Herbert Scurla (21 April 1905,

Großräschen Großräschen ( Sorbian: ''Rań'') is a town in Lower Lusatia, in Germany. Administratively, it is part of the district of Oberspreewald-Lausitz, in the state of Brandenburg. Geographical position Großräschen is south of the ''Niederlausitzer L ...

– 7 April 1981,

Kolkwitz Kolkwitz (Lower Sorbian Gołkojce) is a municipality in the district of Spree-Neiße, in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany. Geography Kolkwitz is situated 5 km west of Cottbuslocation This central position makes Kolkwitz a good base for day ...

) was a German writer and academic.

Biography

Herbert Scurla was born in 1905 in

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

. He studied law and economics in Berlin. He joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

in May 1933, as well as other Nazi organisations. Throughout the 1930s, Scurla worked for the German Office of University Exchanges, which in 1934 became the Ministry of Education of the Reich. In the 1930s and 1940s, he taught, including in public policy, and lived in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

in 1937 and 1939 to extend the reach of German universities. He escaped the incorporation into the Wehrmacht. In 1945, he became an apprentice joiner. In 1948, he lived in the Soviet zone, and became a member of the National Democratic Party (Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands, NDPD) which "recycled" former Nazis. From 1952, he lived in

Cottbus Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. Situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree, Cottbus is also a major railway junction with exten ...

, and became a writer. He published biographies and travel books with great success. He was very active in the East German cultural milieu. He died in 1981 in Cottbus. A specialist in dissimulation, Scurla often used pseudonyms, and while well known as a former Nazi, he lived in the Soviet occupied zone (1945–1949) of the

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 ...

(1949–1990) without problems.

Distinctions

Herbert Scurla was decorated in 1974 with the

Vaterländischer Verdienstorden The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...

Bibliography

* Dirk Halm and Faruk Sen (Ed.), ''Exil sous le croissant et l'étoile. Rapport d'Herbert Scurla sur l'activité des universitaires allemands pendant le IIIe Reich'', éditions Turquoise, Paris, 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Scurla, Herbert 1905 births 1981 deaths People from Großräschen People from the Province of Brandenburg Nazi Party members National Democratic Party of Germany (East Germany) politicians Cultural Association of the GDR members East German writers Writers from Brandenburg German male writers Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit