Erich Otto Reinhold Arendt (15 April 1903 – 25 September 1984) was a German poet and translator.

Biography

He was born into a working family of a school janitor. In his youth, he changed many professions, he worked as an agricultural worker, a theater set designer, a bank clerk, a journalist and a teacher in an experimental school.''Arendt, Erich''. In: ''Lexikon sozialistischer deutscher Literatur'' In 1926 he became a member of the German Communist Party and from 1928 he was a member of the

Association of Proletarian-Revolutionary Authors The Association of Proletarian-Revolutionary Authors (German: ''Bund proletarisch-revolutionärer Schriftsteller'') was a German cultural organisation established in 1928, at the time of the Weimar Republic. It was close to the Communist Party of Ge ...

. He published his early poetry in the

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

literary magazine ''

Der Sturm ''Der Sturm'' () was a German List of avant-garde magazines, avant-garde art and literary magazine founded by Herwarth Walden, covering Expressionism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, among other artistic movements. It was published between 1910 an ...

''. He made long trips to Germany, Switzerland, France and Spain. After the

Nazi seizure of power Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...

in Germany, Arendt who was a Communist and the husband of a half-Jewish woman, emigrated to Switzerland. From 1933 to 1950 he lived in exile. He participated in the Spanish Civil War and fought as part of the

International Brigades The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed f ...

. Then in 1940 he emigrated through France to Colombia, where he spent almost ten years in Indian settlements. In 1950 he moved to

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. Upon returning, he attempted to join the ruling SED, however this was denied and Arendt was under constant supervision. He was a member of the Academy of Arts of East Germany. Erich Arendt died after a stroke. He was buried at the Dorotheenstadt Cemetery in Berlin.

Selected works

* ''Trug doch die Nacht den Albatros.'' Rütten & Loening, Berlin 1951 * ''Bergwindballade. Gedichte des spanischen Freiheitskampfes.'' Dietz, Berlin 1952 * ''Über Asche und Zeit...'' Volk und Welt, Berlin 1957 * ''Gesang der sieben Inseln.'' Rütten & Loening, Berlin 1957 * ''Flug-Oden.'', Leipzig 1959 * ''Unter den Hufen des Winds. Ausgewählte Gedichte 1926–1965.'' Rowohlt, Reinbek 1966 * ''Ägäis.'' Insel, Leipzig 1967 * ''Aus fünf Jahrzehnten.'' Auswahl von Heinz Czechowski. Hinstorff, Rostock 1968 * ''Gedichte.'' Auswahl von Gerhard Wolf. Reclam, Leipzig 1973 * ''Feuerhalm.'' Insel, Leipzig 1973 (IB 986/1) * ''Memento und Bild.'' Insel, Leipzig 1976 * ''Zeitsaum.'' Insel, Leipzig 1978 * ''Starrend von Zeit und Helle. Gedichte der Ägäis.'' Reclam, Leipzig 1980 * ''Entgrenzen.'' Insel, Leipzig 1981

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arendt, Erich 1903 births 1984 deaths German communists 20th-century German poets 20th-century German translators Communist Party of Germany members Emigrants from Nazi Germany to Switzerland Emigrants from Nazi Germany to France Emigrants from Nazi Germany International Brigades personnel German people of the Spanish Civil War Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver German Expressionist writers