active as a portrait artist and sketcher of fellow inmates. Above all he immersed himself in the theatrical and musical life of the camp. In July 1942 he was joined by his wife and January 1943, his parents. He wrote poetry and several plays and his libretto for the opera Der Kaiser von Atlantis oder der Tod dankt ab which had its premiere in Amsterdam in 1975. He was sent to Auschwitz on the last transport in October 1944 along with his wife and parents where he was murdered.
In addition there are 4 cassette tape recordings which have been housed in the Wiener Library tape section. They comprise the following: Tape 148 (29871) Peter Kien nicht vergessen, a programme produced for radio by Petra Kiener in which she juxtaposes her fascination for Peter Kien with her feelings for her father's role as an SS officer during the second world war (see 1365/6 for a transcript), post 1978, side A 39 minutes, side B 24 minutes; Tape 147 (Acc. No. 29870) Musik aus Theresienstadt- Ein dunkles kapitel der Musikgeschichte, a programme produced by Martin Fogt for German radio, April 1990, 120 minutes; Tape 150 (Acc. No. 29873) The Artists of Terezin, producer and date unknown, 90 minutes (Accession Number 61409); Tape 149, (Acc. No. 29872) Libretto für Theresienstadt, a programme about Peter Kien and his music in Theresienstadt produced by Bernd Polster for WDR/ Köln in June 1990, 90 minutes See also The Wiener Library Press Cuttings (G15) for newspaper articles about Peter Kien's life and work.
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The arrangement of the papers is dictated by the fragmentary nature of the information regarding the provenance of individual deposits and by the order of relative importance. 1365/1 contains Peter Kien's original writings; 1365/2 contains Peter Kien's copy and transcript writings; 1365/3 contains copy personal documentation about Peter Kien and copies of sketches and writings arranged by source of deposit; 1365/4 contains publicity material relating to the opera, Der Kaiser von Atlantis oder der Tod dankt ab, 1365/5 contains biographical information about Peter Kien; and 1365/6 contains the transcript of Petra Kiener's radio programme Peter Kien nicht vergessen. Accrual: File of Petr Kien poetry from Beit Terezin, Givat Chaim ichud, Israel: 1365/7.
The papers in this collection are evidence of the literary and artistic talents of Peter Kien, a young Czech Jewish artist and writer and inmate of Theresienstadt who was later murdered at Auschwitz. The collection was begun in the mid 1980s on the initiative of Käthe Fischel, a cousin of Peter Kien, and consists of a number of separate deposits from different sources all of which apparently came via Käthe Fischel. The papers include original and copy manuscripts and transcriptions of Peter Kien's writings, publicity material relating to the performance of theDer Kaiser von Atlantis oder der Tod dankt ab, for which Peter Kien wrote a libretto, and various articles about his life and work.
Peter Kien papers