Hans-Friedrich Blunck (3 September 1888 – 24 April 1961) was a German

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

and a writer. In the time 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 ...

, he occupied various positions in

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

cultural institutions.

Life

A schoolteacher's son, Blunck was born in Altona near

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

and studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

and the

Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

. At the latter university Blunck earned his PhD in 1912 with the dissertation ''Die Anefangsklage. Eine rechtsgeschichtliche Studie''. He was called into the forces in the

First World War 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 ...

and served as an officer. Between 1920 and 1928, he worked as a government adviser, and from 1925 until 1928 as a

syndic Syndic (Late Latin: '; Greek: ' – one who helps in a court of justice, an advocate, representative) is a term applied in certain countries to an officer of government with varying powers, and secondly to a representative or delegate of a universi ...

at the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vor ...

. Blunck lived from 1919 to 1924 in the Vierbergen district of

Ahrensburg Ahrensburg () is a town in the district of Stormarn, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located northeast of Hamburg and is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. Its population is around 31,000. ''Schloss Ahrensburg'', the town's symbol, is ...

and later lived in

Hoisdorf Hoisdorf is a municipality in the district of Stormarn, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Rus ...

. In 1931, Blunck moved to his estate "Mölenhoff" in Grebin near

Plön Plön (; Holsatian: ''Plöön'') is the district seat of the Plön district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and has about 8,700 inhabitants. It lies right on the shores of Schleswig-Holstein's biggest lake, the Great Plön Lake, as well as on ...

. Between 1920 and 1940, Blunck published many

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

s and

narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller (ge ...

s, which are regarded in modern times as an attempt to establish the way to

National Socialism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

. Blunck was especially interested in Nordic themes and

Hanse The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=German language, Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Norther ...

atic history, which he framed with an emphasis on nationalistic aspects and the " völkisch" body of thought. His work includes conflicts with the Germanic pantheon,

Norse saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to the Play ...

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

ghost stories A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them."Ghost Stories" in Margaret Drabble (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to English Literature''. ...

and

Low Saxon Low Saxon, also known as West Low German ( nds, Nedersassisch, Nedersaksies; nl, Nedersaksisch) are a group of Low German dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, northwestern Germany and southern Denmark (in North Schleswig by parts of th ...

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

. After

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

and the Nazis seized power, Blunck was chosen on 7 June 1933 to be the second chairman of the Section for Poetry of the

Prussian Academy of the Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts (German: ''Preußische Akademie der Künste'') was a state arts academy first established in Berlin, Brandenburg, in 1694/1696 by prince-elector Frederick III, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and late ...

; the first chairman was

Hanns Johst Hanns Johst (8 July 1890 – 23 November 1978) was a German poet and playwright, directly aligned with Nazi philosophy, as a member of the officially approved writers’ organisations in the Third Reich. The statement “When I hear the word cult ...

. Blunck had before this taken up one of the posts left open after all

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish members had been excluded. In 1933, Blunck was ordered to take the post of the first President of the Reich Literature Chamber (''Reichsschrifttumskammer''), whose job was to further the control and

Gleichschaltung The Nazi term () or "coordination" was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party successively established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all aspects of German society and societies occupied b ...

of literary production and distribution. Blunck signed the " vow of most faithful allegiance" to Adolf Hitler in the same year. However, by October 1935, he was removed from this position at

Hans Hinkel Hans Hinkel (22 June 1901 – 8 February 1960) was a German journalist and ministerial official in Nazi Germany. He studied at the University of Bonn, where he was a member of the academic fencing fraternity ''Sugambria''. Hinkel had served in t ...

's instigation. Unlike his successor Johst, Blunck was not yet a member of the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

(Nazi Party) and spoke out against

persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

of Jews who served in World War I. Blunck was named foreign representative of the Reich Literature Chamber and Honorary "Chairman by Seniority." In 1936, Blunck founded the "Foundation of German Works Abroad" (''"Stiftung Deutsches Auslandswerk"''), whose goal was to propagate a positive picture of the Third Reich abroad. He joined the Nazi party in 1937. Blunck became a member of the "

Eutin Eutin () is the district capital of Ostholstein, Eastern Holstein county located in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. As of 2020, the town had some 17,000 inhabitants. History The name Eutin (originally Utin) is of Slavic origin. I ...

er Dichterkreis", one of the most ardent Nazi poet societies in the Third Reich, whose patron was

Hinrich Lohse Hinrich Lohse (2 September 1896 – 25 February 1964) was a Nazi German politician and a convicted war criminal, best known for his rule of the Reichskommissariat Ostland, during World War II. Reichskommissariat Ostland now comprises Lithuania, L ...

(other members were

Gunnar Gunnarsson Gunnar Gunnarsson (18 May 1889 – 21 November 1975) was an Icelandic author who wrote mainly in Danish. He grew up, in considerable poverty, on Valþjófsstaður in Fljótsdalur valley and on Ljótsstaðir in Vopnafjörður. During th ...

Helene Voigt-Diederichs Helene Theodora Voigt-Diederichs (May 28, 1875 – December 3, 1961) was a German writer. The daughter of Christian Theodor Voigt and Marie Louise Brinckmann, she was born Helene Theodora Voigt on the family estate Marienhoff near Eckernförd ...

, and

Gustav Frenssen Gustav Frenssen (19 October 1863 – 11 April 1945) was a German novelist. He wrote patriotically about his native country and promoted ''Heimatkunst'' ( regionalism) in literature. Biography Frenssen was born in the village of Barlt, in the D ...

). Blunck was first president, and then from 1940 forward, he served as honorary president of the foundation, which in consultation with Reich ministries and NSDAP organizations coordinated foreign-based German companies' activities. In 1952, Blunck published his memoirs under the title ''Unwegsame Zeiten'' ("Pathless Times"). He died on 24 April 1961.

Quotations

Literature

* Jürgen Blunck: ''Bibliographie Hans Friedrich Blunck. Mit einem Anhang: Schriften von und über Barthold Blunck.'' Hamburg: Ges. zur Förderung d. Werkes von Hans Friedrich Blunck e. V. 1981. (= Jahrbuch der Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Werkes von Hans Friedrich Blunck; 1981) * W. Scott Hoerle: ''Hans Friedrich Blunck. Poet and Nazi collaborator. 1888-1961.'' Oxford u.a.: Peter Lang. 2003. (= Studies in modern German literature; 97) * Christian Jenssen: ''Hans Friedrich Blunck. Leben und Werk.'' Berlin: Buch- und Tiefdr.-Ges., Abt. Buchverl. 1935. * Kai-Uwe Scholz: ''Chamäleon oder Die vielen Gesichter des Hans-Friedrich Blunck. Anpassungsstratregien eines prominenten NS-Kulturfunktionärs vor und nach 1945.'' In: Ludwig Fischer (Hrsg.): ''Dann waren die Sieger da. Studien zur literarischen Kultur in Hamburg 1945-1950''. Hamburg: Dölling und Galitz. 1999.(= Schriftenreihe der Hamburgischen Kulturstiftung; 7)

References

External links

*
Hans Friedrich Blunck - Brief biography, legacy and publications
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blunck, Hans-Friedrich 1888 births 1961 deaths People from Altona, Hamburg Writers from Hamburg Jurists from Hamburg Prussian Academy of Arts faculty German male writers German Army personnel of World War I