"For my Vienna is as different from what they call Vienna now as the quick is different from the dead"
- Erich von Stroheim
About this Quote
This quote by Erich von Stroheim is a reflection on the changing nature of Vienna, a city he was deeply linked to. He is comparing the Vienna of his time to the Vienna these days, recommending that the two are greatly various. He is suggesting that the Vienna of his time lived and lively, while the Vienna of today is dull and lifeless. He is revealing his unhappiness at the modifications that have happened in the city, and his nostalgia for the Vienna of his past. He is also recommending that the changes have been so extreme that the two cities are almost indistinguishable from one another. This quote is a poignant reminder of the ever-changing nature of cities, and the significance of treasuring the memories of the past.
"I had been a student in Vienna, and one of the neat little things I had found out was about that zoo. It was a good debut novel for me to have published. I was 26 or 27 when it was published. I already had a kid and would soon have a second"
"What impressed me particularly in Vienna was the strict order everywhere. No mob disturbances of any kind, in spite of the greatly increased liberty and relaxation of police regulations"
"I was born in 1923 into a middle class Jewish family in Vienna, a few years after the end of World War I, which was disastrous from the Austrian point of view"
"My idea was to go to Vienna to study conducting and perhaps play in an orchestra first, so I thought before I got to Vienna I could do with a little training in Paris"
"For almost thirty years I repeatedly saw one and the same dream: I would arrive in Vienna at long last. I would feel really happy, for I was returning to my serene childhood"
"I employ 20 people in Vienna. The other 130 coworkers are pilots and flight companions. The Overhead is limited with me. Reduces naturally the costs of my fliers"
