1978-83: early conflicts. various authors

"on the one hand, a scholarship for literature granted by the city of vienna encourages the 24-year-old writer christian ide hintze to continue his activities. on the other hand, his texts (...) are repeatetly subject to controversies with the authorities. while theatre posters were waiting for an audience in glass cabinets in the foyer of the vienna burgtheatre, hintze wanted to demonstrate the actual use of posters. so on the night of march 20 he sealed the main entrances of the theatre with his own posters. now he has been fined 2,400 austrian shillings."
(peter pisa, reporter, in: kurier. vienna, june 5, 1978)

“you hindered pedestrian traffic on 1977-04-02 at 7.20 pm at vienna 3d district by distributing printed material and thereby committed a regulatory offence according to § 99(3) and in relation with § 78 lit c stvo (traffic regulations). according to § 99(3) a stvo a fine of 250 shillings will be imposed on you in application of § 47 of the law of administrative penalty, dating from the year 1950. in the case of uncollectiblity, a compensatory arrest for 24 hours will be imposed on you.”
(dr. schw. , police officer, direction of the federal police vienna, district commissioner’s office landstraße. this is the text of a writ which was delivered with the mention "to the attention of". vienna, austria, may 16, 1977. published in: christian ide hintze: "zettelalbum", diary. schönemann-verlag, kisslegg, germany 1978. p. 150)

"just when he was about to distribute his small leaflets to the guests in the foyer in front of the big hall, he was immediately thrown out. there was no explanatory statement. probably, 'ide' was thought to be a political agitator, an extremist who wanted to disturb the book exhibition. it was probably held against him that he wears a hat even while disseminating his leaflets in indoor locations."
(thomas borgmann, reporter, in: stuttgarter zeitung. stuttgart, november 17, 1978)

"your writings consist of obscenities and word games. there is no need for that kind of writing in the german democratic republic."
(n.n., officer of the people's police who types in the proceedings of the interrogation after christian ide hintze has been taken into custody because of "forbidden distribution of pamphlets" in the streets of east berlin. on september 27, 1976. the officer sits beneath a portrait of lenin. the deliquent stands in front of a white wall and answers questions. comprehensive report published in: christian ide hintze: "zettelalbum". street diary. schönemann-verlag, kisslegg, germany 1978. p. 118 ff)

"in vienna, it was the district governor of the conservative party who had 'other ideas' of an election campaign and of the usage of pedestrian zones. (...) in linz, the role of oppressor was overtaken by city hall, dominated by the social democratic party. hintze had been invited by the artist's association märz to put his poetic "election campaign speech" into action, on may 2. the official registration had been done properly and according to law. but then there was this telephone call from city hall (...) märz could eventually lose it's financial support if this event was going to happen ... the author and the artist's association had to yield to the pressure. the event was eventually executed on camera. in a bathroom (wc)."
(karl wiesinger, journalist, in: neue zeit – oberösterreich, volksstimme, austrian daily newspaper: "freedom or as the vp so the sp". the vp (= conservative party) and the sp (= social democratic party) are the dominating political forces in austria. linz, austria, may 4, 1979)

"i remember with a shudder the writers’ congress in 1981 at vienna’s town hall. i had convinced anton benya (chairman of the austrian workers union, chairman of the austrian national council - translator's note) and other eminent personalities to attend, to listen and to say something. a figure, ever since that time remembered by the union as 'the man with the hat and lambskin' approached (it was the renowned author ide christian hintze), paced through the hall and seized the microphone into which benya was speaking. the latter, who did not give in, but held on to it vigorously to it and proved to be the stronger one, concluding his speech. i became increasingly nervous sitting next to him, fearing he might stand up and leave, but instead he listened calmly to the endless response of the author, an artistic presentation of all the economic and moral dependencies of the apparently free artist."
(günther nenning, writer, in: profil, austrian news magazine. vienna, austria, december 19, 1983)