The cheerless alley

The controversial Austrian journalist and writer Hugo Bettauer (1872-1925) came from a wealthy Jewish family and emigrated to the USA several times, but always returned to Germany and Austria. Bettauer published numerous scandalous yet successful novels and founded a magazine for sexual education. In 1925, he was shot by a right-wing extremist in the Vienna editorial office. In "Die freudlose Gasse," published in 1924, Bettauer vividly depicts social decay, hunger, and poverty-driven prostitution in post-war Vienna. G. W. Pabst's dark film adaptation of the novel in 1925, featuring Greta Garbo in her first international role, is considered one of the great classics of German silent film.