Moriz Seeler
Encyclopedia
Moriz Seeler was a German poet, writer, film producer, and man of the theatre. He was also a victim of the Holocaust.
Seeler was born at the small, provincial town of Greifenberg
in Pomerania
, Germany (now Gryfice in northwestern Poland), to a Jewish family. He moved to Berlin at the age of 15. His first verses are said to have been published as early as 1917–1918; the first collection of poems, Dem Hirtenknaben, was issued in Berlin
in 1919; another one, entitled Die Flut, saw the light of day in Vienna in 1937.
He is perhaps best known as the founding father of the Junge Bühne (‘Young Stage’), an avant‑garde matinee-theatre which came into being in Berlin in the spring of 1922. In 1927 he co‑authored the libretto to Friedrich Hollaender
’s cabaret Bei uns um die Gedächtniskirche rum. In June 1929 he co‑founded (together with Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer) Filmstudio 1929, a Berlin production house. In 1929–1930 he co‑produced, together with Heinrich Nebenzahl, the silent quasi-documentary film Menschen am Sonntag, directed by Robert Siodmak (1900–1973) and starring Brigitte Borchert and Erwin Splettstößer, which shows a candid picture of life in Weimar-era Germany that was soon to vanish for ever.
Having been imprisoned by the Nazis in November 1938, he is said to have been deported to Latvia, where he went missing in Riga
, doubtless having fallen victim of the Nazis in one of that city’s three Jewish ghettos
(according to another account, he was murdered at the Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1943 — and this account, less well-known and less generally accepted, may well be the accurate one).
In 1998 a small book written about him by Günther Elbin, Am Sonntag in die Matinee, appeared in Germany. Following this development, in November 2000, a memorial plaque was erected on the façade of the tenement at the Brandenburgische Straße 36 in what is now the Berlin borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
, identifying the house as the locale where Moriz Seeler lived from 1916 to the mid‑1920s: the inscription refers to him as a ‘Jewish poet’, not a German one. In September 2002 a street, previously known as Franz‑Ehrlich-Straße, in another of Berlin boroughs (that of Treptow-Köpenick
), was renamed Moriz‑Seeler‑Straße in his honour. The capital of Austria has had a street named Moritz‑Seeler‑Gasse (sic: not Moriz) since 1969.
His name is commonly spelt ‘Moritz Seeler’.
Seeler was born at the small, provincial town of Greifenberg
Gryfice
Gryfice is a town in Pomerania, north-western Poland with 16 632 inhabitants . It is the capital of Gryfice County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship , previously in Szczecin Voivodeship .-History:...
in Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
, Germany (now Gryfice in northwestern Poland), to a Jewish family. He moved to Berlin at the age of 15. His first verses are said to have been published as early as 1917–1918; the first collection of poems, Dem Hirtenknaben, was issued in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1919; another one, entitled Die Flut, saw the light of day in Vienna in 1937.
He is perhaps best known as the founding father of the Junge Bühne (‘Young Stage’), an avant‑garde matinee-theatre which came into being in Berlin in the spring of 1922. In 1927 he co‑authored the libretto to Friedrich Hollaender
Friedrich Hollaender
Friedrich Hollaender was a German film composer.He was born in London, where his father, operetta composer Victor Hollaender, worked at the Barnum & Bailey Circus...
’s cabaret Bei uns um die Gedächtniskirche rum. In June 1929 he co‑founded (together with Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer) Filmstudio 1929, a Berlin production house. In 1929–1930 he co‑produced, together with Heinrich Nebenzahl, the silent quasi-documentary film Menschen am Sonntag, directed by Robert Siodmak (1900–1973) and starring Brigitte Borchert and Erwin Splettstößer, which shows a candid picture of life in Weimar-era Germany that was soon to vanish for ever.
Having been imprisoned by the Nazis in November 1938, he is said to have been deported to Latvia, where he went missing in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, doubtless having fallen victim of the Nazis in one of that city’s three Jewish ghettos
Riga Ghetto
The Riga Ghetto was a small area in Maskavas Forštate, neighborhood of Riga, Latvia, designated by the Nazis where Jews from Latvia, and later from Germany, were forced to live during World War II. On October 25, 1941, the Nazis relocated all Jews from Riga and the vicinity to the ghetto while the...
(according to another account, he was murdered at the Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1943 — and this account, less well-known and less generally accepted, may well be the accurate one).
In 1998 a small book written about him by Günther Elbin, Am Sonntag in die Matinee, appeared in Germany. Following this development, in November 2000, a memorial plaque was erected on the façade of the tenement at the Brandenburgische Straße 36 in what is now the Berlin borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf is the fourth borough of Berlin, formed in the 2001 administrative reform by merging the former boroughs of Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf.-Overview:Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf covers the western centre of the City of Berlin...
, identifying the house as the locale where Moriz Seeler lived from 1916 to the mid‑1920s: the inscription refers to him as a ‘Jewish poet’, not a German one. In September 2002 a street, previously known as Franz‑Ehrlich-Straße, in another of Berlin boroughs (that of Treptow-Köpenick
Treptow-Köpenick
Treptow-Köpenick is the ninth borough of Berlin, Germany, formed in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform by merging the former boroughs of Treptow and Köpenick.-Overview:...
), was renamed Moriz‑Seeler‑Straße in his honour. The capital of Austria has had a street named Moritz‑Seeler‑Gasse (sic: not Moriz) since 1969.
His name is commonly spelt ‘Moritz Seeler’.
See also
- Cinema of GermanyCinema of GermanyCinema in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema has made major technical and artistic contributions to film.Unlike any other national cinemas, which developed in the context of relatively continuous and stable political systems, Germany witnesses major changes to its...
- Marieluise FleißerMarieluise FleißerMarieluise Fleißer was a German author and playwright.Her best known works are two plays, Purgatory in Ingolstadt and Pioneers in Ingolstadt . Bertolt Brecht persuaded the director Moriz Seeler to stage the first play, which Seeler retitled; Fleißer's original title was The Washing of Feet....
- Erich HellerErich HellerErich Heller was a British essayist, known particularly for his critical studies in German-language philosophy and literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.- Biography :...
(s.v. Life in letters) - List of German language poets