Margret Antonie Boveri (14 August 1900 – 6 July 1975) was one of the best-known German journalists and writers of the post-

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 ...

period. She was a recipient of the German Critics' Prize and the Bundesverdienstkreuz.

Life

Margret Boveri was born in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the daughter of German biologist

Theodor Boveri Theodor Heinrich Boveri (12 October 1862 – 15 October 1915) was a German zoologist, comparative anatomist and co-founder of modern cytology. He was notable for the first hypothesis regarding cellular processes that cause cancer, and for descr ...

and American biologist

Marcella O'Grady Boveri Marcella Boveri (née O'Grady; October 7, 1863 – October 24, 1950) was an American biologist. She was married to the German biologist Theodor Boveri (1862–1915). Their daughter Margret Boveri (1900–1975) became one of the best-known post-war ...

. Her father died in 1915 and her mother returned to the USA in 1925. She studied history and political science in Munich and Berlin. From 1934 she worked in the Foreign Affairs section of the ''

Berliner Tageblatt The ''Berliner Tageblatt'' or ''BT'' was a German language newspaper published in Berlin from 1872 to 1939. Along with the ''Frankfurter Zeitung'', it became one of the most important liberal German newspapers of its time. History The ''Berline ...

'' newspaper, where she was promoted by the editor, Paul Scheffer. Heike B. Görtemaker: ''Ein deutsches Leben. Die Geschichte der Margret Boveri, München'', 2005 From 1939 until 1943 (when the newspaper was banned) she worked as foreign correspondent for the '' Frankfurter Zeitung'' newspaper in Stockholm and New York City. She was awarded the War Merit Medal by the

Nazi 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 ...

Government in 1941; she herself was never a member of the Nationalist Socialist Party. After the USA entered the war she was interned for a time in New York, before being returned, at her own request, to Europe. In May 1942 she arrived in Lisbon, where she continued her work as correspondent for the ''Frankfurter Zeitung''. While in Lisbon she became acquainted with the Swiss journalist

Annemarie Schwarzenbach Annemarie Minna Renée Schwarzenbach (23 May 1908 – 15 November 1942) was a Swiss writer, journalist and photographer. Her bisexual mother brought her up in a masculine style, and her androgynous image suited the bohemian Berlin society of the ...

, who was to die shortly afterwards in an accident in Switzerland. After the '' Frankfurter Zeitung'' was banned by the German government in 1943, Boveri returned to Berlin, where her apartment was destroyed in an air strike. She then took up work as a report writer in the German embassy in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

before returning to Berlin in 1944 to work as a freelance writer with the National Socialist weekly '' Das Reich''. Gedenktafel Opitzstr 8 Margret Boveri

After the war Boveri disapproved of the division of Germany by the Allies into separate political zones, in which she was supported by

Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman who served as the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of the Christian Dem ...

, and she maintained her opposition to the division of Germany until the 1960s. In 1968 she was awarded the German Critics' Prize and in 1970 the Bundesverdienstkreuz, the highest civilian honour in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, for promoting understanding between East and West Germany.Heike B. Görtemaker: ''Ein deutsches Leben. Die Geschichte der Margret Boveri, München'', 2005, S. 313 Among her friends and acquaintances were

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...

Theodor Heuss Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His cordial nature – something of a contrast to the stern character of chancellor K ...

Ernst von Weizsäcker Ernst Heinrich Freiherr von Weizsäcker (25 May 1882 – 4 August 1951) was a German naval officer, diplomat and politician. He served as State Secretary at the Foreign Office of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1943, and as its Ambassador to ...

Freya von Moltke Freya von Moltke (née Deichmann; 29 March 1911 – 1 January 2010) was a German American lawyer and participant in the anti-Nazi opposition group, the Kreisau Circle, with her husband, Helmuth James von Moltke. During World War II, her husba ...

Ernst Jünger Ernst Jünger (; 29 March 1895 – 17 February 1998) was a German author, highly decorated soldier, philosopher, and entomologist who became publicly known for his World War I memoir '' Storm of Steel''. The son of a successful businessman and ...

Carl Schmitt Carl Schmitt (; 11 July 1888 – 7 April 1985) was a German jurist, political theorist, and prominent member of the Nazi Party. Schmitt wrote extensively about the effective wielding of political power. A conservative theorist, he is noted as ...

, Armin Mohler,

Gottfried Benn Gottfried Benn (2 May 1886 – 7 July 1956) was a German poet, essayist, and physician. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times. He was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize in 1951. Biography and work Family and beginnings Go ...

und

Uwe Johnson Uwe or UWE may refer to * Uwe (given name) * University of the West of England, Bristol * UML-based web engineering * University Würzburg's Experimental miniaturized satellites for space research UWE-1 and UWE-2 * Uwe - Wreck in Blankenese Blank ...

. She died in Berlin in 1975.

Works

* ''Das Weltgeschehen am Mittelmeer'', Zurich 1936 * ''Vom Minarett zum Bohrturm. Eine politische Biographie Vorderasiens'', Zurich and Leipzig 1939 * ''Ein Auto, Wüsten, blaue Perlen. Bericht über eine Reise durch Vorderasien'', Leipzig 1939 * modern edition: ''Wüsten, Minarette und Moscheen. Im Auto durch den alten Orient.'' Berlin, wjs 2005, * ''Amerika-Fibel für erwachsene Deutsche'', Berlin 1946 (modern edition: Berlin (Landt) 2006, * ''16 Fenster und 8 Türen'', Berlin 1953 * ''Der Verrat im XX. Jahrhundert'', 4 Volumes, Hamburg 1956–1960 * ''Wir lügen alle. Eine Hauptstadtzeitung unter Hitler'', Olten and Freiburg im Breisgau 1965 * ''Tage des Überlebens. Berlin 1945'', Munich 1968. Modern edition: Berlin, wjs 2004, * ''Erinnerte Mutmaßungen'', in: ''Neue Deutsche Hefte'' 16, 205–208, 1969 * ''Die Deutschen und der Status Quo'', Munich 1974 * ''Verzweigungen. Eine Autobiographie'', published by

, Munich 1977
modern edition: Frankfurt am Main, Suhrkamp 1996,

References

Sources

* . Extract published in * Belke, Ingrid: ''Auswandern oder bleiben? Die Publizistin Margret Boveri (1900–1975) im Dritten Reich.'' In: ''Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaft'' 53 (2005), S. 118–137. * Görtemaker, Heike B.: ''Ein deutsches Leben. Die Geschichte der Margret Boveri'', Munich, C.H. Beck 2005, * Dambitsch, David: ''Eine Dame von Welt – Die politische Journalistin Margret Boveri (1900–1975)'', Munich, * Gillessen, Günther: ''Auf verlorenem Posten. Die Frankfurter Zeitung im Dritten Reich.'' Berlin 1986 *

Ernst Klee Ernst Klee (15 March 1942, Frankfurt – 18 May 2013, Frankfurt) was a German journalist and author. As a writer on Germany's history, he was best known for his exposure and documentation of medical crimes in Nazi Germany, much of which was concer ...

: ''"Margret Boveri"'' Eintrag in ders.: ''Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945''. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007,

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boveri, Margret 1900 births 1975 deaths German people of American descent German people of Irish descent Writers from Würzburg Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 20th-century German women writers 20th-century German writers 20th-century German journalists

Life

Works

References

Sources

Further reading

External links