Werner Heiduczek (24 November 1926 – 28 July 2019) was a German writer. His works have been translated into more than 20 languages and name as author – depending on the language region – Verner Gajduček, Verners Heidučeks or Verneris Heidućekas.

Life

Born in Hindenburg,

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located ...

, Heiduczek grew up in a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

family as one of five children – his father was a miner in the Upper Silesian coalfield. In 1942, during the Second World War, Heiduczek volunteered as an

Luftwaffenhelfer A ''Luftwaffenhelfer'', also commonly known as a ''Flakhelfer'', was any member of the auxiliary staff of the German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. Such terms often implied students conscripted as child soldiers. Establishment ''Luftwaff ...

. As he wanted to go to the front, the call-up to the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

in 1944 was not inconvenient. However, he did not serve at the front. He escaped from US captivity to the

East Zone The East Zone cricket team is a first-class cricket team that represents eastern India in the Duleep Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Inter Zonal. It is a composite team of five first-class Indian teams from eastern India competing in the Ranj ...

and there fell into Soviet custody, but he was spared the labour assignment in the Soviet Union. From January 1946, he took part in a course for so-called Neulehrer in

Herzberg (Elster) Herzberg (Elster) () is a town in the Elbe-Elster district of the German federal state of Brandenburg. Overview From 1939 to 1945 it was home to the Deutschlandsender Herzberg/Elster, a huge longwave transmitter, whose mast was the second talles ...

and taught in the village school in from September to November 1946. From 1946 to 1949, Heiduczek studied education and German studies in Halle. Until 1952 he worked as a teacher, school inspector and finally in

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...

. From 1953, he completed postgraduate studies in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

and then worked in teaching again until 1961, for example 1955 to 1959 at the children's and youth sports school in Halle. From 1961 to 1964, he worked as a German teacher at the , Bulgaria. From 1965 he was a

freelance writer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

based in Halle. Heiduczek initially wrote stories, plays and radio plays for children and young people. In later works, he dealt with the fate of

Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950) During later stages of World War II and post-war period from 1944 to 1950, Germans fled and were expelled to Germany, present-day Germany from Eastern Europe, which led to de-Germanization there. The idea to expel the Germans from the annexed ...

and their integration into the GDR society. His novel ''Death by the Sea'', the autobiographically coloured, sceptical life balance of the GDR artist Jablonski, published in 1977 by Mitteldeutscher Verlag Halle/Saale, was temporarily banned in 1978 at the intervention of the Soviet ambassador to the GDR

Peter Abrassimov Pyotr Andreievitch Abrasimov ( be, Пё́тр Андрэ́евіч Абра́сімаў, russian: Пётр Андреевич Абрасимов; 1912–2009) was a Soviet Union, Soviet war hero and politician who became a career diplomat. He ser ...

because of alleged anti-Soviet passages: Heiduczek's book had addressed the rape of German women by Soviet soldiers after World War II. Until the end of the GDR, Heiduczek then increasingly shifted to material from fairy tales and legends. Heiduczek had been a member of the Schriftstellerverband der DDR since 1960; since 1990 he belonged to the Verband deutscher Schriftstellerinnen und Schriftsteller and the

PEN-Zentrum Deutschland PEN Centre Germany is part of the worldwide association of writers founded in London in 1921, now known as PEN International. One of over 140 autonomous PEN centres around the world, PEN Centre Germany is based in Darmstadt, Hesse. Work PEN C ...

, and since 1992 to the . Heiduczek and his wife Dorothea (teacher, d. 1998) had three daughters (the youngest died in 1996). In 2001, the widower met the journalist Traudel Thalheim (born 1937) – with whom he lived in Leipzig until the end of his life. Heiduczek died in 2019 at the age of 92 in

Zwenkau Zwenkau is a town in the district of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. Situated between the White Elster and Pleiße rivers, it nestles in the Leipzig Bay and includes parts of the conservation area ''Elsteraue'' and ''Central Germany's Street of Li ...

. The funeral service took place on 21 August 2019 in Leipzig; the urn was laid in the ground in

Lichtentanne Lichtentanne is a municipality in the district Zwickau, in Saxony, 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 ...

– at the grave site of his wife.

Awards

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 ...

1969 *

Handel Prize The Handel Prize (german: Händel-Preis) is an annual award, instituted in 1956, which is presented by the city of Halle, in Germany, in honour of the celebrated Baroque composer George Frideric Handel. It is awarded, "for exceptional artistic, ...

, city of Halle 1969 *

Kunstpreis der Stadt Leipzig From 1959 to 1989, the city of Leipzig awarded the Kunstpreis der Stadt Leipzig, which was given for outstanding merits in the artistic field to persons who promoted the reputation of the city beyond the region: architects, visual artists, compos ...

1970 * Alex Wedding Prize 1988 *

Eichendorff-Literaturpreis Eichendorff-Literaturpreis is a literary prize of Germany. It was first awarded in 1956 and was created in honour of Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff. The prize, endowed with 5,000 euros, has been awarded annually by the Wangener Kreis – Societ ...

, city of

Wangen im Allgäu Wangen im Allgäu ( Low Alemannic: ''Wãnge'') is a historic city in southeast Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It lies north-east of Lake Constance in the Westallgäu. It is the second-largest city (Population: 26,927 in 2020) in the Ravensburg dist ...

1995 * Ehrenmedaille der Stadt Leipzig 1997 *

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

1999. The city of Leipzig honoured him in 1996 with the honorary volume "Werner Heiduczek zum 70. Geburtstag" (responsible: Reinhard Stridde, essay: Carsten Wurm, bibliography: Ulrich Kiehl), .

Work

As author

Die

Deutsche Nationalbibliothek 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 ...

listet zum Autor Werner Heiduczek insgesamt 119 Publikationen auf (Stand: 29. Juli 2019). Autobiography * ''Die Schatten meiner Toten''. Verlag

Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel B ...

, Leipzig 2005, . Picture books * ''Jana und der kleine Stern. Eine Bilderbuchgeschichte''. LeiV, Leipzig 1994, (EA Berlin 1968).Illustrated by Karl-Heinz Appelmann. * ''Laterne vor der Bambushütte''. Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1969. * ''Der kleine häßliche Vogel. Zwei Bilderbucherzählungen''. Faber & Faber, Leipzig 2006, (EA Berlin 1973).Illustrated by * ''Vom Hahn, der auszog, Hofmarschall zu werden''. Arena-Verlag, Würzburg 1996, (EA Berlin 1975). * ''Der singende Fisch''. Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 2000, (together with ) Tales, fairy tales * ''Matthes und der Bürgermeister''. Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle/Saale 1961Illustrated by Hans Mau. * ''Die Brüder''. 5th edition. Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1976 (EA Berlin 1968)Illustrated by Gerhard Rappus. * ''Mark Aurel oder Ein Semester Zärtlichkeit''. Verlag Neues Leben, Berlin 1988, (EA Berlin 1971). * ''Jule findet Freunde. Erzählungen'' (Robinsons billige Bücher; Vol. 41). Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1961. * ''Das verschenkte Weinen. Märchen und Mythen''. Kiepenheuer Verlag, Leipzig 1991, (EA Berlin 1977). * ''Dulittls wundersame Reise. Eine Erzählung''. Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1986, . * ''Reise nach Beirut. Verfehlung''. Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle/Saale 1986, . Essays * ''Verfall einer Zeit. Beispiel Leipzig''. Weidlich Flechsig, Würzburg 1992, (together with Gerhard Hopf and Falk Brunner). * ''Deutschland – kein Wintermärchen oder Draußen vor der Tür''. Verlag Europäische Ideen, Berlin 1993. * ''Jeder ist sich selbst der Fernste''. Plöttner, Leipzig 2010, . * ''Vom Glanz und Elend des Schreibens''. Plöttner, Leipzig 2011, . Children's books * ''Matthes''. 6th edition Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1979 (EA Berlin 1962) * ''Der kleine Gott der Diebe''. LeiV, Leipzig 1992, . Recounts * ''Die seltsamen Abenteuer des

Parzival ''Parzival'' is a medieval romance (heroic literature), romance by the knight-poet Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, centers on the Arthurian hero Percival, Parziva ...

''. Fischer Taschenbuchverlag, Frankfurt, 1989, (EA Berlin 1974; freely adapted from

Wolfram von Eschenbach Wolfram von Eschenbach (; – ) was a German knight, poet and composer, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of medieval German literature. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry. Life Little is known of Wolfram's life. There are ...

). * ''Die schönsten Sagen aus

Firdausi Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi ( fa, ; 940 – 1019/1025 CE), also Firdawsi or Ferdowsi (), was a Persian poet and the author of '' Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poems created by a single poet, and the gre ...

's "

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,00 ...

"''. 4th edition Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1989, (EA Berlin 1982). * ''Der Schatten des Sijawusch.'' Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle/Saale und Leipzig 1986. * ''Orpheus und Eurydike''. Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1989, . * ''King Lear''. Sonnenberg-Presse, Chemnitz 2000 (together with Andrea Lange). Novels * ''Abschied von den Engeln''. 9th edition Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle/Saale 1968. * ''Tod am Meer''. Aufbau-Taschenbuchverlag, Berlin 1999, (EA Halle/Saale 1977). Theater plays * ''Jule findet Freunde. Schauspiel in zehn Bildern''. Hofmeister Verlag, Leipzig 1959. * ''Der Gast aus Saadulla'' (premiere 1985 ) * ''Das andere Gesicht. Schauspiel by Werner Heiduczek''. Plöttner, Leipzig 2011, Werkausgabe * ''Im Querschnitt. Prosa, Stücke, Notate''. Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle/Saale 1976. * ''Im gewöhnlichen

Stalinism Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory ...

. Meine unerlaubten Texte, Tagebücher, Briefe, Essays''. Kiepenheuer Verlag, Leipzig 1991, .

As publisher

* ''Die sanfte Revolution. Prosa, Lyrik, Protokolle, Erlebnisberichte, Reden''. Kiepenheuer, Leipzig 1990, (together with

Stefan Heym Helmut Flieg or Hellmuth Fliegel (10 April 1913 – 16 December 2001) was a German writer, known by his pseudonym Stefan Heym (). He lived in the United States and trained at Camp Ritchie, making him one of the Ritchie Boys of World War II. In ...

References

External links

* * * Jan Emendörfer:
„Ich bin ausgeschrieben“ – Der Leipziger Schriftsteller Werner Heiduczek wird 90
'. * Jörg B. Bilke
''Werner Heiduczek'' im Kulturportal West-Ost
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heiduczek, Werner 20th-century German writers German radio writers Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1926 births 2019 deaths People from Zabrze Luftwaffenhelfer German military personnel of World War II German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union German escapees Escapees from United States military detention