Uriel Birnbaum was born in Vienna, the son of Nathan Birnbaum a renowned author and philosopher. His artistic talents in the visual arts, as well as in literature, emerged at an early age. He continued writing during World War I, even after he was severely wounded while fighting in the Austrian Army. His war experiences have been summarized in a volume of sonnets In Gottes Krieg (1921). Birnbaum published several volumes of lithographs and paintings Weltuntergang and Das Buch Jona, both in 1921. Der Kaiser und der Architekt came out in 1924, Moses in 1928, and Volk zwischen Nationen, in 1932.
During the Nazi regime in Austria, due to the intervention of leading Dutch artists, he was granted entry into the Netherlands, arriving in 1936. There he continued to write, but had to give up his painting for lack of artists’ materials. In 1957 he published a selection of his poems entitled Gedichte, ein Auswahl.
Birnbaum’s thinking has always been considered somewhat conservative. From an early age he strongly opposed the materialistic philosophy and nationalistic tendencies prevalent at the time and became deeply religious.
Birnbaum died in 1956 in Amersfoort, Netherlands.