Siegfried Lenz (; 17 March 19267 October 2014) was a German writer of novels,
short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...
and
essay
An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...
s, as well as
dramas
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been c ...
for
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
and the
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
. In 2000 he received the
Goethe Prize
The Goethe Prize of the City of Frankfurt (german: Goethe-Preis der Stadt Frankfurt am Main, links=no) is an award for achievement "worthy of honour in memory of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe" made by the city of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was u ...
on the 250th Anniversary of
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...
Ełk
Ełk (; former pl, Łek; german: Lyck; Old Prussian: ''Luks''; lt, Lukas), also spelled Elk in English, is a small city in northeastern Poland with 61,677 inhabitants as of December 2021. It was assigned to Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in 1999, ...
, Poland), the son of a customs officer. After graduating in 1943 he was drafted into the '' Kriegsmarine''.
According to documents released in June 2007, he joined the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
at the age of 18 on 20 April 1944 along with several other German authors and personalities such as
Dieter Hildebrandt
Dieter Hildebrandt (23 May 1927 – 20 November 2013) was a German Kabarett artist.
Biography
Hildebrandt was born in Bunzlau, Lower Silesia, Weimar Germany (now Boleslawiec, Poland) where he attended school. In World War II he became a Fla ...
and
Martin Walser
Martin Walser (; born 24 March 1927) is a German writer.
Life
Walser was born in Wasserburg am Bodensee, on Lake Constance. His parents were coal merchants, and they also kept an inn next to the train station in Wasserburg. He described the ...
. However Lenz subsequently said he had been included in a collective ‘joining’ of the Party without his knowledge. In
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 was a soldier in the German Kriegsmarine and served as a
Fähnrich zur See
''Fähnrich zur See'' (Fähnr zS or FRZS) designates in the German Navy of the Bundeswehr a military person or member of the armed forces with the second highest Officer Aspirant (OA – german: Offizieranwärter) rank. According to the salary ...
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
in
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...
. He then worked as an interpreter for the British army.
At the
University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vo ...
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
literary history
The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment, enlightenment, or instruction to the reader/listener/observer, as well as the development of the literary techniques ...
. His studies were cut off early when he became an intern for the daily newspaper ''
Die Welt
''Die Welt'' ("The World") is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE.
''Die Welt'' is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group. Its leading competitors are the ''Frankfurter All ...
'', where he served as an editor from 1950 to 1951. It was there he met his future wife, Liselotte, whom he married in 1949.
In 1951, Lenz used the money he had earned from his first novel, ''Habichte in der Luft'' ("Hawks in the air"), to finance a trip to
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
...
. During his time there he wrote about the Mau Mau Uprising in his short story "''Lukas, sanftmütiger Knecht''" ("Luke, gentle servant"). After 1951, Lenz worked as a freelance writer in Hamburg, where he joined the
Group 47
Gruppe 47 (Group 47) was a group of participants in German writers' meetings, invited by Hans Werner Richter between 1947 and 1967. The meetings served the dual goals of literary criticism as well as the promotion of young, unknown authors. In a de ...
group of writers. Together with Günter Grass he became engaged with the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Fo ...
and championed the ''
Ostpolitik
''Neue Ostpolitik'' (German for "new eastern policy"), or ''Ostpolitik'' for short, was the normalization of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, or West Germany) and
Eastern Europe, particularly the German Democratic Republ ...
'' of
Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...
. As a supporter of rapprochement with Eastern Europe he was a member of the German delegation at the signing of the
Treaty of Warsaw (1970)
The Treaty of Warsaw (german: Warschauer Vertrag, Polish: Układ PRL-RFN) was a treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the People's Republic of Poland. It was signed by Chancellor Willy Brandt and Prime Minister Józef ...
. In October 2011, he was made an honorary citizen of his home town
Ełk
Ełk (; former pl, Łek; german: Lyck; Old Prussian: ''Luks''; lt, Lukas), also spelled Elk in English, is a small city in northeastern Poland with 61,677 inhabitants as of December 2021. It was assigned to Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in 1999, ...
, which had become Polish as a result of the border changes promulgated at the 1945
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference (german: Potsdamer Konferenz) was held at Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to allow the three leading Allies to plan the postwar peace, while avoiding the mistakes of the Paris P ...
.
In 2003, Lenz joined the Verein für deutsche Rechtschreibung und Sprachpflege (Society for German Spelling and Language Cultivation) to protest against the
German orthography reform of 1996
The German orthography reform of 1996 (') was a change to German spelling and punctuation that was intended to simplify German orthography and thus to make it easier to learn, without substantially changing the rules familiar to users of the lan ...
.
His wife, Liselotte, died in 2006 after 57 years of marriage. Four years later he married his 74-year-old neighbour, Ulla, who had helped him after the death of his wife. Siegfried Lenz died at the age of 88 on 7 October 2014 in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
.
After his death a previously unpublished novel, ''Der Überläufer'' ("The Turncoat"), which Lenz had written in 1951, was published. Found among his effects, it is a novel about a German soldier who defects to Soviet forces.
Honors
In 1988 Lenz was awarded the
Peace Prize of the German Book Trade
is an international peace prize awarded annually by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (English: ''German Publishers and Booksellers Association''), which runs the Frankfurt Book Fair. The award ceremony is held in the Paulskirche in ...
, a prize given annually at the
Frankfurt Book Fair
The Frankfurt Book Fair (German: Frankfurter Buchmesse, FBM) is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. It is considered to be the most important book fair in the world for internationa ...
. The
Goethe Prize
The Goethe Prize of the City of Frankfurt (german: Goethe-Preis der Stadt Frankfurt am Main, links=no) is an award for achievement "worthy of honour in memory of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe" made by the city of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was u ...
of
Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
(Goethepreis der Stadt Frankfurt) was given to Lenz in 2000. A year later Lenz was honoured with the highest decoration of Hamburg,
honorary citizenship
Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...
The Siegfried Lenz Prize is a literary prize awarded every two years in Hamburg by the Siegfried Lenz Foundation. The prize is awarded to "international writers who have gained recognition with their narrative work and whose creative work is close to the spirit of Siegfried Lenz." A five-member jury appointed by the Foundation selects winners. The prize includes an award of 50,000 euros, ranking among the highest-endowed literature awards in Germany. The prize was initiated by Siegfried Lenz in 2014 before his death in October of that year.
Selected bibliography
Novels
* ''Es waren Habichte in der Luft'' (1951)
* ''Duell mit dem Schatten'' (1953)
* ''Der Mann im Strom'' (1957)
* ''Brot und Spiele'' (1959)
* ''Das Feuerschiff'' (1960) (English: ''The Lightship'', trans. M. Bullock, 1960)
* ''Stadtgespräch'' (1963)
* ''Deutschstunde'' (1968) (English: '' The German Lesson'', trans. E. Kaiser and E. Wilkins, 1968)
* ''Das Vorbild'' (1973) (English: ''An Exemplary Life'', trans. Douglas Parmée, 1976)
* ''Heimatmuseum'' (1978) (English: ''The Heritage'', trans. Krishna Winston, 1983)
* ''Der Verlust'' (1981)
* ''Exerzierplatz'' (1985) (English: ''Training Ground'', trans. G. Skelton, 1991)
* ''Die Klangprobe'' (1990)
* ''Die Auflehnung'' (1994)
* ''Arnes Nachlass'' (1999)
* ''Fundbüro'' (2003)
* ''Landesbühne'' (2009)
* ''Der Überläufer'' (2016)
Novellas and short story collections
* ''So zärtlich war Suleyken: masurische Geschichten'' (1955) – short stories
* ''Der Geist der Mirabelle: Geschichten aus Bollerup'' (1975) – short stories
* ''Die Erzählungen'' (2006) – short stories (First published by Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag: Vol. 1: 1949–1958. Vol 2: 1959–1964. Vol. 3: 1965–1984) (English: ''The Selected Stories of Siegfried Lenz'', selections from ''Die Erzählungen'', 1995)
* ''Schweigeminute'' (2008) – novella
Plays
* ''Das schönste Fest der Welt'' (1956)
* ''Zeit der Schuldlosen. Zeit der Schuldigen.'' (1961)
* ''Das Gesicht'' (1964)
* ''Haussuchung'' (1967)
* ''Die Augenbinde'' (1970)
* ''Drei Stücke'' (1980)
Other
* ''Das Kabinett der Konterbande'' (1956)
* ''Jäger des Spotts. Geschichten aus dieser Zeit'' (1958) – Narratives
* ''Lukas, sanftmütiger Knecht'' (1958)
* ''Stimmungen der See'' (1962)
* ''Lehmanns Erzählungen, oder So schön war mein Markt: aus den Bekenntnissen eines Schwarzhändlers'' (1964)
* ''Der Spielverderber'' (1965)
* ''Leute von Hamburg'' (1968)
* ''Einstein überquert die Elbe bei Hamburg'' (1975)
* ''Ein Kriegsende'' (1984)
* ''Das serbische Mädchen'' (1987)
* ''Ludmilla'' (1996)
* ''Zaungast'' (2004)
Essays, children's books, speeches
* 1970 ''Beziehungen'', Essay
* 1971 ''Die Herrschaftssprache der CDU'', Speech
* 1971 ''Verlorenes Land – Gewonnene Nachbarschaft'', Speech
* 1971 ''So war das mit dem Zirkus'', Children's book
* 1980 ''Gespräche mit
Manès Sperber
Manès Sperber (12 December 1905 – 5 February 1984) was an Austrian- French novelist, essayist and psychologist. He also wrote under the pseudonyms ''Jan Heger'' and ''N.A. Menlos''.
Early life
Sperber was born on 12 December 1905 in Zabłot ...
und
Leszek Kołakowski
Leszek Kołakowski (; ; 23 October 1927 – 17 July 2009) was a Polish philosopher and historian of ideas. He is best known for his critical analyses of Marxist thought, especially his three-volume history, '' Main Currents of Marxism'' (1976 ...
''
* 1982 ''Über Phantasie: Gespräche mit Heinrich Böll, Günter Grass, Walter Kempowski,
Pavel Kohout
Pavel Kohout (born 20 July 1928) is a Czech and Austrian novelist, playwright, and poet. He was a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, a Prague Spring participant and dissident in the 1970s until he was not allowed to return from Au ...
''
* 1983 ''Elfenbeinturm und Barrikade. Erfahrungen am Schreibtisch'', Essay
* 1986 ''Geschichte erzählen – Geschichten erzählen'', Essay
* 1992 ''Über das Gedächtnis. Reden und Aufsätze'', Speeches and essays collection
* 1998 ''Über den Schmerz'', Essay
* 2001 ''Mutmassungen über die Zukunft der Literatur'', Essay
* 2006 ''Selbstversetzung, Über Schreiben und Leben'',
* 2014 ''Gelegenheit zum Staunen. Ausgewählte Essays'', ed. by Heinrich Detering. Hoffmann und Campe Verlag,
The Lightship
''The Lightship'' is a 1985 American drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. The film stars Klaus Maria Brandauer and Robert Duvall, with early appearances by Arliss Howard and William Forsythe.
The film is based on the novella "Das Feuerschif ...
'', directed by
Ladislao Vajda
Ladislao Vajda (born Weisz László; 18 August 1906, Budapest – 25 March 1965, Barcelona) was a Hungarian-Spanish film director who made films in Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Italy and West Germany.
Biography
He was born in Budapest, ...
(1963, based on the story ''Das Feuerschiff'')
*''Zeit der Schuldlosen'', directed by (TV film, 1961, based on the play ''Die Zeit der Schuldlosen'')
*''
Time of the Innocent
''Time of the Innocent'' (german: Die Zeit der Schuldlosen) is a 1964 West German drama film directed by Thomas Fantl.
Cast
In alphabetical order
* Karl-Otto Alberty
* Otto Brüggemann
* Hans Cossy
* Gustl Datz
* Hans Drahn
* Heinz-Leo Fis ...
'', directed by Thomas Fantl (1964, based on the play ''Die Zeit der Schuldlosen'')
*''Risiko für Weihnachtsmänner'', directed by Thomas Fantl (TV film, 1968, based on the short story ''Risiko für Weihnachtsmänner'')
*''Das schönste Fest der Welt'', directed by Thomas Fantl (TV film, 1969, based on the play ''Das schönste Fest der Welt'')
*', directed by Peter Beauvais (TV miniseries, 1971, based on the novel '' The German Lesson'')
*''Lehmanns Erzählungen'', directed by Wolfgang Staudte (TV film, 1975, based on ''Lehmanns Erzählungen'')
*''Der Geist der Mirabelle'', directed by Eberhard Pieper (TV film, 1978, based on ''Der Geist der Mirabelle'')
*''Ein Kriegsende'', directed by
Volker Vogeler
Volker Vogeler (27 June 1930 – 16 April 2005) was a German film director and screenwriter. He directed 13 films between 1967 and 2000. His 1971 film '' Jaider, der einsame Jäger'' was entered into the 21st Berlin International Film Fest ...
(TV film, 1984, based on the story ''Ein Kriegsende'')
*''
The Lightship
''The Lightship'' is a 1985 American drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. The film stars Klaus Maria Brandauer and Robert Duvall, with early appearances by Arliss Howard and William Forsythe.
The film is based on the novella "Das Feuerschif ...
'', directed by
Jerzy Skolimowski
Jerzy Skolimowski (, born 5 May 1938) is a Polish film director, screenwriter, dramatist and actor. A graduate of the prestigious National Film School in Łódź, Skolimowski has directed more than twenty films since his 1960 début ''Oko wyk ...
(1986, based on the story ''Das Feuerschiff'')
*', directed by
Egon Günther
Egon Günther (30 March 1927 – 31 August 2017) in:
(TV miniseries, 1988, based on the novel ''Heimatmuseum'')
*', directed by (1991, based on the novel ''Das serbische Mädchen'')
*''Der Mann im Strom'', directed by (TV film, 2006, based on the novel ''Der Mann im Strom'')
*', directed by Florian Gärtner (TV film, 2008, based on the story ''Das Feuerschiff'')
*''Die Auflehnung'', directed by (TV film, 2009, based on the novel ''Die Auflehnung'')
*''Arnes Nachlass'', directed by Thorsten Schmidt (TV film, 2012, based on the novel ''Arnes Nachlass'')
*', directed by Thomas Berger (TV film, 2014, based on the story ''Die Flut ist pünktlich'')
*''Der Verlust'', directed by Thomas Berger (TV film, 2015, based on the novel ''Der Verlust'')
*''Die Nacht im Hotel'', directed by Konstantinos Sampanis (short, 2015, based on the 1948 short story "Die Nacht im Hotel")
*', directed by Thorsten Schmidt (TV film, 2016, based on the novel ''Schweigeminute'')
*''Der Anfang von etwas'', directed by Thomas Berger (TV film, 2019, based on the story ''Der Anfang von etwas'')
*', directed by Christian Schwochow (2019, based on the novel '' The German Lesson'')
*', directed by
Florian Gallenberger
Florian Gallenberger (born 23 February 1972 in Munich) is a German film director and writer. His film '' Quiero ser (I want to be...)'' was awarded the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 2001.
Career
Gallenberger appeared in various ...