Bernhard Kellermann (4 March 1879,

Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division ('' Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the ...

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German ...

– 17 October 1951) was a German

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and poet.

Life

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-19204-2120, Bernhard Kellermann, Otto Nagel

Bernhard Kellermann enrolled in 1899 at

Technical University Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Establis ...

initially in general studies, but later focused on German literature and

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

. Beginning in 1904 he built a reputation as a novelist with early works such as ''Yester and Li'', and reached extraordinary success through 1939 with 183 printings. The novel ''Ingeborg'' (1906) achieved an impressive 131 printings (until 1939). In the years before

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 ...

his novels were published following journeys in the United States and Japan. His novel ''Das Meer'' (''The Sea'') was made into film by

Peter Paul Felner Peter Paul Felner (1884–1927) was an Austrian- Hungarian screenwriter and film director. Selected filmography Director * '' Prinz und Tänzerin'' (1920) * '' Marquis Fun'' (1920) * '' The Earl of Essex'' (1922) * ''The Merchant of Venice'' (1 ...

and Sofar-Film-Produktion GmbH, featuring prominent film stars. His main work was '' Der Tunnel'' in 1913. It was highly successful for both him and his publisher, S. Fischer Verlag: circulation exceeded one million, and the work was translated into 25 languages. Kellermann's works became more critical of society and directly related to real-world events; his previous writings were marked with

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

and

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the ...

. During World War I, Kellermann worked as a

correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

for 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 ...

'' 'Berlin's Daily Journal'' one of Berlin's most influential newspapers, and published several war reports. In 1920, his novel ''Der 9. November'' (''The Ninth of November'') appeared, which argued critically against the behavior of soldiers and officers in relation to the people. This book doomed Kellermann during the Nazi era. Beginning in 1922 he produced numerous novellas and

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

. In 1926 Kellermann became a member of the

Prussian poet academy Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

, from which he was excluded 1933. In 1926 he divorced

Lene Schneider-Kainer Lene Schneider-Kainer, born Lene Schneider (1885 – 1971), was a Jewish-Austrian painter, daughter of the painter Sigmund Schneider, noted for her illustration of "''Lucian, Lukian:Hetärengespräche. Mit Illustrationen von Lene Schneider-Kainer ...

while on an extended odyssey of two years, often traveling by donkey or caravan visiting Russia,

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, India,

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

Hongkong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

and China. His novel ''The Ninth November'' was banned and burned publicly. Kellermann did not flee the country and offered no resistance, but wrote

dime novel The dime novel is a form of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S. popular fiction issued in series of inexpensive paperbound editions. The term ''dime novel'' has been used as a catchall term for several different but related forms, r ...

s. After the collapse of the Nazi dictatorship, Kellermann worked with Johannes R. Becher in the

Cultural Association of the GDR The Cultural Association of the GDR (german: Kulturbund der DDR, KB) was a federation of local clubs in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It formed part of the Socialist Unity Party-led National Front, and sent representatives to the Volksk ...

. He was a member of

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

Volkskammer __NOTOC__ The Volkskammer (, ''People's Chamber'') was the unicameral legislature of the German Democratic Republic (colloquially known as East Germany). The Volkskammer was initially the lower house of a bicameral legislature. The upper house w ...

as well as chairmen of the Society for German-Soviet Friendship. His commitment in the postwar years to East Germany caused a boycott of West German booksellers. His name was forgotten. Even shortly before his death in 1951 he rallied the writers of both German states to push for unified deliberations. Bernhard Kellermann is buried in the New Cemetery at Potsdam. His grave is preserved.

Works

* ''Yester und Li'', novel (1904) * ''Ingeborg'', novel (1906) * ''Der Tor'', novel (1909) * ''Das Meer'' 'The Sea'' novel (1910) * ''Ein Spaziergang in Japan'', Reisebericht 'A Walk in Japan'' travelogue (1910) * ''Sassa yo Yassa. Japanische Tänze'' apanese Dances(1911) * '' Der Tunnel'' 'The Tunnel'' novel (1913) * ''Der Krieg im Westen'', Kriegsbericht 'The war in the West'', War Report(1915) * ''Krieg im Argonnerwald'', Kriegsbericht 'War in the Argonner Forest'', War Report(1916) * ''Der 9. November'' 'The Ninth of November'' novel (1920) * ''Die Heiligen'' 'The Saints'' novel (1922) * ''Schwedenklees Erlebnis'' 'Swedish Clover Experience''(1923) * ''Die Brüder Schellenberg'' 'The_Brothers_Schellenberg''.html" ;"title="The_Brothers_Schellenberg.html" ;"title="'The Brothers Schellenberg">'The Brothers Schellenberg''">The_Brothers_Schellenberg.html" ;"title="'The Brothers Schellenberg">'The Brothers Schellenberg'' novel (1925) * ''Die Wiedertäufer von Münster'' [''The Anabaptists of Muenster''], drama (1925) * ''Auf Persiens Karawanenstraßen'' [''Persian Caravan Roads''], travelogue (1928) * ''Der Weg der Götter. Indien, Klein-Tibet, Siam'' [''The Path of the Gods. India, Little Tibet, Siam''], travelogue (1929) * ''Die Stadt Anatol'' ('' City of Anatol (novel), City of Anatol''), novel (1932) * ''Jang-tse-kiang'' (1934) * ''Lied der Freundschaft'' 'Songs of Friendship''(1935) * ''Das blaue Band'' 'The Blue Band''(1938) * ''Meine Reisen in Asien'' 'My travels in Asia''(1940) * ''Georg Wendlandts Umkehr'' 'George Wendlandt's Reversal''(1941) * ''Was sollen wir tun?'' 'What are we to do?'' essay (1945) * ''Totentanz'' (1948) * ''"Wir kommen aus Sowjetrußland"'' 'We come from Soviet Russia'' report (1948)

Posthumously

* ''Bernhard Kellermann zum Gedenken. Aufsätze, Briefe, Reden 1945-1951'' 'Bernhard Kellermann in memory: Essays, letters, speeches''(1952)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kellermann, Bernhard 1879 births 1951 deaths People from Fürth People from the Kingdom of Bavaria Cultural Association of the GDR members Members of the Provisional Volkskammer Members of the 1st Volkskammer East German writers German essayists German journalists German male journalists 20th-century German novelists 20th-century German poets German political writers German science fiction writers German travel writers Writers from Bavaria German male essayists German male poets German male novelists 20th-century essayists Technical University of Munich alumni Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany

Life

Works

Posthumously

See also

References

Further reading

External links