Walter Serner (15 January 1889 – August 1942) was a

German-language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a c ...

writer and essayist. His manifesto ''Letzte Lockerung'' was an important text of

Dadaism Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Paris ...

Life

Walter Serner was born Walter Eduard Seligmann in Carlsbad (Karlovy Vary),

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

(then

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, now

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

). In 1913 he studied law in the Austro-Hungarian capital of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and completed his doctorate in the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...

. With the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he escaped to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

in 1914 and participated in Dada activities in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

, Geneva, and Paris until 1920. During World War I he was the editor of the magazines ''Sirius'' and ''Zeltweg'' and a writer for ''

Die Aktion ''Die Aktion'' ("The Action") was a German literary and political magazine, edited by Franz Pfemfert and published between 1911 and 1932 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf; it promoted literary Expressionism and stood for left-wing politics. To begin with, ''D ...

''. In 1921 Serner stayed in Italy with the artist

Christian Schad Christian Schad (21 August 189425 February 1982) was a German painter and photographer. He was associated with the Dada and the New Objectivity movements. Considered as a group, Schad's portraits form an extraordinary record of life in Vienna a ...

. Beginning in 1923 he began living in various European cities, including

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

, Vienna, Carlsbad, and

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. From 1925, Serner became the target of

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. Serner had been born Jewish and had converted to Catholicism in 1913. His play ''Posada'' premiered 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 ...

in 1927, but his other planned shows were forbidden. In 1933 Serner's books were banned by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. In 1938 Serner married his partner Dorothea Herz in

, where he was working as a private teacher. When war broke out, they had no chance to escape from the occupied country. In 1942 he and his wife were interned in the

Theresienstadt Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the Schutzstaffel, SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (German occupation of Czechoslovakia, German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstad ...

concentration camp and three weeks later were moved in the direction of "the East", where they perished in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

. Walter Serner's most successful novel ''Die Tigerin'' (''The Tigress'') was made into an English-language feature film by writer/director Karin Howard and released in 1992. At that time the novel was re-published in Germany where Serner's books enjoy a cult following. The film was shot in Berlin and Carlsbad.

Work

Lifetime publications

* Letzte Lockerung. manifest dada. Hannover / Leipzig / Wien / Zürich: Steegemann, 1920 * Zum blauen Affen. Dreiunddreißig hanebüchene Geschichten. Hannover: Steegemann, 1921 * Der elfte Finger. Fünfundzwanzig Kriminalgeschichten. Hannover: Steegemann, 1923 * Der Pfiff um die Ecke. Zweiundzwanzig Spitzel- und Detektivgeschichten. Berlin: Elena Gottschalk, 1925 * Die Tigerin. Eine absonderliche Liebesgeschichte. Berlin: Gottschalk, 1925 * Die tückische Straße. Neunzehn Kriminal-Geschichten. Wien: Dezember, 1926 * Posada oder Der Große Coup im Hotel Ritz. Ein Gauner-Stück in drei Akten. Wien: Dezember, 1926

Latest publications

* Angst. Frühe Prosa. Erlangen: Renner, 1977 * Hirngeschwür. Texte und Materialien. Walter Serner und Dada. Erlangen: Renner, 1977 * Wong fun. Kriminalgeschichte. Augsburg: Maro, 1991

Collected editions

* ''Das gesamte Werk. Band 1-8, 3 Supplementbände''. Hrsg.: Thomas Milch. Erlangen, München: Renner, 1979—1992 ** Bd. 1: Über Denkmäler, Weiber und Laternen. Frühe Schriften (1981) ** Bd. 2: Das Hirngeschwür. DADA (1982) ** Bd. 3: Die Tigerin. Eine absonderliche Liebesgeschichte (1980) ** Bd. 4: Der isabelle Hengst. Sämtliche Kriminalgeschichten I (1979) ** Bd. 5: Der Pfiff um die Ecke. Sämtliche Kriminalgeschichten II (1979) ** Bd. 6: Posada oder der große Coup im Hotel Ritz. Ein Gaunerstück in drei Akten (1980) ** Bd. 7: Letzte Lockerung. Ein Handbrevier für Hochstapler und solche die es werden wollen (1981) ** Bd. 8: Der Abreiser. Materialien zu Leben und Werk (1984) ** Bd. 9 = Supplementbd. 1: Die Haftung des Schenkers wegen Mängel im Rechte und wegen Mängel der verschenkten Sache (1982) ** Bd. 10 = Supplementbd. 2: Das fette Fluchen. Ein Walter Serner-Gaunerwörterbuch (1983) ** Bd. 11 = Supplementbd. 3: Krachmandel auf Halbmast. Nachträge zu Leben und Werk (1992) (sehr versch. Texte, Dokumente und Abb. von und über W. S., Dada, Christian Schad u. a., mit Erl.) * ''Gesammelte Werke in zehn Bänden''. Hrsg. von Thomas Milch. München: Goldmann, 1988 ** Bd. 1: Über Denkmäler, Weiber und Laternen. Frühe Schriften (enthält den Supplementband 1 der Renner-Ausgabe) ** Bd. 2: Das Hirngeschwür. DADA ** Bd. 3: Zum blauen Affen. Dreiunddreißig Kriminalgeschichten ** Bd. 4: Der elfte Finger. Fünfundzwanzig Kriminalgeschichten ** Bd. 5: Die Tigerin. Eine absonderliche Liebesgeschichte ** Bd. 6: Der Pfiff um die Ecke. Zweiundzwanzig Kriminalgeschichten ** Bd. 7: Posada oder der große Coup im Hotel Ritz. Ein Gaunerstück in drei Akten ** Bd. 8: Die tückische Straße. Neunzehn Kriminalgeschichten ** Bd. 9: Letzte Lockerung. Ein Handbrevier für Hochstapler und solche die es werden wollen ** Bd. 10: Der Abreiser. Materialien zu Leben und Werk (enthält den Supplementband 2 der Renner-Ausgabe) * ''Sprich deutlich. Sämtliche Gedichte und Dichtungen''. Hrsg.: Klaus G. Renner. München: Renner, 1988 * ''Das Walter-Serner-Lesebuch. Alle 99 Kriminalgeschichten in einem Band''. München: Goldmann, 1992 * ''Das erzählerische Werk in drei Bänden''. Hrsg.: Thomas Milch. München: Goldmann/btb, 2000, ** Bd. 1: Zum blauen Affen / Der elfte Finger ** Bd. 2: Die Tigerin ** Bd. 3: Der Pfiff um die Ecke / Die tückische Straße

References

External links

The Necessity to Disappear (about Walter Serner) by Peter Luining
{{DEFAULTSORT:Serner, Walter 1889 births 1942 deaths Writers from Karlovy Vary Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism Czech Roman Catholics Czech Jews Dada Czech male writers Jewish refugees University of Greifswald alumni Theresienstadt Ghetto prisoners 20th-century German male writers Czech Jews who died in the Holocaust