Günther Deicke (21 October 1922 – 14 June 2006) was a German poet and journalist.

Life

Born in

Hildburghausen Hildburghausen () is a town in Thuringia in central Germany, capital of the Hildburghausen district. Geography It is situated in the Franconian part of Thuringia south of the Thuringian Forest, in the valley of the Werra River. The town centre ...

, in 1940 Deicke joined the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

. Under the Nazi regime he was Hitler Youth Führer. From 1941 to 1945, he was deployed as a sailor in World War II. In 1947, he became cultural editor in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

, and from 1951 to 1952

literary editor A literary editor is a editor responsible for refining and overseeing the quality of written content in a newspaper, magazine or other publication. Literary editor deals with aspects concerning literature and books, especially reviews. A literary ...

in Berlin. From 1951 to 1958, he worked for the literary magazine '. From 1959 to 1970, he again worked as a publishing house editor. Deicke worked as an author with the leading

GDR East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

publishers and magazines (

Aufbau-Verlag Aufbau Verlag is a German publisher. It was founded in Berlin in 1945 and became the biggest publisher in East Germany (GDR). During that time it specialised in Socialist literature, socialist and Russian literature. Aufbau Verlag (officially s ...

, , ,

Sinn und Form ''Sinn und Form'' () is a bimonthly literary and cultural magazine. It was launched in East Berlin, East Germany, in 1949 and is still in circulation. The magazine describes itself as one of the definitive cultural journals in Germany. History ...

). He was also active as a translator of works by

Boris Pasternak Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (30 May 1960) was a Russian and Soviet poet, novelist, composer, and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pasternak's first book of poems, ''My Sister, Life'', was published in Berlin in 1922 and soon became an imp ...

Mihai Eminescu Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanians, Romanian Romanticism, Romantic poet, novelist, and journalist from Moldavia, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Emin ...

Ivan Vazov Ivan Minchov Vazov (; – 22 September 1921) was a Bulgarian poet, novelist, and playwright, often referred to as "the Patriarch of Bulgarian literature". He was born in Sopot, a town in the Rose Valley of Bulgaria (then part of the Ottoman Em ...

Lőrinc Szabó Lőrinc Szabó de Gáborján ( ; Miskolc, 31 March 1900 – Budapest, 3 October 1957) was a Hungarian poet and literary translator. Biography He was born in Miskolc as the son of an engine driver, Lőrinc Szabó sr., and Ilona Panyiczky. T ...

, Vojtech Mihálik. He has been a freelance writer since 1970 and has published numerous volumes of poetry, such as ''Du und Dein Land und die Liebe sowie Die Wolken.''. Deicke was a member of the

German Academy of Sciences at Berlin The German Academy of Sciences at Berlin, , in 1972 renamed the Academy of Sciences of the GDR (''Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR (AdW)''), was the most eminent Research institute, research institution of East Germany (German Democratic Repub ...

and the

PEN Centre Germany 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 Ce ...

. In 1964, he received the

Heinrich Heine Prize Heinrich Heine Prize refers to three different awards named in honour of the 19th-century German poet Heinrich Heine, Christian Johann Heinrich Heine: * ''Heinrich Heine prize of Düsseldorf'' * ''Heinrich Heine prize of the Ministry for Culture'' ...

and the

Attila József Attila József (; 11 April 1905 – 3 December 1937) was one of the most famous Hungarian poets of the 20th century. Generally not recognized during his lifetime, József was hailed during the communist era of the 1950s as Hungary's great ...

plaque of the Hungarian P.E.N. Centre; in 1970, the National Prize of the GDR. He received the ''

Berliner Zeitung The ''Berliner Zeitung'' (; ) is a daily newspaper based in Berlin, Germany. Founded in East Germany in 1945, it is the only East German paper to achieve national prominence since Reunification of Germany, reunification. It is published by Berl ...

'' Critics' Prize in 1968 and 1977, and the

Patriotic Order of Merit The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...

in silver in 1982. In 1987, he was honoured with the Order of

Star of People's Friendship The Star of Peoples' Friendship (), Star of Nations' Friendship, was an order awarded by the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Established 20 August 1959, it was given to individuals of exceptional merit who had contributed to the "understandi ...

in Silver. Deicke was an active member of the German-Hungarian Society and an honorary member of the Hungarian Writers' Association. Deicke died at the age of 83 during a spa stay in

Mariánské Lázně Mariánské Lázně (; ) is a spa town in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. Most of the town's buildings come from its Golden Era in the second half of the 19th century, when many c ...

and is buried at . His grave is a private grave in the area.

Quotes

* ''Kampf und Widersprüche sind stärkere Farben als Frieden und Zuversicht.'' * ''War ich ein Faschist gewesen? Ja.''Günther Deicke: ''Arbeit mit Michail Trachmann.'' In ''Auskünfte zur Zeit von Mitgliedern der NSDAP aus vier Jahrzehnten.'' Aus Anlaß des 40. Jahrestages der Gründung der National-Demokratische Partei Deutschlands. Edited by Günter Hartmann, Gert Walter. Verlag der Nation, Berlin 1988, , , here .

Work

* 1954 ''Liebe in unseren Tagen'' (Poetry). * 1959 ''Taum vom glücklichen Jahr'' (Poetry). * 1960 ''Du und Dein Land und die Liebe.'' * 1965 ''Die Wolken'' (Poetry). * 1966 ''Esther'' (opera libretto). Premiere: Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin. * 1966 ''Reiter der Nacht'' (opera libretto). * 1968 ''Reineke Fuchs'' opera libretto). * 1972 ''Ortsbestimmung'' (Poetry). * 1973 '' Poesiealbum 70'' (Poetry). * 1975 ''Dass der Mensch ein Mensch sei, ein poetische Dialog in Bild und Wort.'' With Michail Trachmann. * 1981 ''Das Chagrinleder'' (opera libretto for Fritz Geißler). * 2011 ''Daheim.'' Gedichte aus dem Nachlaß anlässlich des fünften Todestages am 14. Juni 2011. Published by the Deutsch-Ungarischen Gesellschaft (DUG) in Berlin. With three translations into Hungarian by Sándor Tatár and an enclosed original lithograph by Volker Scharnefsky. DUG, Berlin 2011, (text partly in German, partly in Hungarian).

Anthologies and literary journals

* (ed.)/: ''.'' Editions 1/2010, 2/2010.

References

External links

* * *
Nachlass Günther Deickes
im Thüringisches {{DEFAULTSORT:Deicke, Gunther 20th-century German poets German male poets Nazi Party members Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver 1922 births 2006 deaths People from Hildburghausen Hitler Youth members Kriegsmarine personnel of World War II 20th-century German male writers