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Franz Werfel
1890–1945
An Austrian-born novelist, poet, and playwright, he is best remembered for emotionally charged fiction that wrestles with faith, history, and human suffering. His best-known works include The Forty Days of Musa Dagh and The Song of Bernadette, books that carried his reputation far beyond the German-speaking world.
4 Audiobooks
Gesänge aus den drei Reichen: Ausgewählte Gedichte
by Franz Werfel
Nicht der Mörder, der Ermordete ist schuldig: Eine Novelle
by Franz Werfel
Kuoleman voittaja
by Franz Werfel
About the author
Born in Prague in 1890, Franz Werfel grew up in the final decades of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and became part of the lively literary world of early 20th-century Central Europe. He wrote poetry, plays, and novels, building a reputation for work that combined spiritual searching with a strong sense of drama and compassion.
Werfel's fiction often turned toward people caught in moments of moral crisis or historical upheaval. Among his most famous books are The Forty Days of Musa Dagh, a powerful novel about the Armenian resistance during the massacres of World War I, and The Song of Bernadette, which introduced many readers to the story of Bernadette of Lourdes.
As a Jewish writer married to Alma Mahler, Werfel was forced to flee Europe during the Nazi era and eventually settled in the United States. He died in 1945, leaving behind a body of work that still stands out for its intensity, empathy, and deep concern with conscience, belief, and survival.