Ingeborg Drewitz (born Ingeborg Neubert; 10 January 1923 – 26 November 1986) was a German writer and academic.

Life and career

Drewitz was born in

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 ...

. She graduated in 1941 from the Königin-Luise-Schule in Berlin-Friedenau, and took a doctorate in German literature, history, and philosophy, on 20 April 1945, at the Friedrich-Wilhelm University (today's

Humboldt University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of ...

in Berlin). Her thesis was on German poet

Erwin Guido Kolbenheyer Erwin Guido Kolbenheyer (30 December 1878, in Budapest – 12 April 1962, in Munich) was an Austrian novelist, poet and playwright. Later based in Germany, he belonged to a group of writers that included the likes of Hans Grimm, Rudolf G. Bindi ...

. From 1973 to 1980 she taught at the Institute of Journalism at the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

. A year before her death she was a juror at the Ingeborg Bachmann Competition in Klagenfurt. She married her childhood sweetheart, Bernhard Drewitz, by whom she had three daughters. She died in

, aged 63, of complications of cancer.

Writings

As a writer, she was interested in the Enlightenment and addressed Germany's post-war history and the past and present social history of women. According to ''Knaurs Lexikon der Weltliteratur'' ( "Knaur's Lexicon of World Literature"), third edition of 1995, she "made in her literary work, the abandonment of modern man and his inability to address his neighbour, as well as the problem of the individuality of life. Problems in women and employment are at the heart of her work." Her drama ''Alle Tore waren bewacht'' (''All gates were guarded"''), which premiered in 1955, was the first German play to address conditions in

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

s.berlin.de
— Who was Ingeborg Drewitz? Her most successful novel was ''Gestern war heute: Hundert Jahre Gegenwart'' (''Yesterday was today: A hundred years of presence'') (1978), that dealt with three generations of women in the 20th century. The novel is mandatory to read in 12th grade in

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Novels

* ''Der Anstoß''. Bremen: Schünemann 1958 * ''Das Karussell''. Göttingen: Sachse & Pohl 1969 * ''Oktoberlicht oder Ein Tag im Herbst''. München: Nymphenburger 1969 * ''Wer verteidigt Katrin Lambert?'' Stuttgart: Werner Gebühr 1974 * ''Das Hochhaus''. Stuttgart: Werner Gebühr 1975 * ''Gestern war heute: Hundert Jahre Gegenwart'' 1978 * ''Eis auf der Elbe''. Tagebuchroman. Düsseldorf: Claassen 1982 * ''Eingeschlossen''. Düsseldorf: Claassen 1986. NA: München: Goldmann TB 1988

Non-fiction

* ''Die dichterische Darstellung ethischer Probleme im Werke

s''. Berlin: Univ. Diss. 1945 * ''Berliner Salons: Gesellschaft und Literatur zwischen Aufklärung und Industriezeitalter''. Berlin: Haude & Spener, Schriftenreihe: Berlinische Reminiszenzen Bd. 7, 1965 * ''Leben und Werk von

Adam Kuckhoff Adam Kuckhoff (, 30 August 1887 – 5 August 1943) was a German writer, journalist, and German resistance to Nazism, German resistance member of the anti-fascist resistance group that was later called the Red Orchestra (espionage), Red Orchestra ...

''. Berlin: Friedenauer Presse, 1968 * ''

Bettine von Arnim Bettina von Arnim (the Countess of Arnim) (4 April 178520 January 1859), born Elisabeth Catharina Ludovica Magdalena Brentano, was a German writer and novelist. Bettina (or Bettine) Brentano was a writer, publisher, composer, singer, visual art ...

. Romantik – Revolution – Utopie.'' Biographie. Düsseldorf/Köln: Diederichs 1969 – Hildesheim: Claassen, 1992 * ''Zeitverdichtung: Essays, Kritiken, Portraits; gesammelt aus 2 Jahrzehnten''. Wien/München/Zürich: Europaverlag, 1980 * ''Kurz vor 1984''. Stuttgart: Radius-Verlag, 1981 * ''Schrittweise Erkundung der Welt. Reise-Eindrücke''. Wien u.a. : Europaverlag, 1982 * ''Unter meiner Zeitlupe''. Porträts und Panoramen. Wien u.a. : Europaverlag, 1984 * ''Junge Menschen messen ihre Erwartungen aus, und die Messlatten stimmen nicht mehr – die Herausforderung: Tod''. Stuttgart: Radius-Verlag, 1986

Honours

Gedenktafel Quermatenweg 178 Ingeborg Drewitz

*1963

Ernst Reuter Prize The Ernst Reuter Prize (''Ernst-Reuter-Preis'') is a German national prize for audio plays (''Hörspiel'') and radio documentation about the divided Germany, named after Ernst Reuter. It was awarded from 1959 to 1991 by the Bundesministerium für ...

*1970 Georg Mackensen Literary Prize *1973

Federal Cross of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

*1980 Ida-Dehmel-Literature Prize,

Carl von Ossietzky Medal The (ILMR) has awarded the Carl von Ossietzky Medal since 1962. The league has honored personalities, initiatives or organizations who have worked with civil courage and outstanding commitment to the realization of human rights annually since 1962 ...

*1981 Gerrit Engelke Price *1983 Evangelischer Book Prize *1985 Hermann-Sinsheimer Prize

Street names

*In the government quarter in Berlin-Mitte: Ingeborg-Drewitz-Allee *In Berlin-Steglitz: Ingeborg-Drewitz-Library *In Gladbeck: Ingeborg-Drewitz-Gesamtschule *In Freiburg: Ingeborg-Drewitz-Allee

Prize foundations

*Ingeborg-Drewitz Literary Prize for prisoners *Ingeborg-Drewitz Prizehu-bb.de
- Berliner Landesverband Humanistische Union donates ''"Ingeborg-Drewitz Prize for special commitment to human dignity"'' for special commitment to human dignity

Sources

''This article was translated from its equivalent in the German Wikipedia on 18 July 2009.'' *Bruges Gerhild man Rogers: ''Das Romanwerk von Ingeborg Drewitz.'' (Studies in modern German literature, Vol. 26) New York: Lang, 1989, 246 p. *Titus Häussermann, Drewitz Bernhard (ed.): ''Ingeborg Drewitz: Materialien zu Werk und Wirken.'' Stuttgart: Radius-Verl., 1983, 160 p. *Jutta Rosenkranz: ''Kurz-Porträt über die Schriftstellerin Ingeborg Drewitz.'' TV feature, ORB, 1998

References

External links

*
Drewitz
at the University Library of the Free University of Berlin {{DEFAULTSORT:Drewitz, Ingeborg 1923 births 1986 deaths Writers from Berlin Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 20th-century German women writers