Jurij Brezan
Encyclopedia
Sorbian
Sorbian may refer to more than one article:* Sorbs, a Slavic people in modern day Germany* Sorbian languages, a group of closely related West Slavic languages-See also:...
writer. He lived in East Germany.
Life and work
Brězan was born in RäckelwitzRäckelwitz
Räckelwitz is a municipality in the district of Bautzen, in Saxony, Germany.It is located in Upper Lusatia and belongs to the central settlement area of the Sorbs...
near Kamenz
Kamenz
Kamenz is a Lusatian town in eastern Saxony, Germany, with a population of 18,243, and is part of the Bautzen district. The town is located about northeast of Dresden and about northwest of Bautzen....
. He attended school in Bautzen
Bautzen
Bautzen is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and administrative centre of the eponymous district. It is located on the Spree River. As of 2008, its population is 41,161...
and then studied political economics. After 1933, he worked illegally for Domowina
Domowina
Domowina is a political independent league of the Sorbian and Wendish people and umbrella organization of Sorbian societies in Lower and Upper Lusatia, Germany...
and was active in a Sorbian resistance group. In 1937-38, he emigrated to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. After his return, he was arrested and was held in prison in 1938-39. From 1942 to 1944, he was a soldier in the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
and became a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
with the Americans.
Between 1945 to 1948, he was a youth official for the Domowina. In 1946, he joined 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...
. After 1949, he worked as a freelance writer. In 1946, he became a member of the German PEN-Zentrum East and West, in 1965 a member of the Akademie der Künste
Akademie der Künste
The Akademie der Künste, Berlin is an arts institution in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in 1696 by Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg as the Prussian Academy of Arts, an academic institution where members could meet and discuss and share ideas...
. Between 1969 and 1989 he was vice-president of the writers union of East Germany. He lived near his birthplace until his death in Kamenz
Kamenz
Kamenz is a Lusatian town in eastern Saxony, Germany, with a population of 18,243, and is part of the Bautzen district. The town is located about northeast of Dresden and about northwest of Bautzen....
.
He was frequently honored in Communist East Germany, receiving the National Prize of East Germany
National Prize of East Germany
The 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...
in 1951, 1964 and 1976; the literature and art prize of the Domowina in 1973, the Order of Karl Marx
Order of Karl Marx
The Order of Karl Marx was the most important order in the German Democratic Republic . Award of the order also included a prize of 20,000 East German marks....
in 1974, and the Vaterländischer Verdienstorden in 1981.
Works
Many of his novels and stories have autobiographical elements. His best known of such works is the novel trilogy of Der Gymnasiast (1959), "Semester der verlorenen Zeit (1959) and Mannesjahre (1964).Other works use elements from the rich folklore of Upper Lusatia
Upper Lusatia
Upper Lusatia is a region a biggest part of which belongs to Saxony, a small eastern part belongs to Poland, the northern part to Brandenburg. In Saxony, Upper Lusatia comprises roughly the districts of Bautzen and Görlitz , in Brandenburg the southern part of district Oberspreewald-Lausitz...
.
- 52 Wochen sind ein Jahr (Novel, 1953)
- Christa (Story, 1957)
- Der Gymnasiast (Novel, 1958)
- Borbas und die Rute Gottes (Story, 1959)
- Semester der verlorenen Zeit (Novel, 1960)
- Mannesjahre (Novel, 1964)
- Der Elefant und die Pilze (Children's book, 1964)
- Die Reise nach Krakau (1966)
- Die Abenteuer des Kater Mikosch (Children's book, 1967)
- Die Schwarze Mühle (Story, 1968)
- Krabat oder Die Verwandlung der Welt (Novel, 1976)
- Der Brautschmuck (Stories, 1979)
- Bild des Vaters (Novel, 1983)
- Dalmat hat Ferien (Children's book, 1985)
- Wie das Lachen auf die Welt kam (Stories, 1986)
- Einsichten und Ansichten (1986)
- Geschichten vom Wasser (Stories, 1988)
- Mein Stück Zeit (Autobiographical report, 1989)
- Bruder Baum und Schwester Lärche (1991)
- Das wunderschöne blaue Pferd (1991)
- Krabat oder Die Bewahrung der Welt (Novel, 1993)
- Rifko - aus dem Tagebuch eines Dackels (Children's book, 1994)
- Die Leute von Salow (Novel, 1997)
- Ohne Pass und Zoll (Autobiographical report, 1999)
- Die grüne Eidechse (Novel, 2001)
- Hunds Tagebuch (Story, 2001)