Wolfgang Weyrauch (15 October 1904 – 7 November 1980) was a German writer, journalist, and actor. He wrote under the pseudonym name Joseph Scherer.

Life and work

Wolfgang Weyrauch was born Königsberg, Prussia as the son of a surveyor. After attending gymnasium, and receiving his

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

, he began going to acting school in

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 ...

in 1924. Between 1925 and 1927, he acted in theaters in

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

Bochum Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous Germany, German federal state o ...

, and at the Harztheater in

Thale Thale () is a town in the Harz district in Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany. Located at the steep northeastern rim of the Harz mountain range, it is known for the scenic Bode Gorge stretching above the town centre. Geography The town is situated ...

. From 1927 to 1929, Weyrauch pursued

German history The Germani tribes i.e. Germanic tribes are now considered to be related to the Jastorf culture before expanding and interacting with the other peoples. The concept of a region for Germanic tribes is traced to time of Julius Caesar, a Roman gen ...

German studies German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German hi ...

, and

Romance studies Romance studies or Romance philology ( an, filolochía romanica; ca, filologia romànica; french: romanistique; eo, latinida filologio; it, filologia romanza; pt, filologia românica; ro, romanistică; es, filología románica) is an acade ...

Goethe University Frankfurt Goethe University (german: link=no, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) is a university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealt ...

. In 1929, he began working as a freelance writer, from 1929 to 1933, at the '' Frankfurter Zeitung'', from 1932 to 1938, at 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 ...

'', and, from 1933 to 1934, at the ''

Vossische Zeitung The (''Voss's Newspaper'') was a nationally-known Berlin newspaper that represented the interests of the liberal middle class. It was also generally regarded as Germany's national newspaper of record. In the Berlin press it held a special role d ...

''. In the 1930s, Weyrauch also began to write

radio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

s, a newly emerged art form. During the 1930s, Weyrauch also worked as a

literary editor A literary editor is an editor in a newspaper, magazine or similar publication who deals with aspects concerning literature and books, especially reviews.

, and published his first books. From 1940 to 1945, he worked in an air intelligence unit 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 opposin ...

. In 1945, he was held in a Soviet

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 wa ...

camp, and was released in the same year. After 1945, Weyrauch wrote radio plays, and narratives, and published numerous anthologies (see list below). From December 1945 to 1948, Weyrauch was the editor of ''

Ulenspiegel ' was a bi-weekly German satirical magazine published in Berlin after World War II. The magazine was an important cultural outlet in the new era of democracy and freedom following the fall of the Third Reich. Its first issue was published on 2 ...

'', a

satirical magazine This is a list of satirical magazines which have a satirical bent, and which may consist of fake news stories for mainly humorous purposes. List See also * List of satirists and satires * List of satirical news websites * List of satir ...

, and '' Ost und West'', both published in Berlin. He shaped the direction of " Kahlschlagliteratur" in ''Tausend Gramm'', a 1949 anthology edited by him, characterizing and promoting the rebirth of German literature, after the end of the

Third Reich 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 ...

. From 1950 to 1958, he was a literary editor at the Hamburg publisher,

Rowohlt Verlag Rowohlt Verlag is a German publishing house based in Hamburg, with offices in Reinbek and Berlin. It has been part of the Georg von Holtzbrinck Group since 1982. The company was created in 1908 in Leipzig by Ernst Rowohlt. Divisions * Kinder * ...

. Beginning in 1959, he returned to freelance writing, first in Gauting, near

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, and in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

, after 1967. Weyrauch was a member of the

West German 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 ...

P.E.N. PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internatio ...

, and the German Writers' Union. In 1951, he began taking part in

Gruppe 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 ...

conferences, and, in 1967, he became a member of the

Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung The Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung (in English German Academy for Language and Literature) was founded on 28 August 1949, on the 200th birthday of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt. It is seated in Darmstadt, ...

, where he died.

Awards and honors

In 1997, the city of

created the

Wolfgang Weyrauch Prize The Wolfgang Weyrauch Prize is a literary prize in Hesse, Germany named for writer Wolfgang Weyrauch. Established in 1997, the prize is awarded to young writers for their encouragement and includes a stipend in the amount of €8,000.

to encourage young writers with an award, and

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...

. The

is in the amount of €8,000."Preisverleihung"
Literarische März. Retrieved 9 February 2012 During his lifetime, Weyrauch himself was awarded several prizes. * 1962

Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden The Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden (War Blinded Audio Play Prize), also known as the Kriegsblindenpreis (War Blinded Prize) is the most important literary prize granted to playwrights of audio plays written in the German language. The award was e ...

* 1972

Johann Heinrich Merck Johann Heinrich Merck (11 April 1741 – 27 June 1791), German author and critic, was born at Darmstadt, a few days after the death of his father, a chemist. He studied law at Gießen, and in 1767 was given an appointment in the paymaster's depar ...

Ehrung, City of Darmstadt * 1973

Andreas Gryphius Prize The Andreas-Gryphius Prize is a prestigious literary prize in Germany, named after the German poet Andreas Gryphius (1616–1664). The prize is awarded to authors and translators whose work reflects German culture and history in Central, Eastern ...

* 1979 Ehrengabe des Kulturkreises im Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie

Works

;General * '' Der Main'', Berlin 1934 * '' Strudel und Quell'', Berlin 1938 * '' Ein Band für die Nacht'', Leipzig 1939 * '' Eine Inselgeschichte'', Berlin 1939 * '' Das Liebespaar'', Leipzig 1943 * '' Auf der bewegten Erde'', Berlin 1946 * '' Von des Glücks Barmherzigkeit'', Berlin 1946 * '' Die Liebenden'', Munich 1947 * '' Die Davidsbündler'', Hamburg u.a. 1948 * '' Lerche und Sperber'', Munich 1948 * '' An die Wand geschrieben'', Hamburg 1950 * '' Bitte meiner älteren Tochter'', Wien u.a. 1952 * '' Die Feuersbrunst'', Karlsruhe 1952 * '' Bericht an die Regierung'', Frankfurt a. M. 1953 * '' Die Minute des Negers'', Hamburg 1953 * '' Gesang um nicht zu sterben'', Hamburg 1956 * '' Nie trifft die Finsternis'', Berlin 1956 * ''

Anabasis Anabasis (from Greek ''ana'' = "upward", ''bainein'' = "to step or march") is an expedition from a coastline into the interior of a country. Anabase and Anabasis may also refer to: History * ''Anabasis Alexandri'' (''Anabasis of Alexander''), a ...

'', Hamburg 1959 * '' Mein Schiff, das heißt Taifun'', Olten u.a. 1959 * '' Das Jahr'', München 1961 * '' Die japanischen Fischer'', Weinheim 1961 * '' Dialog mit dem Unsichtbaren'', Olten u.a. 1962 * '' Das grüne Zelt. Die japanischen Fischer'', Stuttgart 1963 * '' Die Spur'', Olten u.a. 1963 * '' Dialog über neue deutsche Lyrik'', Itzehoe-Vosskate 1965 * '' Komm'', München 1965 * '' Das erste Haus hieß Frieden'', Munich 1966 * '' Etwas geschieht'', Olten u.a. 1966 * '' Unterhaltungen von Fußgängern'', Munich 1966 * '' Geschichten zum Weiterschreiben'', Neuwied u.a. 1969 * '' Flug über Franken und Hessen'', Braunschweig 1970 * '' Ein Clown sagt'', Weinheim 1971 * '' Wie geht es Ihnen?'', Neuwied u.a. 1971 * '' Mit dem Kopf durch die Wand'', Darmstadt 1972 * '' Das Ende von Frankfurt am Main'', Stuttgart 1973 * '' Gedichte'', Darmstadt 1974 * '' Beinahe täglich'', Darmstadt u.a. 1975 * '' Lieber T.'', Düsseldorf 1976 * '' Das Komma danach'', Pfaffenweiler 1977 * '' 2 Litaneien'', Dreieich 1977 * '' Fußgänger, B-Ebene, Hauptwache, Rolltreppe, hinauf, hinab'', Frankfurt am Main 1978 * '' Hans Dumm'', Köln u.a. 1978 * '' Ein Schluck von Vernunft'', Darmstadt 1978 * '' Blickpunkt Darmstadt'', Darmstadt 1979 * '' Ein Gedicht, was ist das?'', Hannover 1980 (with Fritz Deppert) * '' Epilog für Darmstadt'', Darmstadt 1981 * '' Anders wär's besser'', Würzburg 1982 * '' Zeugnisse & Zeugen'', Büdingen 1982 * '' Dreimal geköpft'', Assenheim 1983 * '' Proust beginnt zu brennen'', Frankfurt am Main 1985 * '' Atom und Aloe'', Frankfurt 1987 * '' Lebenslauf'', Dreieich 1988 * '' Das war überall'', Darmstadt 1998 ;Translations * Jehanne Jean Charles: '' Schrei, wenn du kannst'', Bonn 1960 (with Margot Weyrauch) ;Edited and published * ''1940'', Berlin 1940 * '' Das Berlin-Buch'', Leipzig 1941 * '' Die Pflugschar'', Berlin 1947 * '' Lesebuch für Erwachsene'', Lorch, Württemberg and others 1948 * '' Tausend Gramm'', Hamburg and others 1949 * '' Expeditionen'', Munich 1959 * '' Ich lebe in der Bundesrepublik'', Munich 1960 * '' Alle diese Straßen'', Munich 1965 * '' Lyrik aus dieser Zeit 1965/66'', Esslingen 1965 (with Johannes Poethen) * '' Ausnahmezustand'', Munich 1966 * '' Unser ganzes Leben'', Munich 1966 (with

Geno Hartlaub Geno may refer to: __NOTOC__ People *Geno (given name), including a list of people with the name *Marián Geňo (born 1984), Czech footballer *Evgeni Malkin (born 1986), Russian ice hockey player nicknamed Geno Art and entertainment * "Geno" ( ...

Martin Gregor-Dellin Martin Gregor-Dellin (real name Martin Gustav Schmidt) was a German writer noted for his scholarship on the composer Richard Wagner. He was born in 1926 in Naumburg (Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale (german: Sächsische Saale ...

, Heinz Piontek, and Heinrich Vormweg) * '' Federlese'', München 1967 (with

Benno Reifenberg Benno may refer to: People Mononym * (927–940), saint * (1049–1061) *Benno I of Osnabrück (bishop, 1052–1067) *Benno of Meissen (bishop, 1066–1106), saint *Benno II of Osnabrück (bishop, 1068–1088) *Benno of Santi Martino e Silvestro ( ...

) * '' Lyrik aus dieser Zeit 1967/68'', Munich and others 1967 (with Johannes Poethen) * '' 11 Autoren über 1 Jahrzehnt'', Berlin 1970 * '' Von Darmstadt nach Darmstadt'', Darmstadt 1972 (with Fritz Deppert) * '' Das Kellerbuch'', Darmstadt 1973 * '' Neue Expeditionen'', Munich 1975 * '' Vom Fischer und seiner Frau'', Weinheim 1976 (with

Hans-Joachim Gelberg Hans-Joachim Gelberg (27 August 1930 – 17 May 2020) was a German writer and publisher of children's books, who received several awards. Biography Gelberg was born in Dortmund and later lived in Weinheim, Baden Württemberg. Gelberg founded i ...

and

Willi Glasauer Willi Glasauer (born 9 December 1938 in Stříbro) is a German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German languag ...

) * '' Kalenderbuch'', Köln 1977 * '' Das Lächeln meines Großvaters und andere Familiengeschichten'', Düsseldorf 1978 * '' Aufschlüsse'', Modautal-Neunkirchen 1978 * '' Liebeserklärungen'', Darmstadt 1978 (with Fritz Deppert) * '' Liebesgeschichten'', Gütersloh 1979 * '' Literarischer März'', Munich 1979 (with Fritz Deppert and

Karl Krolow Karl Krolow (11 March 1915 – 21 June 1999) was a German poet and translator. In 1956 he was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize. He was born in Hanover, Germany, and died in Darmstadt, Germany. Biography Krolow came from a family of civil servants ...

) * '' Mein Gedicht ist die Welt'', Frankfurt am Main ** Vol. 1. '' 1780 bis 1912'', 1982 ** Vol. 2. '' 1912 bis 1982'', 1982

Sources

* Irmela Schneider (Ed.): ''Zu den Hörspielen Wolfgang Weyrauchs''. Siegen 1981. * Ulrike Landzettel: ''"Mein Gedicht ist mein Messer"''. Darmstadt 1991. * Ulrike Landzettel: ''Wolfgang Weyrauch''. In: ''Kritisches Lexikon zur deutschsprachigen Gegenwartsliteratur.'' Edited by Heinz Ludwig Arnold. 56. Nachlieferung. text + kritik, Munich 1997.
Ulrike Landzettel: Identifikationen eines Eckenstehers. Der Schriftsteller Wolfgang Weyrauch (1904-1980). Dissertation an der Universität Marburg 2003.
* Werner Bellmann: ''Wolfgang Weyrauch: "Uni"''. In: ''Deutsche Kurzprosa der Gegenwart. Interpretationen.'' Edited by W.B. und Christine Hummel. Reclam, Stuttgart 2006. pp. 85–93.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weyrauch, Wolfgang 1904 births 1980 deaths German male writers Writers from Königsberg