Egon Erwin Kisch

Czech-German reporter who invented literary journalism techniques

Known as The Raging Reporter, Egon Erwin Kisch (1885-1948) revolutionized investigative journalism through his literary reportage style. This Prague-born writer combined factual accuracy with novelistic narratives in works like Der rasende Reporter (1925), influencing generations of journalists from Tom Wolfe to Ryszard Kapuściński.

Kisch's daring undercover exposés exposed social inequalities across five continents. His 1934 Australian anti-war speech, delivered after jumping ship and breaking his leg (Kisch's leap), became a landmark free speech case. During WWII, he documented Nazi atrocities in Soldaten am Meeresstrand (1943), smuggled out through resistance networks.

The Communist reporter's innovative use of montage techniques and multi-perspective storytelling predated New Journalism by decades. His 1932 Five Continents Adventure lecture tour pioneered globalist reporting. Today, the Egon Erwin Kisch Prize remains Germany's most prestigious journalism award.