Harry Thürk
Encyclopedia
Harry Thürk was a German
writer.
, Thürk began to work for the German train system (Reichsbahn). After being drafted in 1944 and participating in World War II
, he returned home at the end of the war. However, he was forced to flee from Poland
to Weimar
. From 1946 to 1948 he worked with the Free German Youth
organization in East Germany. After taking a variety of jobs, he became a journalist for a number of different newspapers and had the opportunity to work as a reporter in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War
and also in Korea
. He claimed to have been affected by Agent Orange
with lifelong effects.
He was married in 1953. Between 1956 and 1958, he worked with the Chinese magazine China Pictorial. After additional travels in East Asia
between 1964 and 1980 (including Laos
, Cambodia
, Vietnam
, Korea, China), he returned to Weimar. There between 1971 and 1983 he was the chairman of the writers union in Thuringia
.
In 1995 he resigned from the German PEN
organization.
.
Among his best-known works are the anti-war novel Die Stunde der toten Augen and the novels Amok and Der Gaukler. Many of his novels take place in Southeast Asia
or in his first home of Upper Silesia
. In his later years, his writings dealt with current political themes in reunified Germany.
Thürk was a very controversial author because of his political themes as well as the frequent sex scenes in his novels. In the Der Gaukler, he portrayed Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
as a tool of the CIA. However, Thürk, a member of the Socialist Unity Party
also prompted controversy within the Communist sphere, for example with his depictions of battle scenes involving German troops against the Red Army
in his novel Die Stunde der toten Augen (1957).
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...
writer.
Life
After attending trade school in Upper SilesiaUpper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
, Thürk began to work for the German train system (Reichsbahn). After being drafted in 1944 and participating in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he returned home at the end of the war. However, he was forced to flee from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
to Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
. From 1946 to 1948 he worked with the Free German Youth
Free German Youth
The Free German Youth, also known as the FDJ , was the official socialist youth movement of the German Democratic Republic and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany....
organization in East Germany. After taking a variety of jobs, he became a journalist for a number of different newspapers and had the opportunity to work as a reporter in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and also in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. He claimed to have been affected by Agent Orange
Agent Orange
Agent Orange is the code name for one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. Vietnam estimates 400,000 people were killed or maimed, and 500,000 children born with birth...
with lifelong effects.
He was married in 1953. Between 1956 and 1958, he worked with the Chinese magazine China Pictorial. After additional travels in East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
between 1964 and 1980 (including Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Korea, China), he returned to Weimar. There between 1971 and 1983 he was the chairman of the writers union in Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
.
In 1995 he resigned from the German PEN
International PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
organization.
Work
With his 2004 book Treffpunkt Wahrheit Thürk had published sixty books altogether, including novels, nonfiction, and children's books, as well as fixteen screenplays. His topics and exciting prose made him especially popular in East Germany, and he had altogether nine million works printed in nine different languages. However, he remained relatively unknown in West GermanyWest Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
.
Among his best-known works are the anti-war novel Die Stunde der toten Augen and the novels Amok and Der Gaukler. Many of his novels take place in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
or in his first home of Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
. In his later years, his writings dealt with current political themes in reunified Germany.
Thürk was a very controversial author because of his political themes as well as the frequent sex scenes in his novels. In the Der Gaukler, he portrayed Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was aRussian and Soviet novelist, dramatist, and historian. Through his often-suppressed writings, he helped to raise global awareness of the Gulag, the Soviet Union's forced labor camp system – particularly in The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of...
as a tool of the CIA. However, Thürk, a member of the Socialist Unity Party
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
also prompted controversy within the Communist sphere, for example with his depictions of battle scenes involving German troops against the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in his novel Die Stunde der toten Augen (1957).
Awards and honors
- 1964 National Prize of East GermanyNational Prize of East GermanyThe National Prize of the German Democratic Republic was an award of the German Democratic Republic given out in three different classes for scientific, artistic, and other meritorious achievement...
- 1971 Theodor-Körner-Preis (DDR)
- 1977 National Prize of East Germany
Stories
- Nacht und Morgen, 1950
- Treffpunkt Große Freiheit, 1954
- Goldener Traum Jugend, 1996
- Auch überm Jangtse ist Himmel, 2001
Novels
- Die Herren des Salzes, 1956
- Die Stunde der toten Augen, 1957
- Der Narr und das schwarzhaarige Mädchen, 1958
- Das Tal der sieben Monde, 1960
- Der Wind stirbt vor dem Dschungel, 1961
- Verdorrter Jasmin, 1961
- Lotos auf brennenden Teichen, 1962
- Die weißen Feuer von Hongkong, 1964
- Der Tod und der Regen, 1967
- Der Tiger von Shangri-La, 1970
- Amok, 1974, situated into IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
during the 1965-66 massacres. - Des Drachens grauer Atem, 1976
- Der Gaukler (2 Bde.), 1978
- Der schwarze Monsun, 1986
- Operation Mekong, 1988
- Die Lagune, 1991
- Sommer der toten Träume, 1993
- Piratenspiele, 1995
Crime novels
- Der maskierte Buddha, 1991
- Die toten Masseusen von Kowloon, 1992
- Tod auf Tahiti, 1993
- Die tätowierte Unschuld, 1994
- Tuan Subutu läßt schießen, 1995
- Das letzte Aloha, 1996
- Schwarze Blüte - sanfter Tod, 1997
- Hongkongs Leichen sind sehr tot, 1998
- Der Tod kam aus Shanghai, 1999
- Mord mit zarter Hand, 2000
Children's books
- Fahrten und Abenteuer von Pitt und Ursula, 1955/56
- Su-su von der Himmelsbrücke, 1960