# Geza Silberer

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**Gustav A. "Geza" Silberer** (1 December 1876 – 5? 8? April 1938) was an Austrian journalist and author of Jewish extraction[1] born in [Werschetz](/source/Werschetz) who wrote in [German](/source/German_language) under the pseudonym **Sil-Vara**.

## Biography

Gustav Silberer (aka G. Sil-Vara) was a journalist for *[Neue Freie Presse](/source/Neue_Freie_Presse)* and a colleague of [Theodor Herzl](/source/Theodor_Herzl),[2] who was impressed by his work and provided him with encouragement early on in his career.[3]

## Literary career

In 1912, while living in London, he and [Charles H. Fisher](/source/Charles_H._Fisher) adapted *[The Playboy of the Western World](/source/The_Playboy_of_the_Western_World)* as *Der Held des Westerlands*[4] and had it published by Georg Müller and performed at [Max Reinhardt](/source/Max_Reinhardt)'s Kammerspiele, Berlin, at the Neue Wiener Bühne in Vienna and at the Stadttheater in [Münster](/source/M%C3%BCnster,_Tyrol).[5]

A contemporary review of *Englische Staatsmänner* states that it was clear he had spent time in [London](/source/London) and had close relations with the political figures he describes. The [Vossische Zeitung](/source/Vossische_Zeitung) "Aunt Voss" observes that readers would agreeably surprised to find Asquith, Curzon, Viscount Grey and Churchill treated "not as enemies but as men".[6] His play *Ein Tag: Lustspiel in Drei Akten*, adapted by theatre director [Philip Moeller](/source/Philip_Moeller) as *Caprice*, had a successful run in 1929 at New York's [Theatre Guild](/source/Theatre_Guild), then elsewhere.[7]

His play *Mädchenjahre einer Königin* about the young [Queen Victoria](/source/Queen_Victoria) was the basis of several movies of the same name in 1936 and 1954[8]

Several of his books are still in print: *Ein Wiener Landsturmmann* and *Ein Tag: Lustspiel in Drei Akten.*

## Published works

- *Londoner Spaziergänge* 1914
- *Ein Wiener Landsturmmann: Kriegstagebuchaufzeichnungen Aus Galizien* 1915
- *Englische Staatsmänner* (1916) biographies of Asquith, Balfour, Chamberlain, Churchill, Curzon, Bonar Law, Kitchener, Lloyd-George, Rosebery, Parnell and others.
- *Die Gitana. Szenen aus dem spanischen Leben um 1830* 1916 illustrated by Erhard Amadeus
- *Briefe aus der Gefangenschaft* 1917
- *Es geht weiter: Eine Nacht und ein Epilog* 1919
- *Warum kommt der Friede nicht zustande* 1932

### Plays

- *Der Held der westlichen Welt* or *Der Held des Westerlands* adaptation (with Charles H. Fisher) of [J. M. Synge](/source/J._M._Synge)'s *[The Playboy of the Western World](/source/The_Playboy_of_the_Western_World)* 1912
- *Ein Tag: Lustspiel in drei Akten* 1914
- *Mädchenjahre einer Königin. Komödie in acht Bildern* 1933

## Awards and commemoration

Silvaraweg, a street in [Döbling](/source/D%C3%B6bling), Vienna was named for him in 1966.[9]

## References

1. ["Anniversaries and other celebrations United States"](http://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/1938_1939_5_YRAppendices.pdf). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20100613154705/http://ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/1938_1939_5_YRAppendices.pdf) 2010-06-13 at the Wayback Machine.

1. Gelber, Mark H. (July 24, 2014). [*Melancholy Pride: Nation, Race, and Gender in the German Literature of Cultural Zionism*](https://books.google.com/books?id=B11bDAAAQBAJ&dq=G.+Sil+Vara+herzl&pg=PA279). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 978-3-11-095608-5. – via Google Books.

1. At Herzl's Grave, The Burial of a Leader - and Other Memories, G. Gil-Vara, Theodor Herzl: A Memorial, ed. Meir W. Weisgal, New York, 1929

1. Fisher, Charles H.; Silberer, Geza; Synge, J. M. (1 January 1912). ["Der Held des Westerlands: (The playboy of the western world) Komödie in drei Akten."](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL15206553W/Der_Held_des_Westerlands). G. Müller. Retrieved 30 July 2016. – via The Open Library.

1. [Bourgeois, Maurice *John Millington Synge and the Irish theatre* p.18](http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/maurice-bourgeois/john-millington-synge-and-the-irish-theatre-ruo/page-18-john-millington-synge-and-the-irish-theatre-ruo.shtml)

1. ["Germany Day by Day" *Kalgoorlie Argus* 7 November 1916 p.1,2](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33609928)

1. ["New comedy at Independent" *Sydney Morning Herald* 8 January 1944 p.11](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17874518)

1. ["The Story of Vickie"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047259/). 10 October 1955. Retrieved 30 July 2016. – via IMDb.

1. ["Döblinger Strassennamen Herkunft und Bedeutung S"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072417/http://www.heurigenkaffee.at/strassennamen/s.htm). Archived from [the original](http://www.heurigenkaffee.at/strassennamen/s.htm) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Geza Silberer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geza_Silberer) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geza_Silberer?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.