Gorch Fock (author)
Encyclopedia
Gorch Fock [ɡɔʀx fɔk] was the pseudonym
of the German
author Johann Wilhelm Kinau (22 August 1880 – 31 May 1916). Other pseudonyms he used were Jakob Holst and Giorgio Focco.
Kinau was the eldest child of fisherman Heinrich Wilhelm Kinau and his wife, Metta Holst, on the Elbe
island of Finkenwerder
, near Hamburg
. In 1895 he was apprenticed to his uncle, the merchant August Kinau in Geestemünde (today part of Bremerhaven
), and from 1897 until 1898 he attended a commercial school in Bremerhaven. Later he was employed as an accountant in Meiningen
, Bremen, Halle (Saale) and from 1907 at the shipping company Hamburg-Amerika-Linie
in Hamburg
. He married Rosa Elisabeth Reich in 1908, with whom he had three children.
In 1904 Kinau started publishing poetry and stories in his native Low German
dialect. In 1913 he published his most popular work, the novel Seefahrt ist Not!, in which he describes the life of the deep sea fishermen of his home island.
In the First World War
, Kinau was drafted into the German infantry
in 1915. He fought in Serbia
and Russia
and later at Verdun. From 1916 he served in the German Navy
, having requested the transfer. He served as a lookout on the light cruiser SMS Wiesbaden
and died when the ship was sunk in the Battle of Jutland
. His body was found on the Swedish
shore near Fjällbacka
and interred on the island of Stensholmen together with other German and British servicemen.
The German Navy named two training windjammer
s in his honor, the Gorch Fock
of the Kriegsmarine
and the Gorch Fock
of the Bundesmarine.
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
author Johann Wilhelm Kinau (22 August 1880 – 31 May 1916). Other pseudonyms he used were Jakob Holst and Giorgio Focco.
Kinau was the eldest child of fisherman Heinrich Wilhelm Kinau and his wife, Metta Holst, on the Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
island of Finkenwerder
Finkenwerder
Finkenwerder is a quarter of Hamburg, Germany in the borough Hamburg-Mitte. It is the location of a plant of Airbus and its airport...
, near Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. In 1895 he was apprenticed to his uncle, the merchant August Kinau in Geestemünde (today part of Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
), and from 1897 until 1898 he attended a commercial school in Bremerhaven. Later he was employed as an accountant in Meiningen
Meiningen
Meiningen is a town in Germany - located in the southern part of the state of Thuringia and is the district seat of Schmalkalden-Meiningen. It is situated on the river Werra....
, Bremen, Halle (Saale) and from 1907 at the shipping company Hamburg-Amerika-Linie
Hapag-Lloyd
Hapag-Lloyd is a German transportation company comprising a cargo container shipping line, Hapag-Lloyd AG, which in turn owns other subsidiaries such as Hapag-Lloyd Ships and a cruise line, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises which is now integrated into TUI AG, Hanover...
in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. He married Rosa Elisabeth Reich in 1908, with whom he had three children.
In 1904 Kinau started publishing poetry and stories in his native Low German
Low German
Low German or Low Saxon is an Ingvaeonic West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands...
dialect. In 1913 he published his most popular work, the novel Seefahrt ist Not!, in which he describes the life of the deep sea fishermen of his home island.
In the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Kinau was drafted into the German infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
in 1915. He fought in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and later at Verdun. From 1916 he served in the German Navy
Kaiserliche Marine
The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...
, having requested the transfer. He served as a lookout on the light cruiser SMS Wiesbaden
SMS Wiesbaden
SMS Wiesbaden was the lead ship of the Wiesbaden-class of light cruisers of the German Imperial Navy in World War I, the other being the Frankfurt-Specifications:...
and died when the ship was sunk in the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
. His body was found on the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
shore near Fjällbacka
Fjällbacka
Fjällbacka is a locality situated in Tanum Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 812 inhabitants in 2005.Fjällbacka is mostly known as a touristic summer resort, with a long history....
and interred on the island of Stensholmen together with other German and British servicemen.
The German Navy named two training windjammer
Windjammer
A windjammer is the ultimate type of large sailing ship with an iron or for the most part steel hull, built to carry cargo in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century...
s in his honor, the Gorch Fock
Gorch Fock (1933)
The Gorch Fock I is a German three-mast barque, the first of a series built as school ships for the German Reichsmarine in 1933. She was taken as war reparations by the USSR after World War II and renamed Tovarishch...
of the Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
and the Gorch Fock
Gorch Fock (1958)
The Gorch Fock is a tall ship of the German Navy . She is the second ship of that name and a sister ship of the Gorch Fock built in 1933. Both ships are named in honor of the German writer Johann Kinau who wrote under the pseudonym "Gorch Fock" and died in the battle of Jutland/Skagerrak in 1916...
of the Bundesmarine.
Works
- 1910 Schullengrieper und Tungenkrieper
- 1911 Hein Godenwind
- 1913 Hamborger Janmaten
- 1913 Seefahrt ist Not! (ISBN 3-499-14148-5)
- 1914 Fahrensleute
- 1914 Cilli Cohrs (play)
- 1914 Doggerbank (play)
- 1914-15 War poems in Plattdüütsch
- 1918 (posthumously) Sterne überm Meer (Diary notes and poems)