Vicki Baum

Vicki Baum (1888–1960) was an Austrian writer, journalist and screenwriter. Born in Vienna, she received musical training and worked as a harpist until 1916. From 1926, she worked as an editor in Berlin. Her novels »stud. chem. Helene Willfüer« (1928/29) and »Menschen im Hotel« (1929) established her literary and international reputation. »Menschen im Hotel« was adapted for the screen as »Grand Hotel«. Baum, a Jewish Austrian, emigrated to the United States in 1932; her books were banned and burned by the Nazi regime. In exile, she wrote mainly in English.