Erwin Strittmatter
Erwin Strittmatter was a prominent German writer known for his contributions to literature during the era of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), or East Germany. Born in 1912 in Niederlausitz, Strittmatter had a modest upbringing as the son of a village baker and had limited formal education. His early political engagement with the Young Socialists led to his imprisonment under the Nazi regime and eventual desertion from the army during World War II. Post-war, he transitioned from a baker to a writer and editor, ultimately becoming a notable figure in East German literature.
Strittmatter's literary career began with the publication of his first novel, "Ochsenkutscher," in 1950, followed by a series of children's books and plays that explored the tensions between traditional values and progressive societal changes. His works, such as "Tinko" and "Der Laden," gained acclaim for their relatable themes and simple narrative styles, contributing to the discourse on social change in post-war Germany. Strittmatter also served as an influential leader within the German Writers' Union, earning multiple literary awards during his lifetime. He married poet Eva Braun and had two sons, leaving behind a legacy that continues to be recognized and appreciated in the literary world even after his death in 1994.
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Erwin Strittmatter
Writer
- Born: August 14, 1912
- Birthplace: Niederlausitz, near Spremberg, Germany
- Died: January 1, 1994
Biography
Erwin Strittmatter was one of the leading German writers of the relatively short-lived German Democratic Republic (GDR), or East Germany. He was born in 1912 in Niederlausitz, near Spremberg. His father was the village baker. Strittmatter appears to have had little formal education, leaving school in 1928 and taking a variety of jobs. He joined the Young Socialists, for which he was briefly imprisoned in 1934 under the Nazi regime. He was enlisted into the army but deserted before the end of World War II.
In 1945, while working as a baker, he wrote a few articles for a local newspaper. Later he became editor of another local paper in Senftenberg. He joined the communist Young Socialist Workers Party and was quickly given responsibilities organizing land reform under the Communist regime that had been set up in East Germany. He continued to write, and in 1950 his first novel appeared. Ochsenkutscher (ox-cart driver) centers around Lope Kleinermann (literally “small man”), the illegitimate son of a peasant girl, who tries to change the rural ways of thinking. The novel is written in the picaresque style of the village tale genre. A children’s book soon followed, Der Wald der glücklichen Kinder (1951; the forest of happy children), then a collection of short stories, Eine Mauer fällt: Erzählungen (1953; a wall falls: stories).
These led up to his first major drama, Katzgraben: Szenen aus dem Bauernleben (pr. 1953; cat’s ditch: scenes from rural life), which was subsequently enlarged in 1958. The play had been written for the Third World Festival of Youth, but was rejected until Bertold Brecht, the doyen of the East German theater, saw its possibilities. The play shows how people’s ways of thinking and habits lag behind new social realities, and so those who want to bring change are often frustrated in their endeavors. The play was controversial: the communist desire was to see things in black and white terms, with a progressive, not a reactionary, proletariat. Strittmatter’s ability to stir up controversy and debate between old and new values is seen in his second play, Die Holländerbraut: Schauspiel in fünf Akten (pr. 1959). Hanna, formerly a peasant girl, becomes mayor of her village after a traumatic experience in World War II. She exposes the father of her illegitimate child, the son of a former leading family in the community.
In another children’s book, Strittmatter takes up this theme of the tensions between the traditional and the new. Tinko: Roman (1954) has proved one of his most popular books, having been adapted for theater and film. A ten-year-old boy can see the need for sharing the land, but his grandfather cannot. The novel’s style is simple, and the reader must provide the insights into human behavior the boy cannot. The success of this book and of the plays determined Strittmatter to become a full-time writer. As such, he became first secretary of the German Writers’ Union in 1959 and its deputy chairman two years later. Following this decision, he produced Der Wundertäter (1957), which traces the life of Stanislaus Büdner from childhood before World War I through his maturity in post-World War II Germany.
From then on, Strittmatter became a fairly prolific writer. Two of his best later works are Ole Bienkopp (1963; old bee-head), about a headstrong hero always a step ahead of his contemporaries; and Der Laden (1983; the store), a fictionalized autobiography in trilogy form. Der Laden was adapted as a television drama and became a success for his publishing house, Aufbau Verlag, after the demise of the GDR and the dissemination of his work to a wider audience.
Strittmatter received numerous prizes within the GDR, including the Lessing Prize for 1960 and the Fontane Prize in 1966. His work is still becoming better known and appreciated, unlike a number of other ex-communist writers. He married the poet Eva Braun, by whom he had two sons. He died in 1994.