Walter Kempowski
Encyclopedia
Walter Kempowski was a German writer. Kempowski was known for his series of novels called German Chronicle ("Deutsche Chronik") and the monumental Echolot ("Sonar"), a collage of autobiographical reports, letters and other documents by contemporary witnesses of the Second World War.
. His father, Karl Georg Kempowski, was a shipping company owner and his mother, Margarethe Kempowski, née Collasius was the daughter of a Hamburg merchant. In 1935 Kempowski began attending St. Georg School; in 1939, he transferred to the local high school ("Realgymnasium").
, and was transferred into a penalty unit (Strafeinheit) of the organization. In early 1945 he was drafted into the Flakhelfer, the youth auxiliary of the Luftwaffe
, serving in a special unit that performed courier functions. Kempowski's father, who had volunteered for military service at the beginning of the war, only to be turned away because of his membership in the Freemasons, was accepted for service in summer 1940, and died in combat on 26 April 1945.
from the viewpoint of a well-off middle class family. In several more books he completed the story of his family from the early 20th century into the late 1950s, when he was released from an East German
prison in Bautzen
where, accused of spying for the US military forces in West Germany
, he had been incarcerated for eight years. In West Germany he became a teacher in a small village near Hamburg
.
In 2005 he finished his enormous oeuvre Echolot, a collection and collage of documents by people of any kind living in the circumstances of war. Echolot consists of thousands of personal documents, letters, newspaper reports, and unpublished autobiographies that had been collected by the author over a period of more than twenty years. The documents are now deposited in the archive of the Academy of Arts in Berlin.
He died of intestinal cancer, aged 78, in Rotenburg
in 2007.
Childhood (1929-39)
Walter Kempowski was born in RostockRostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
. His father, Karl Georg Kempowski, was a shipping company owner and his mother, Margarethe Kempowski, née Collasius was the daughter of a Hamburg merchant. In 1935 Kempowski began attending St. Georg School; in 1939, he transferred to the local high school ("Realgymnasium").
During World War II (1939-45)
As a teenager Kempowski, who was unathletic and had acquired a taste for American jazz and swing music through his older brother, chafed under compulsory service in the Hitler YouthHitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
, and was transferred into a penalty unit (Strafeinheit) of the organization. In early 1945 he was drafted into the Flakhelfer, the youth auxiliary of the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
, serving in a special unit that performed courier functions. Kempowski's father, who had volunteered for military service at the beginning of the war, only to be turned away because of his membership in the Freemasons, was accepted for service in summer 1940, and died in combat on 26 April 1945.
Works
Walter Kempowski's first success as an author was the autobiographic novel Tadellöser und Wolf, in which he described his youth in Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
from the viewpoint of a well-off middle class family. In several more books he completed the story of his family from the early 20th century into the late 1950s, when he was released from an East German
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
prison 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...
where, accused of spying for the US military forces in West Germany
West 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....
, he had been incarcerated for eight years. In West Germany he became a teacher in a small village 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 2005 he finished his enormous oeuvre Echolot, a collection and collage of documents by people of any kind living in the circumstances of war. Echolot consists of thousands of personal documents, letters, newspaper reports, and unpublished autobiographies that had been collected by the author over a period of more than twenty years. The documents are now deposited in the archive of the Academy of Arts in Berlin.
He died of intestinal cancer, aged 78, in Rotenburg
Rotenburg an der Wümme
Rotenburg an der Wümme is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Rotenburg.-Geography:...
in 2007.
List of works
- Im Block. Ein Haftbericht. Reinbek 1969.
- Tadellöser & Wolff. Ein bürgerlicher Roman. München 1971.
- Uns gehts ja noch gold. Roman einer Familie. München 1972.
- Haben Sie Hitler gesehen? Deutsche Antworten. München 1973
- Der Hahn im Nacken. Mini-Geschichten. Reinbek 1973.
- Immer so durchgemogelt. Erinnerungen an unsere Schulzeit. München 1974.
- Ein Kapitel für sich. München 1975.
- Alle unter einem Hut. Über 170 witzige und amüsante Alltagsminiminigeschichten. Bayreuth 1976.
- Wer will unter die Soldaten? München 1976.
- Aus großer Zeit. Hamburg 1978.
- Haben Sie davon gewußt? Deutsche Antworten. Hamburg 1979.
- Unser Böckelmann. Hamburg 1979
- Kempowskis einfache Fibel. Braunschweig 1980.
- Schöne Aussicht. Hamburg 1981.
- Beethovens Fünfte. Moin Vaddr läbt. Radio plays. Hamburg 1982.
- Herrn Böckelmanns schönste Tafelgeschichten nach dem ABC geordnet. Hamburg 1983.
- Herzlich willkommenHerzlich willkommenHerzlich willkommen is a 1990 German drama film directed by Hark Bohm. It was entered into the 40th Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Uwe Bohm as Friedrich Dombrowski* David Bohm as Fritz* Barbara Auer as Elke Kramer* Hark Bohm as Direktor Dr...
. München 1984. - Haumiblau. 208 Pfenniggeschichten für Kinder. München 1986.
- Hundstage. München 1988.
- Sirius. Eine Art Tagebuch. München 1990
- Mark und Bein. Eine Episode. München 199l.
- Das Echolot. Ein kollektives Tagebuch Januar und Februar 1943. 4 vols. München 1993.
- Der arme König von Opplawur. Ein Märchen. München 1994.
- Der Krieg geht zu Ende. Chronik für Stimmen - Januar bis Mai 1945. Radio play. Stuttgart 1995.
- Weltschmerz. Kinderszenen fast zu ernst. München 1995.
- Bloomsday '97. München 1997.
- Heile Welt. München 1998.
- Die deutsche Chronik. 9 vols. München 1999.
- Das Echolot. Fuga furiosa. Ein kollektives Tagebuch Winter 1945. 4 vols. München 1999.
- Walter Kempowski liest »Tadellöser & Wolff«. Audio book. Georgsmarienhütte 2001.
- Alkor. Tagebuch 1989. München 2001.
- Der rote Hahn. Dresden 1945. München 2001.
- Das Echolot. Barbarossa '41. Ein kollektives Tagebuch. München 2002.
- Walter Kempowski liest »Aus großer Zeit«. Audio book. Georgsmarienhütte 2003.
- Letzte Grüße. München 2003.
- Das 1. Album. 1981-1986. Frankfurt a.M. 2004.
- Walter Kempowski liest »Schöne Aussicht«. Audio book. Georgsmarienhütte 2004.
- Das Echolot. Abgesang 45. Ein kollektives Tagebuch. München 2005
- Culpa. Notizen zum Echolot. München 2005.
- Hamit. Tagebuch 1990. München 2006.
- Alles umsonst. München 2006.
- Walter Kempowski/Uwe Johnson: Der Briefwechsel. Berlin 2006.
External links
- http://www.kempowski.de/, Walter Kempowski's web site.
- 2007 Interview with Kempowski at Sign and Sight.