Ivan Potrč (January 1, 1913 – June 12, 1993) was a Slovene writer and playwright.

Biography

Ivan Potrč was born on January 1, 1913, in a poor peasant family in Štuki near Ptuj,Koblar, France. 1949. "Potrč, Ivan." In: France Kidrič et al. (eds.), ''Slovenski biografski leksikon'', vol. 7: ''Peterlin–Pregelj.'' Ljubljana: Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti. in what was then the Duchy of Styria in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As a teenager living in difficult social circumstances and in the time of the rise of

German nationalism German nationalism () is an ideological notion that promotes the unity of Germans and German-speakers into one unified nation state. German nationalism also emphasizes and takes pride in the patriotism and national identity of Germans as one n ...

, which was seen a threat to the northern regions of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...

, he became an enthusiastic communist. Due to his political activities he was sentenced to eleven months of prison and excluded from the high school even before he passed his final

exit Exit(s) may refer to: Architecture and engineering * Door * Portal (architecture), an opening in the walls of a structure * Emergency exit * Overwing exit, a type of emergency exit on an airplane * Exit ramp, a feature of a road interchange ...

exam. From 1938 to 1941, he was employed as a journalist at the

national liberal National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism). A seri ...

daily newspaper '' Večernik'' in Maribor. In 1941, after the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

invaded Yugoslavia and annexed northern

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

to the

German Reich German ''Reich'' (lit. German Realm, German Empire, from german: Deutsches Reich, ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty ...

, Portč was interned to Mathausen concentration camp, from where he returned in 1943 and joined the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод� ...

. During and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he worked as editor and journalist for the newspapers ''Domovina'', '' Borba'', and ''Ljudska pravica''. In 1947, he became the main editor and later the director of the '' Mladinska knjiga'' publishing company.

Work

Ivan Potrč was the pioneer of

social realism Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...

in the northeastern

. He was influenced by his social environment and his avant-garde political ideas to which he remained faithful all his life. His most influential works were the drama trilogy depicting the disintegration and the downfall of Krefels, a landowner family, and the novel ''Na kmetih'' (The Land and the Flesh), which has been translated to numerous languages. For his work, Potrč received two

Prešeren Award The Prešeren Award ( sl, Prešernova nagrada), also called the Grand Prešeren Award ( sl, Velika Prešernova nagrada), is the highest decoration in the field of artistic and in the past also scientific creation in Slovenia. It is awarded each yea ...

s. In 1947, he was awarded for his play ''Kreflova kmetija'' (The Krefel Farm), and in 1955, for his novel ''Na kmetih''. From 1977 until 1983, he was an associate member of the

Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( sl, Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti (SAZU)) is the national academy of Slovenia, which encompasses science and the arts and brings together the top Slovene researchers and artists as members ...

, and from 1983 until his death a full member of the academy. He was married to the author Branka Jurca. Their daughter Marjetica Potrč is a renowned artist and architect. Their son Matjaž Potrč is a professor of philosophy.

References

External links

* Slovenian dramatists and playwrights Slovenian journalists Prešeren Award laureates Members of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts Presidents of the Slovene Writers' Association 1913 births 1993 deaths Yugoslav dramatists and playwrights People from the City Municipality of Ptuj Yugoslav journalists {{slovenia-writer-stub