Erwin Carlé (

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Erwin Rosen ; * 7 June 1876 in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

; † 21 February 1923 in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

) was a German

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. Carlé was enrolled in college in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. Being nothing but a prankster he had to terminate his studies. To save his family from this embarrassment he, 19 at the time, was sent to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. There he quickly learned to stand on his own two feet, taking on any job he could find. He worked as farmhand in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Ameri ...

, dishwasher, translator for the German Western Post in St. Louis, and as journalist in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. In 1898 he found himself as part of the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

reporting on the battle of Signal Hill in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. This stage of his life was documented in his novel ''Der deutsche Lausbub in Amerika'' which translates as "The German prankster in America". Having returned to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and subsequently trying to escape a failed relationship with his "jewel" as he called her, he joined the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...

. Signing his 5-year contract on October 6, 1905, he became Legionnaire 17889. After 2 years, he was able to escape and eventually published his experience as ''In the Foreign Legion'' (1910).

Literature

* Erwin Rosen: ''In the Foreign Legion'' (1910)
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* Erwin Carlé: ''Der deutsche Lausbub in Amerika''
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* Other books by Erwin Rose

* In German at Spiegel-Gutenberg Archiv
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References

External links

* * *
Legionnaire Number 17889
as of October 6, 1905) * Erwin Rosen various works German and English in Internet Archives.or

In Search type "Erwin Rosen" {{DEFAULTSORT:Carle, Erwin German male journalists German journalists 1873 births 1923 deaths German non-fiction writers Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion German male writers