Fritz Erpenbeck (born: Friedrich Johann Lambert Erpenbeck, 7 April 1897,

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

– 7 January 1975,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

) was a German writer, director and actor.

Biography

Erpenbeck was born in to the family of a watchmaker and engineer. He trained as a locksmith in Osnabrück where he also took acting lessons. He volunteered for the in to the army during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and after his return he continued working as a locksmith. Erpenbeck was in various engagements, including at the Lessingtheater and the Piscator stage in Berlin, where he also worked as a director and dramaturge. In 1927 he married the writer

Hedda Zinner Hedda Zinner, or Hedda Erpenbeck-Zinner (20 May 1904 – 4 July 1994), was a German political writer, actress, comedian, journalist and radio director. Biography Hedda Zinner was born in Lemberg on May 20, 1904. She attended the Acting Acade ...

. From 1927 he was a member of the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, , KPD ) was a major political party in the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933, an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and a minor party in West German ...

(KPD). From 1929 he also worked as a journalist; from 1931 to 1933 he was editor-in-chief of the satirical magazine ''Roter Pfeffer''. In 1933 he emigrated first to Prague, in 1935 to the Soviet Union with his wife. There he worked as an editor for various magazines and became a member of the

National Committee for a Free Germany The National Committee for a Free Germany (german: Nationalkomitee Freies Deutschland, or NKFD) was a German anti-Nazi organization that operated in the Soviet Union during World War II.The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occ ...

(NKFD). As part of his work for the NKFD, he was deputy editor-in-chief of the NKFD broadcaster ''Freies Deutschland''. Because of this function, he was chosen for the

Ulbricht group The Ulbricht Group was a group of exiled members of the Communist Party of Germany (''Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands'', or KPD), led by Walter Ulbricht, who flew from the Soviet Union back to Germany on April 30, 1945. Composed of functionarie ...

. On 30 April 1945, before the end of the war, Erpenbeck returned with her to Germany, where he joined the Socialist Unity Party (SED) in 1946. He founded Henschelverlag with Bruno Henschel and was editor-in-chief of the magazines ''

Theater der Zeit ''Theater der Zeit'' is a German-language monthly magazine that focuses on theatre and politics. It was established in 1946 and is now—alongside ''Theater heute''—one of the leading magazines on theatre in the German-speaking world. In 1996, ...

'' and ''Theaterdienst'' from 1946 to 1958, both of which were published by Henschelverlag. From 1951 he was head of the main department for performing arts and music at the GDR Council of Ministers. From 1959 to 1962 he was chief dramaturge at the Berlin

Volksbühne The Volksbühne ("People's Theatre") is a theater in Berlin. Located in Berlin's city center Mitte on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (Rosa Luxemburg Square) in what was the GDR's capital. It has been called Berlin's most iconic theatre. About The Vol ...

, after which he lived as a freelance writer. In 1956 Erpenbeck received the Lessing Prize of the GDR, in 1957 the Ernst Moritz Arndt Medal and in 1972 the clasp of honor for the Patriotic Order of Merit. Erpenbeck died on 7 January 1975 in Berlin and was buried in the

Dorotheenstadt Cemetery The Dorotheenstadt Cemetery, officially the Cemetery of the Dorotheenstadt and Friedrichswerder Parishes, is a landmarked Protestant burial ground located in the Berlin district of Mitte which dates to the late 18th century. The entrance to the ...

. A street in Berlin-Pankow is named after him.

Family

Fritz Erpenbeck was the father of the physicist, philosopher and writer

John Erpenbeck John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, whose daughter

Jenny Erpenbeck Jenny Erpenbeck (born 12 March 1967) is a German writer and opera director, recipient of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. Life Born in East Berlin, Erpenbeck is the daughter of the physicist, philosopher and writer John Erpenbeck and th ...

also became known as a writer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erpenbeck, Fritz 1897 births 1975 deaths Writers from Mainz German writers German theatre directors German actors 20th-century German screenwriters 20th-century German male actors Communist Party of Germany politicians Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians East German actors East German journalists East German writers Emigrants from Nazi Germany National Committee for a Free Germany members Immigrants to Czechoslovakia German crime fiction writers Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit (honor clasp) German theatre critics