Steiner, Paul, 1913-1996

Paul Steiner was born in 1913 in Vienna. He aspired to be a freelance writer and philosopher in his early twenties and was an acquaintance of the famous Austrian philosopher Egon Friedell. However, he returned to school to receive his Matura (high school diploma) in 1936 to then take a different path and study law. He finished his studies in January 1938 while working on his poetic writings on the side. Additionally, whilst studying law, he worked for the publishing house of the newspaper Moderne Welt in Vienna to support his mother and himself.

In November 1938, he managed to get a visa for America. In January 1939 he visited his mother in Brussels. After a short stay in London in February 1939 he immigrated via New York City to Akron, Ohio where he arrived in March 1939. In July 1941, he moved to New York City, where he rented a room from Marianne Esberg's family. He married Marianne on February 14, 1942. Their son Tommy was born in May 1943. His mother committed suicide shortly before she was meant to be deported into a concentration camp. Steiner, however, managed to get an American visa for his brother Franz.

Paul Steiner became the head of the American subsidiary of Adprint, a British publisher, called Chanticleer Press. In 1952, when the British company wanted to sell the subsidiary, Paul Steiner bought Chanticleer Press. He died in 1996.

From the guide to the Paul Steiner Collection, 1926-1946, bulk 1933-1945, (Leo Baeck Institute)