Dr. Otto L.Ortner
1190 Vienna, Iglaseegasse 44
Tel.: 320 33 71; Fax: 328 95 10
Mail: ottolortner@utanet.at
The homepage is presented in the English language because many relatives and friends of Dr. Ortner speak and read only English
Dr. Otto Ludwig Ortner was born on 12th February 1936 as the fourth of six children of Dr. Gustav Ortner – subsequently professor at the University of Vienna and member of the Austrian Academy of Science and his wife Dr. Felicitas, born Weiss von Tessbach, a family of German Bohemians and proprietors of the domain Pacov in the Czech Republic, which in 1413 gave shelter to the czech reformer Jan Hus. He spent much of his childhood in Pacov and was witness and victim of the cruel Holocaust perpetrated by the government of the avowed national socialist Edvard Benes in which Holocaust his uncle and godfather Otto was murdered and his mother injured for life.
In peaceful Vienna Otto L. Ortner attended the classical highschool in Fichtnergasse in his domestic district Hietzing where he acquired a solid knowledge of the classical languages Latin and Greek. He was active in the catholic youth movement and as an altar boy in many masses. His very musical mother introduced him and his brothers and sisters into the rich musical life of Vienna which he enjoyed all his life, although his love of good reading prevented him from practicing an instrument. Already at the classical highscool Otto L. Ortner translated bits of the Homeric epics into German hexameter, but his teachers accused him copy his works from a source they could not find. The first poem he published in the school newspaper gave rise ot the same accusation.
After graduation from highschool in 1954 Otto L. Ortner started the study of law at the University of Vienna and passed with distinction the first state exam. This success prompted him a Fulbright scholarship. The week before the crucial interview a young American came to his parents’ house in Hietzing, Vienna, and advised him to ask to be sent to Princeton. When he walked through the street from the New York youth hostel Y.M.C.A. to „Penn Station“ to board the train to Princeton he met this mysterious messenger again, who asked what he was doing in New York. He told him that his advice had succeeded and he was heading for Princeton. This messenger congratulated and wished him good luck. The year in Princeton was the happiest year in his life. He concentrated on the study of the making of the constitution of the United States and finished the year as the best of his class. The offer to stay on in Princeton and to graduate there he refused mainly for the reason that he did not want to benefit from charity.
Back in Vienna in 1957 he very quickly obtained a doctoral degree in law at the University of Vienna. His examiner in commercial law hired him on the spot. The firm had a number of Jewish clients who had survived the Holocaust and he worked for their compensation, a job that greatly stimulated his sensitivity for human rights.
During this apprenticeship he benefitted from a government scholarship to study international private law at the University of Paris. At that time his mind was made up to join the Jesuit order, but by the end of 1960
psychiatric problems arose which he described in his book „STALINGRAD-Princetonian confessions, a testament for Austria“, containing a short autobiography inspired by St. Augustin’s „Confessiones“.
Notwithstanding a diagnosis, which was just as false as catastrophic, Otto L. Ortner was allowed to continue his legal training in the law firm of Dr. Franz Schneider, whose Jewish wife was his loyal unwavering patroness. Hence Dr. Ortner’s interest and veneration of Judaism.
In 1967 Otto L. Ortner entered the Oesterreichische Kontrollbank A.G. and finished his first cycle of poetry „Nürnberger Galgenvogellieder“ and his tragedy „Ismene“ featuring the destiny of Germany under the Nazis. After the rectification of his psychiatric diagnosis in 1969 – the false
diagnosis excluded under ecclesiastic law marriage – Dr. Ortner married Gloria Mihsbichler, a lay theologian. Two children were born, Maria Christina in 1974 and Clemens in 1976.
Otto L. Ortner’s distance to the ruling parties in Austria forced him to pursue his career as an independent lawyer. Owing to his training with Dr. Schneider and his knowledge of English and French (Dr. Ortner is to this day an accreditet interpreter of these languages in the Austrian courts), he won the confidence of important clients in international trade and finance. He was also the correspondent of major law firms in London and New York.
As an Austrian patriot and friend of the United States of America Dr. Ortner was deeply hurt by the Waldheim scandal in 1986, to which he reacted by announcing in New York the publication of his book „Sonnenaufgang über Österreich“ (sunrise over Austria), which had as its aim the restoration of Austria’s national dynasty. The book is available through Amazon.com, which reissued it in 2006. This book was presented in Vienna under the auspices of the French embassy in 1990, but boycotted by the socialist party and all its dependents. But it had the consequence that he was the first and only catholic ever since the great schism in 1054 to be invited by the orthodox church in Russia to organize an ecumenical
burial celebration, with the assistance of Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran clergy, for the heretofore unburied victims of the battle of Stalingrad (1942-43). Notwithstanding the resistance of the Austrian government, which attempted to prevent the succes of his initiative, the burial service took place on the field of honor at Bolsaja-Rossoschka, near Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad), on September 20, 1992. Dr. Ortner contributed to the service the utensils of holy mass – a plate, a chalice (the „Stalingrad-Chalice“) and a spoon, all of solid silver. They are so big that the case can serve – and served – as a field altar. The mass utensils and their case are now in the museum of the Teutonic Order in Vienna. This event is also the subject of his second book, "Stalingrad: Princetonian Confessions, a Testament for Austria", also available through Amazon. The first purchaser of this book was the socialist federal chancellor who had tried to prevent Dr. Ortner’s achievement, Dr. Franz Vranitzky – Dr. Ortner has the copy of the invoice issued to Dr. Vranitzky. The Austrian government under the Chancellor Dr. Vranitzky of the socialist party and his deputy Alois Mock of the „Christian“ democrats failed.
Meanwhile, the victims of the battle of Stalingrad are all buried in the cemetery in Bolsaja - Rossoschka by the „Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V.“
The aforementioned publications – and many others of Dr. Ortner - provoked intense and unconcealed hostility from the party politicians who terrorize Austria. To protect his loyal clients against reprisals Dr.Ortner retired in 1998, aged 62. Since then he studied Czech – the language of his childhood – and catholic theology, first in the courses offered by the Archdiocese of Vienna, from which he graduated, and subsequently at the University of Vienna, where he passed the required examinations in the biblical subjects. This led to his book „Tempelgesänge – ein biblisches Gedicht, 1. Teil: Aus der hebräischen Bibel –dem ‚Alten Testament’ der Christen“, und 2. Teil: "Die Botschaft Jesu.“ The book is divided in two separate volumes, because one volume including the message of Christ no Jew is likely to buy – and Dr. Ortner wants to reach the Jewish community, being the protegé of a Jewish patroness, Dr. Anda Schneider, who most probably saved his life and to whom the book is dedicated.
On this website the story of Schloß Lichtenberg is displayed, because it is – next to Pacov and Princeton- crucial for Dr. Ortners biography. This castle, where Dr. Ortner spent most of his holidays, has aroused his interest in the history of the Holy Roman Empire to which this castle belongs. His training in the local district court of Saalfelden after graduation in 1959 provided him the knowledge that no teacher abusing his pupils sexually can remain undetected for a longer period of time in the district court of a small village. So Dr. Ortner defended the archbishop of Vienna Kard. Dr. Hans Hermann Groer plausibly against these accusations propagated by the Austrian state television in Goebbels-like manner –Kard. Groer was for thirty years a highly respected high school teacher in the village of Hollabrunn in lower Austria with an unblemished reputation. The editor of „Wiener Zeitung“ Dr. Andreas Unterberger published on 2nd April 2009 a summary of Dr. Ortner’s pleadings, that Kard. Groer was innocent –this editor was instantly dismissed by the socialist federal chancellor Werner Faymann and is now unemployed.
God save Austria!
P.S.: The first volume of Dr.Ortner’s new book „TEMPELGESÄNGE – ein biblisches Gedicht,1. Teil: Aus der hebräischen Bibel, dem ‚Alten Testament’ der Christen“ (in English: „TEMPLESONGS – a biblical poem, 1st part: From the hebrew bible, the ‚old testament’ of the Christians“ tries to convey to the reader in metric language the message of the hebrew bible as the breakthrough from despotism to a society of free citizens reposing on the obedience to the law. It is also meant to express a thank you to the Jewish community of Austria, which to the larger part was murdered or exiled.
It is available from WEIMARER SCHILLER –PRESSE, Großer Hirschgraben 15, D – 60311, Frankfurt a.M.
or from Amazon.de, respectively Amazon.com;
the second volume „TEMPELGESÄNGE – ein biblisches Gedicht, 2. Teil: The message of Jesus“ (in English: „TEMPLESONGS – a biblical poem, 2nd. Part: The message of Jesus“) transcribes in great textual fidelity selected parts of the Christian bible in metric language to convey the meaning of the coming of Christ to the world, with special emphasis on the history of the German nation and the role women should play in the unification of the divided Christian congregation.
The second volume left the press in March 2010 and is available under the addresses set forth above.
The reading of Dr. Ortner at the Frankfurt book fair of 10th October 2010 from „Temple Songs – a biblical poem“ can be watched under www.deutsches-literaturfernsehen.de
Princeton – englische Biographie
On the basis of the aforementioned biography and studies of history and theology Dr. Ortner published in rapid sequence the books
“Böhmisches Manifest”, Weimarer Schiller Presse , Frankfurt a.M. 2011;
„Das Königreich Davids in Deutschland“, August von Goethe Literatur-Verlag, Frankfurt.a.M. 2012;
„Die Nürnberger Galgenvogellieder – Gedichte und ein Drama“ Weimarer Schillerpresse, Frankfurt a.M. 2014;
„Das Totenopfer von Wolgograd oder eine Pilgerreise nach Jerusalem“, August von Goethe Literaturverlag, Frankfurt a.M. 2014 – and - as his crowning work –
„Die Einheit der Christenheit, zur höheren Ehre Gottes und für eine friedliche Welt“, August von Goethe Literaturverlag , Frankfurt a.M. 2015 – aiming at the prevention of a conflegration of the East-West conflict.
My readings at the Leipzig book fair 2014 (on the question of Germany’s war guilt) and Frankfurt 2014 (on the topic of antisemitismus) were recorded by www.deutsches-literaturfernsehen.de and can be seen and heard anywhere at any time.
For “Die Einheit der Christenheit, zur höhern Ehre Gottes und für eine friedliche Welt” Dr. Ortner received a handwritten gratulation oft he president of his alma mater, Princeton University, U.S.A., , dated 7thMarch 2015 and a praise of his work in the university newspaper, “Princeton Alumni Weekly“, issue 13th of May 2015, p. 57.
These documents and my letter of thanks of 22nd of May 2015 are reproduced in the introduction under “Blair Arch of Princeton University”
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