Max Tau
Max Tau was a German–Norwegian writer, editor, and publisher.
Max Tau

Emil Stumpp · Public domain
- Name
- Max Tau
- Born
- 19 January 1897
- Birthplace
- Bytom, Beuthen, Upper Silesia, German Empire (present-day Poland)
- Died
- 13 March 1976
- Place of death
- Oslo, Norway
- Known for
- Building cultural relations between Norway and Germany
- Education
- University of Kiel
- Occupation
- Publisher and writer
- Spouse
- Tove Filseth
- Nationality
- Germany and Norway.
- Honours
- Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Escudo Silesiano, Peace Prize of the German Publishers' and Booksellers' Association, Knight First Class of the Order of St. Olav, Nelly Sachs Prize and Kulturpreis der deutschen Freimaurer.
- Languages
- German and Norwegian.
Reference Check
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Documentary connections
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q215145 · wikipedia · Max Tau
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
The documentary record
Statements marked “Documentary record” are set in the article beside the passage they confirm. Each is read from the authority records of the institutions named here; select “Prove” to see the record it was read from, where in that record, and when.
Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Complete reading chain (JSON)In this article
Biography
Biography
Max Tau studied at Kiel University. The recorded working language is German and Norwegian. Employment is recorded with Aschehoug. Distinctions recorded are Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Escudo Silesiano, Peace Prize of the German Publishers' and Booksellers' Association and Knight First Class of the Order of St.

Der Porträtierte neben der Büste, einer Kopie der vom Bildhauer Kurt Lehmann für die Max-Tau-Schule gefertigten Büste. Max Tau war seit 1964 Ehrenbürger der CAU.
Magnussen, Friedrich (1914-1987) · Stadtarchiv Kiel
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Max Tau • Born — 19 January 1897 • Birthplace — Bytom, Beuthen, Upper Silesia, German Empire (present-day Poland) • Died — 13 March 1976 • Place of death — Oslo, Norway • Known for — Building cultural relations between Norway and Germany • Education — University of Kiel • Employer — Grundt Tanum, Aschehoug • Occupation — Publisher and writer • Years Active — 1928–1976 • Spouse — Tove Filseth • Parents — Nathan Tau (1870–1941) and Julie Julius (1874–1942 Max Tau was a German–Norwegian writer, editor, and publisher.
Documentary record
Max Tau appears in the authority records of the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek as a writer, publisher's reader, publisher and philosopher (19 January 1897 – 13 March 1976). Max Tau was born on 19 January 1897; the birthplace is Beuthen, Poland, according to the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek and the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The Bibliothèque nationale de France records the fuller form Beuthen (auj. Bytom, Pologne). Max Tau died on 13 March 1976; the place of death is Oslo, Norway, according to the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Life
Life
• Illustration — Max Tau (left) at the ceremony for Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels for Frère Roger (in white) in St. Paul's Church, Frankfurt am Main 1974. West-German president Walter Scheel is seated next to Tau. Deutsche Bundearchiv Tau grew up in an environment characterized by what he later termed the "Jewish-German" symbiosis, in a Jewish household heavily influenced by the Jewish enlightenment. He studied literature, art history, philosophy, and psychology at universities in Berlin, Hamburg, and Kiel. He earned his doctorate at the University of Kiel, defending a dissertation on the German writer Theodor Fontane. With the assistance of Mildred Fish Harnack, an American active in the Red Orchestra anti-Nazi resistance group, Tau emigrated to Norway in 1935. During the Nazi-German occupation of Norway, he was a refugee in Sweden and returned to Norway after the war. He was noted for his contribution to promoting literary exchange between Germany and Norway, especially in the context of reconciliation after World War II. He obtained Norwegian citizenship while in exile in Sweden in 1944.
Documentary record
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek records Berlin as a place of activity.
Identity
Identity
Max Tau is recorded as having received Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Escudo Silesiano and Peace Prize of the German Publishers' and Booksellers' Association.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
Explore 1897–1977
The full dated record · 7 entries
1897
Max Tau born at Bytom.
1961
Festschrift für Dr. Max Tau (1961) is digitised and catalogued by Open Library.
1966
Baumeister einer brüderlichen Welt, Max Tau (1966) is digitised and catalogued by Open Library.
1967
Freundesgabe für Max Tau (1967) is digitised and catalogued by Open Library.
1968
Max Tau (1968) is digitised and catalogued by Open Library.
1976
Max Tau died at Oslo.
1977
Max Tau, der Freund der Freunde (1977) is digitised and catalogued by Open Library.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Bytom.
Birth place
Oslo.
Death place
Recognition and collections
Where the work is held
Recognition and collections
Max Tau received Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Escudo Silesiano, Peace Prize of the German Publishers' and Booksellers' Association, Knight First Class of the Order of St. Olav, Nelly Sachs Prize and Kulturpreis der deutschen Freimaurer.
Holdings and surviving copies
Where the work is held
Holdings and surviving copies
Where material relating to Max Tau is held. Festschrift für Dr.
Documents and archives
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- Max Tau (1897-1976), Theokratia: Jahrbuch des Institutum Judaicum Delitzschianum, III, 1979
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 1979
- Max Tau. Bilder. Erwecker. Mahner, The German Quarterly, 1970
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 1970
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q215145: Max Tau
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “Max Tau”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Awards
• 1950 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade • 1965 Nelly Sachs Prize • 1970 Sonning Prize
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Max Tau, revision 1372646821 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Einhart Lorenz. Max Tau. Norsk biografisk leksikon. 2009-02-13.
- 2.28. Oktober 1929 17.30 Uhr Königswusterhausen 1634,9 m
- 3.15. Mai 1930 17.30 Uhr Königswusterhausen 1634,9 m
- 4.7. Juni 1930 18.40 Uhr Königswusterhausen 1634,9 m
- 5.22. März 1931 19.30 Uhr Königswusterhausen 183,5 kHz
- 6.14. September 1931 20.30 Uhr Frankfurt a. M. 770 kHz (zum Roman Ulysses)
- 7.2. Oktober 1932 18.30 Uhr Königswusterhausen 183,5 kHz
- 8.6. Januar 1933 18.25 Uhr Frankfurt a. M. 1157 kHz
- 9.12. Januar 1933 18.25 Uhr Frankfurt a. M. 1157 kHz
- 10.David Basker: „Deutschland lebt an der Nahtstelle, an der Bruchstelle“: Literature and Politics in Germans 1933-1950. In: William John Niven, James Jordan (Hrsg.): Politics and culture in twentieth-century Germany, Camden House, Suffolk 2003, S. 89–106, hier S. 105 (einsehbar bei Google Books).
- 11.Laudatio von Adolf Grimme zum Friedenspreis des deutschen Buchhandels 1950 an Max Tau: (PDF, 121 kB)
- 12.Christoph Vormweg. Vor 125 Jahren geboren. Kalenderblatt (Rundfunksendung auf DLF). 2022-01-19.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Max Tau (1897-1976), Theokratia: Jahrbuch des Institutum Judaicum Delitzschianum, III, 1979Crossref registry
Institutional witnessscholarly publication
Max Tau. Bilder. Erwecker. Mahner, The German Quarterly, 1970Crossref registry
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,529 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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