Josef Wilhelm Janker (7 August 1922;

Wolfegg Wolfegg is a town in the district of Ravensburg in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Overview It is the site of Wolfegg Castle, the home of the Princes of Waldburg-Wolfegg, longtime owners of the only known copy of the Waldseemüller map. The map ...

– 17 April 2010;

Ravensburg Ravensburg ( Swabian: ''Raveschburg'') is a city in Upper Swabia in Southern Germany, capital of the district of Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg. Ravensburg was first mentioned in 1088. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City and an impo ...

) 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

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 opposin ...

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

Life

Janker was the son of a shoemaker and grew up in Oberschwaben. After a carpenter apprenticeship, he was called up for military service in

. During the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

he was seriously wounded. After being released from French captivity he studied construction techniques. In 1956 Janker published his first stories, soon after, short novels, essays, literary portraits and travel reports. His works were characterized by his own war experiences and its consequences for the individual and the lack of overcoming of the war experience in the post-war German society.

Awards

* Förderpreis Ostdeutscher Literaturpreis (1961) * Rompreis der

Villa Massimo Villa Massimo, short for Deutsche Akademie Rom Villa Massimo ( it, Accademia Tedesca Roma Villa Massimo), is a German cultural institution in Rome, established in 1910 and located in the Villa Massimo. The fellowship of the German Academy in Rom ...

(1968/1969) * Schubart-Literaturpreis (1972) * Ehrengabe der Bayerischen Akademie der Schönen Künste (1974) * Kulturpreis der Stadt Ravensburg (1977) * Jahresstipendium Baden-Württemberg (1980) * Hermann-Lenz-Preis (1999) *

Bundesverdienstkreuz 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 ...

Erster Klasse (1999)

Works

* ''Hortulus'', Erzählung, St. Gallen 1956 * ''Zwischen zwei Feuern'', Kurzroman, Köln 1960 (Between two fires) * ''Mit dem Rücken zur Wand'', Erzählungen, Frankfurt am Main 1964 (With the back to the wall) * ''Aufenthalte. Sechs Berichte'', Reiseberichte, Frankfurt am Main 1967 (Stays. Six reports) * ''Der Umschuler'', Kurzroman, Frankfurt am Main 1971 (The retraining) * ''Ansichten und Perspektiven'', zusammen mit dem Fotografen Rupert Leser, 10 Bände, 1973–1982 (Views and perspectives) * ''Das Telegramm'', Erzählungen, Düsseldorf 1977 (The telegram) * ''Ein willkommener Auftrag. Tagebuch einer Namibiareise'', Eggingen 1991 (A welcome order) * ''Meine Freunde, die Kollegen'', Erinnerungen, Friedrichshafen 1994 (My friends, the colleagues. Memories) Werkausgabe * ''Werkausgabe in 4 Bänden'', hrsg. von Manfred Bosch. Gessler, Friedrichshafen 1988, ** Band 1: ''Zwischen zwei Feuern'', ''Mit dem Rücken zur Wand'' ** Band 2: ''Der Umschuler'', ''Aufenthalte'' ** Band 3: ''Vertrautes Gelände. Ansichten und Perspektiven. Prosa, Aufsätze, Reden'' (Familiar terrain. Views and perspectives) ** Band 4: ''Jankerbriefe. Literarische Korrespondenz 1951–1987'' Herausgeberschaft * Maria Menz: ''Anmutungen'', Literatur-Forum Oberschwaben 1969 * ''Omo ndi li! Lebensbericht der Mansueta Mayer'', Windhuk

Literature

* Heinrich Böll: ''Neue politische und literarische Schriften''. Kiepenheuer und Witsch, Köln 1973, (New political and literary writings) * Gottfried Just: ''Reflexionen. Zur deutschen Literatur der sechziger Jahre''. Neske, Pfullingen 1972, (Reflections. On German literature of the sixties) * Gisela Kalaritis: ''Sein Thema sind die Abschiede. Josef W. Janker – Porträt und Texte''. In: Ulmer Forum, 67. Jg. 1983, S. 26–28 (His topics are the goodbyes. Josef W. Janker - Portrait and texts) * Gisela Linder: ''Josef W. Janker. Kriegserfahrung schreibend bewältigt''. In: Bodensee-Hefte, 38. Jg. 197, Heft 10, S. 26–29 (Josef W. Janker. War experience managed by writing) * Peter Renz (Redaktion): ''Seht ihn. Josef W. Janker zum 60. Geburtstag''. Stiftung Literaturarchiv Oberschwaben, Biberach 1982 (Look at him. Josef W. Janker's 60th birthday)

References

Catalogue of the German National LibraryObituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Janker, Josef W. 1922 births 2010 deaths Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German male writers German military personnel of World War II