Ulrich Plenzdorf (1993) by Guenter Prust

Ulrich Plenzdorf (; 26 October 1934 – 9 August 2007) was a German author and dramatist.

Life

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 ...

, Plenzdorf studied

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, but graduated with a degree in film. He found work at

DEFA DEFA (''Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft'') was the state-owned film studio of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) throughout the country's existence. Since 2019, DEFA's film heritage has been made accessible and licensable on the PRO ...

. He became famous in both

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

and

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 his socially critical work titled ''"

Die neuen Leiden des jungen W. ''Die neuen Leiden des jungen W.'' (''The New Sufferings of Young W.'') is an analytic collage-style novel (montage novel) and play by Ulrich Plenzdorf. History Plenzdorf wrote ''Die neuen Leiden des jungen W.'' using the East German (DDR) you ...

"'' Written in the jargon of the GDR-youth of the 1970s, it details the tragic story of a young man and his attempt to break free from his stifling middle class environment, drawing parallels between his own life and that of the protagonist in

Goethe's Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German people, German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, politician, statesman, theatre director, and critic. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe bibliography, His works include pla ...

work ''

The Sorrows of Young Werther ''The Sorrows of Young Werther'' (; german: Die Leiden des jungen Werthers) is a 1774 epistolary novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, which appeared as a revised edition in 1787. It was one of the main novels in the ''Sturm ...

(Die Leiden des jungen Werther)'' (1774). From 2004 to 2007, Plenzdorf was a guest lecturer at the Deutsches Literaturinstitut in

. He died near Berlin of undisclosed causes, aged 72.

Awards and honors

*1973

Heinrich-Mann-Preis 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 ...

*1978

Ingeborg-Bachmann-Preis The Festival of German-Language Literature (german: Tage der deutschsprachigen Literatur, links=no) is a literary event which takes place annually in Klagenfurt, Austria. During this major literary festival which lasts for several days a number of ...

Works

*''

'' *''Der alte Mann, das Pferd, die Straße'' (1974) *''Buridans Esel'' (1976) (Drama based on the novel by

Günter de Bruyn Günter de Bruyn (; 1 November 1926 – 4 October 2020) was a German author. Life Günter de Bruyn was born in Berlin in November 1926; his father Carl was a Catholic from Bavaria. Günter served as a Luftwaffenhelfer and soldier in World War I ...

) *''Auszug'' (1977) *''kein runter kein fern'' (1978) *''Legende vom Glück ohne Ende'' (1979) (extended novel based on the film ''Die Legende von Paul und Paula'') *''Gutenachtgeschichte'' (1980) *''Ein Tag länger als ein Leben'' (1986) *''Freiheitsberaubung'' (1987) *''Eins und Eins ist Uneins''

Screenwriter

* ''

Follow Me, Scoundrels ''Follow Me, Scoundrels'' (german: Mir nach, Canaillen!) is a 1964 East German historical adventure film directed by Ralf Kirsten and starring Manfred Krug, Monika Woytowicz Monika Woytowicz (born 1944) is a German stage, film and televisio ...

'' (dir. Ralf Kirsten, 1964) — based on a novel by * ' (dir. Herrmann Zschoche, 1965, released: 1990) * ''

Weite Straßen – stille Liebe ''Weite Straßen – stille Liebe'' ( en, Wide Streets – Silent Love, link=yes) is an East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed f ...

'' (dir. Herrmann Zschoche, 1969) — based on a novel by * ' (dir. , 1971) — based on stories by

Gisela Karau Gisela Karau (birth name: Wilczynski; 28 March 1932 in Berlin – 9 April 2010 in Berlin) was an East German journalist and author of children's literature. Born in Berlin, she was married and had two children. Life Gisela Karau was born i ...

* ''

The Legend of Paul and Paula ''Die Legende von Paul und Paula'' (; English: ''The Legend of Paul and Paula'') is a 1973 tragicomic East German film directed by Heiner Carow. A novel by Ulrich Plenzdorf named ''Die Legende vom Glück ohne Ende'' was based on this film. The ...

'' (dir.

Heiner Carow Heiner Carow (19 September 1929 – 1 February 1997) was a German film director and screenwriter. His 1986 film '' So Many Dreams'' was entered into the 37th Berlin International Film Festival. The following year, he was a member of the jury at ...

, 1973) * ' (dir. Herrmann Zschoche, 1974) * ''Die neuen Leiden des jungen W.'' (dir. , 1976, TV film, West Germany) * ' (dir. Herrmann Zschoche, 1980) — based on the novel ''Buridans Esel'' by

* ''Es geht seinen Gang oder Mühen in unserer Ebene'' (dir. , 1981, TV film, West Germany) — based on a novel by

Erich Loest Erich Loest (; 24 February 1926 – 12 September 2013) was a German writer born in Mittweida, Saxony. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Hans Walldorf, Bernd Diksen and Waldemar Naß. Life and career He was a conscript soldier in World War II a ...

* ' (dir.

Frank Beyer Frank Paul Beyer (; 26 May 1932 – 1 October 2006) was a German film director. In East Germany he was one of the most important film directors, working for the state film monopoly DEFA and directed films that dealt mostly with the Nazi era ...

, 1981, TV film, West Germany) — based on a novel by * ' (dir. Herrmann Zschoche, 1983) — based on a novel by

Benno Pludra Benno Pludra (1 October 1925 – 27 August 2014) was a German children's author. He was born in Mückenberg, now Lauchhammer-West. Pludra wrote narratives and novels for children and teenagers. More than five million copies of his books have bee ...

* ' (dir.

, 1984) — based on a novel by

Christoph Meckel Christoph Meckel (12 June 1935 – 29 January 2020) was a German author and graphic artist. He received awards for his works which connect illustrations with the written text, sometimes texts by others. Life Born in Berlin, Meckel spent his yo ...

* ' (dir.

Peter Beauvais Peter Beauvais (September 9, 1916, Weißenstadt, Germany – December 17, 1986, Baden-Baden, Germany) was a German television film director and scriptwriter. As a director for three decades, he helped pioneer and significantly influenced the devel ...

, 1986, TV film, West Germany) — based on a novella by

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 ...

* ' (dir.

Rainer Simon Rainer Simon (born 11 January 1941) is a German film director and screenwriter. He directed 17 films between 1964 and 2000. His ''How to Marry a King'' (1969) and ''Six Make it Through the World'' (1972) are highly imaginative adaptations of fai ...

, 1991) — based on a story by

Franz Fühmann Franz Fühmann (15 January 1922 – 8 July 1984) was a German writer who lived and worked in East Germany. He wrote in a variety of formats, including short stories, essays, screenplays and children's books. Influenced by Nazism in his youth ...

* ' (dir. Christian Steinke, 1991, TV film) * ' (dir.

, 1991) — based on a story by

Volker Braun Volker Braun (born 7 May 1939 in Dresden) is a German writer. His works include ''Provokation für mich'' (''Provocation for me'') – a collection of poems written between 1959 and 1964 and published in 1965, a play, ''Die Kipper'' (''The Dumpers ...

* ''Vater Mutter Mörderkind'' (dir.

, 1993, TV film) * ''

Liebling Kreuzberg Liebling Kreuzberg is a television series on ARD, which was first aired in five seasons with a total of 58 episodes from 1986 to 1998. The scripts of seasons one through three and five were written by Jurek Becker, who tailor-made the role of ...

'' (dir. , 1994, TV series, 13 episodes) — TV series created by

Jurek Becker Jurek Becker (, probably 30 September 1937 – 14 March 1997) was a Polish-born German writer, screenwriter and East German dissident. His most famous novel is ''Jacob the Liar'', which has been made into two films. He lived in Łódź during Wo ...

* ''Das andere Leben des Herrn Kreins'' (dir.

Andreas Dresen Andreas Dresen (born 16 August 1963) is a German film director. His directing credits include '' Cloud 9'', '' Summer in Berlin'', ''Grill Point'' and ''Night Shapes''. His film '' Stopped on Track'' premiered at the Un Certain Regard section at ...

, 1994, TV film) — based on the play ''The Professional'' by

Dušan Kovačević Dušan Kovačević ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Ковачевић, ; born 12 July 1948) is a Serbian playwright, scriptwriter, film director and academic best known for his theatre plays and movie scripts. He also served as the ambassador of Serbia in L ...

* ' (dir. , 1995, TV film) — based on the novel '' The Drinker'' by

Hans Fallada Hans Fallada (; born Rudolf Wilhelm Friedrich Ditzen; 21 July 18935 February 1947) was a German writer of the first half of the 20th century. Some of his better known novels include '' Little Man, What Now?'' (1932) and ''Every Man Dies Alone'' ...

* ' (dir. , 1995, TV film) — based on a novel by * ''

Abgehauen ''Abgehauen'' is a 1998 German television docudrama directed by Frank Beyer and based on the autobiographical book of the same name by Manfred Krug. (''Abgehauen. Ein Mitschnitt und ein Tagebuch.'' Düsseldorf: ECON 1996). Frank Beyer won an Ad ...

'' (dir.

, 1998, TV film) — based on the autobiography of

Manfred Krug Manfred Krug (; 8 February 1937 – 21 October 2016) was a German actor, singer and author. Life and work Born in Duisburg, Krug moved to East Germany at the age of 13, and worked at a steel plant before beginning his acting career on the stage a ...

* ' (dir.

Jo Baier Jo Baier (born 13 February 1949) is a German film director and writer. He directed more than twenty films since 1982 and is known for '' Operation Valkyrie'' (2004), '' Henri 4'' (2010) and ' (2006). He is married to Gertrud Baier. Early life an ...

, 1998, TV miniseries) — based on a novel by

Erwin Strittmatter Erwin Strittmatter (14 August 1912 – 31 January 1994) was a German writer. Strittmatter was one of the most famous writers in the GDR. Biography Strittmatter was born the son of a baker and foods wholesaler. Between 1924 and 1930 he attended ...

Film adaptations

*''Die neuen Leiden des jungen W.'', directed by (1976, TV film, based on the novel ''

'') *''Nuoren Wertherin jäljillä'', directed by Jarmo Lampela (2013, based on the novel ''

'')

References

*
Der Spiegel obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plenzdorf, Ulrich 1934 births 2007 deaths Writers from Berlin East German writers German male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century German dramatists and playwrights 20th-century German male writers Leipzig University alumni Heinrich Mann Prize winners Ingeborg Bachmann Prize winners Recipients of the Heinrich Greif Prize