Erich Feigl

Erich Feigl (1931 – 27 January 2007) was an Austrian documentary film producer and author. He produced almost 60 documentaries, mostly for the Austrian ORF but some for BR (Bavarian), ZDF (German) and TRT (Turkish Radio Television) in co-production. He authored books about the Habsburgs, whose restoration he supported, and the historical fact of the Armenian genocide, which he denied until his death.

Feigl was a long-time monarchist activist, and in 2006 was awarded honorary membership of the Black-Yellow Alliance, which favors the return of the House of Habsburg to power. Described by Der Spiegel as a "fervent admirer" of Empress Zita, he was part of the monarchist committee which organized her funeral in 1989.

In 1986 Feigl became well known after the publication of his book A Myth of Terror: Armenian Extremism: Its Causes and Its Historical Context. In the book's introduction, Feigl writes he had written it as a response to the murder of close friend and Turkish labour attaché, Erdoğan Özen, by the members of the Armenian Revolutionary Army. Initially published in German, an English version was later produced. Complimentary copies of the book were distributed by Turkish organisations to US governmental officials, university libraries and individuals. A short time before he died he finished his last book, called Armenian Mythomania.

Feigl became interested in Turkic cultures and history, especially ("Kanuni Sultan"). After 1984 he began writing about the Armenian genocide, and he subsequently also focused his attention on Kurdish issues and the PKK guerrilla organization, which resulted in his book published under the title Die Kurden in 1995. He was one of the first authors and commentators to investigate this topic in a contemporary context. He also wrote about the history of the Habsburgs ("Kaiser Karl", "Kaiserin Zita").