Margarete Neumann (19 February 1917 – 4 March 2002) was a German writer and lyrical poet.

Life

Margarete Neumann was born in Pyritz,

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. She studied at the social educational seminar in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

and worked until 1945 as a welfare worker in Heilsberg. After being expelled from Poland to Germany in 1945, she was a farmer in

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

and a welder in

Halle (Saale) Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the Germany, German States of ...

. Since 1952 she lived as a freelance writer in

Hohen Neuendorf Hohen Neuendorf () is a town in the Oberhavel district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is located north west of Berlin. Geography Hohen Neuendorf is situated upon the Havel river (built on the Oder-Havel Canal) and is bordered by the Berlin areas Fr ...

then in

Neubrandenburg Neubrandenburg (lit. ''New Brandenburg'', ) is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban centre of the Mecklenburg Lakeland. The city is famous for its ...

after 1961. She was allowed as a partisanship writer and advocate of

socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...

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 ...

. After the '' Wende'', Neumann lived in

Sousse Sousse or Soussa ( ar, سوسة, ; Berber:''Susa'') is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

from 1991 to 2001. She succumbed to cancer on 4 March 2002 in

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...

. The grave of the author is found in

Mallin Mallin is a village and a former municipality in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Since 1 January 2012, it is part of the town Penzlin Penzlin () is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte distri ...

Works

* ''Der Weg über den Acker'' (The road across the field), Novel, 1955 * ''Lene Bastians Geschichte'' (Lene Bastian's History), Novellas, 1956 * ''Der lange Weg'' (The Long Way), Narrative, 1958 * ''Brot auf hölzerner Schale'' (Bread from the Wooden Bowl), Poems, 1959 * ''Elisabeth'', Narrative, 1960 * ''Rumpelstilzchen'', Radio play, 1960 * ''Das Aprikosenbäumchen'' (The Little Apricot Tree), Children's Book, 1960 * ''Der Wunderbaum'' (The Wonder Tree), Children's Book, 1960 * ''Der Spiegel'' (The Mirror), Narrative, 1962 * ''Der Totengräber'' (The Dead Graves), Novel, 1963 * ''... und sie liebten sich doch'' (.. and they loved themselves nevertheless), Novel, 1966 * ''Die Liebenden'' (The Beloved), Novel, 1970 * ''Der grüne Salon'' (The Green Salon), Novel, 1972 * ''Magda Adomeit'', Novel, 1985 * ''Land der grüngoldenen Berge: Unterwegs in Mongolien'', Novel, 1986 * ''Dies ist mein Leben ...'' (This is my Life ...), Narrative cycle, 1987 * ''Nach einem sehr langen Winter'' (After a very long Winter). Selected Stories 1956–1987, Aufbau Verlag 1989 * ''Der Geistkämpfer. 2 Novellen um Barlach'' (The Ghost Fighter. 2 Novellas about Barlach), Aufbau Verlag 1990 * ''Da Abend und Morgen einander berühren Die Webers und die Adomeits'' (The Webers and the Adomeits affect each other that evening and morning). Novel, Aufbau Verlag 1990

Prizes

* 1957

Heinrich Mann Prize The Heinrich Mann Prize () is an essay prize that has been awarded since 1953, first by the East German Academy of Arts, then by the Academy of Arts, Berlin. The prize, which comes with a €10,000 purse, is given annually on 27 March, Heinrich Ma ...

* 1962 Fritz Reuter Prize

External links

Literature by and on Margarete Neumann
in the catalog of the

German National Library The German National Library (DNB; german: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to colle ...

Literature about Margarete Neumann
in the Landesbibliographie Mecklenburg-Vorpommern {{DEFAULTSORT:Neumann, Margarete 1917 births 2002 deaths People from Pyrzyce People from the Province of Pomerania Heinrich Mann Prize winners German women poets 20th-century German poets 20th-century German women writers German expatriates in Tunisia