Wolfgang Hildesheimer (9 December 1916 – 21 August 1991) was a German author who incorporated the

Theatre of the Absurd The Theatre of the Absurd (french: théâtre de l'absurde ) is a post–World War II designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1950s. It is also a term for the style of ...

. He originally trained as an artist, before turning to writing.

Biography

Hildesheimer was born of Jewish parents in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. His grandfather was

Azriel Hildesheimer Azriel Hildesheimer (also Esriel and Israel, yi, עזריאל הילדעסהיימער; 11 May 1820 – 12 July 1899) was a German rabbi and leader of Orthodox Judaism. He is regarded as a pioneering moderniser of Orthodox Judaism in Germany an ...

, the moderniser of

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

in Germany. He was educated at the '' Humanistisches Gymnasium'' in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

() from 1926 to 1930. He then attended

Odenwaldschule The Odenwaldschule was a German school located in Heppenheim in the Odenwald. Founded in 1910, it was Germany's oldest '' Landerziehungsheim'', a private boarding school located in a rural setting. Edith and Paul Geheeb established it using ...

until 1933, when he left Germany. He was then educated at

Frensham Heights School Frensham Heights School is an independent school and sixth form college located near Farnham, Surrey, England, run by the registered charity, Frensham Heights Educational Trust Ltd. It was founded in 1925 and formed as part of the movement for ...

in Surrey, England. He studied carpentry in

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

, where his parents had emigrated, and underwent

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He studied painting and stage building in London. In 1946 he worked as a translator and clerk at the

Nuremberg trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945 ...

. Afterward, he worked as a writer and was a member of

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 ...

. In 1980, he gave the inaugural address at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amad ...

, "Was sagt Musik aus?" (What does music say?).Brief biography

Suhrkamp Suhrkamp Verlag is a German publishing house, established in 1950 and generally acknowledged as one of the leading European publishers of fine literature. Its roots go back to the "arianized" part of the S. Fischer Verlag. In January 2010 the ...

/Insel. Retrieved 13 October 2011 In addition to writing, Hildesheimer created

collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...

s which he collected in several volumes (the first ''Endlich allein'', 1984), an activity he shared with other late-20th century writers

Peter Weiss Peter Ulrich Weiss (8 November 1916 – 10 May 1982) was a German writer, painter, graphic artist, and experimental filmmaker of adopted Swedish nationality. He is particularly known for his plays ''Marat/Sade'' and ''The Investigation'' and hi ...

and

Ror Wolf Ror Wolf (born Richard Georg Wolf; 29 June 1932 – 17 February 2020) was a German writer, poet, and artist who also published under the pseudonym Raoul Tranchirer. He wrote audio plays, novels, and poems and made collages. Life Richard Georg ...

. The municipality of

Poschiavo Poschiavo ( it, Poschiavo, lmo, Pusciaaf, german: Puschlav, rm, Puschlav) is a municipality in the Bernina Region in the canton of Grisons in Switzerland. History Poschiavo is first mentioned in 824 as ''in Postclave'' though this comes from ...

in Switzerland made Hildesheimer an

honorary citizen 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 ...

in 1982; he died there in 1991.

Works

* 1952 '', short stories * 1953 ''Das Paradies der falschen Vögel'' * 1954 ''An den Ufern der Plotinitza'', radio play * 1955 ''Der Drachenthron'', comedy in three acts * 1955 ', radio play * 1954 ''Das Märchen von Prinzessin

Turandot ''Turandot'' (; see below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, posthumously completed by Franco Alfano in 1926, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. ''Turandot'' best-known aria is "Nessun dorma", whi ...

'' (The Fairy Tale of Princess Turandot), radio play * 1958 ''Pastorale oder Die Zeit für Kakao'', play * 1960 ''Herrn Walsers Raben'', radio play * 1961 ''Die Verspätung'', play * 1962 ''Vergebliche Aufzeichnungen'' * 1965 ''

Tynset Tynset is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tynset. Other villages in Tynset include Fådalen, Fåset, Telneset ...

'', a novel * 1971 ''Zeiten in Cornwall'', travelogue * 1973 ''Masante'', a novel * 1977 ', a biography of

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

* 1981 ', a fictional biography of Sir Andrew Marbot * 1983 ''Mitteilungen an Max (Über den Stand der Dinge und anderes)''

Awards

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 ...

(a radio play prize for ''Princess Turandot'') 1955 *

Georg Büchner Prize The Georg Büchner Prize (german: link=no, Georg-Büchner-Preis) is the most important literary prize for German language literature, along with the Goethe Prize. The award is named after dramatist and writer Georg Büchner, author of ''Woyzeck'' ...

1966 *

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 ...

(Großes Verdienstkreuz) 1983

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hildesheimer, Wolfgang 1916 births 1991 deaths German male dramatists and playwrights Writers from Hamburg People from Poschiavo Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom German biographers Male biographers Georg Büchner Prize winners Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People educated at Frensham Heights School 20th-century German dramatists and playwrights 20th-century biographers 20th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers