Peter Härtling
Peter Härtling was a notable German author born on November 13, 1933, in Chemnitz, Germany. His early life was marked by the traumatic experiences of Nazi Germany, including the loss of his father and mother during his childhood, which deeply influenced his literary themes. He transitioned from a factory job to journalism in the 1950s, eventually becoming recognized as a poet and fiction writer with his first collection published at just twenty. Härtling's writing often explores the complexities of human memory and the challenges of recounting the past, as seen in his various biographical novels. He achieved particular acclaim for his children's literature, where he addressed themes of postwar struggles and empathy, exemplified in works like "Oma" and "Ben liebt Anna." Throughout his career, Härtling received numerous literary awards, including the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Jacob Grimm Prize in 2010. His empathetic approach to character development and engaging storytelling left a lasting impact on readers of all ages. Härtling passed away on July 10, 2017, at the age of eighty-three.
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Subject Terms
Peter Härtling
- Born: November 13, 1933
- Birthplace: Chemnitz, Germany
- Died: July 10, 2017
- Place of death: Rüsselsheim am Main, Germany
Biography
Peter Härtling was born in Chemnitz, Germany, on November 13, 1933, to Rudolf Härtling, a lawyer, and Erika Haentzschel Härtling. His childhood in Nazi Germany brought many profoundly shocking experiences from which he later drew to write his novels. In 1945, when he was twelve, his father died in a Russian prisoner-of-war camp; a year later, overcome by grief, his mother committed suicide. Thereafter, Peter lived with his grandmother—the model for the title character of Oma (1975)—in Nuertingen, in southwest Germany. The youth left high school in 1952 for a factory job, but soon afterward entered journalism, working over the next twenty years as newswriter, editor, and publisher. In the same period, he won recognition as a poet and fiction writer, his first poetry collection appearing when he was just twenty years old. In 1974, he started working as a freelance author and guest professor at German universities.
Härtling married Mechthild Maier in 1959. The couple had four children. Also in that year, Härtling published his first novel, Im Schein des Kometen (in the light of the comet), which announced what has become a lifelong theme of his books: the workings of human memory and the difficulty of accurately remembering the past. Härtling has developed this theme in several biographical novels. Although critics praised Schubert (1992) for vividly recreating the life of famous composer Franz Schubert in fiction, in other such works—Niembsch: Oder, Der Stillstand (1964) and Hölderlin: Eine Roman (1976)—Härtling openly suggests the impossibility of reconstructing their subjects’ experience. Niembsch was chosen in France, in 1966, as the best foreign novel of the year (the Prix du meilleur livre étranger). In other works, Härtling presented the traumas of war and the Nazi era based on his recollections. Janek (1966) describes a boy who, like Härtling, has lost his father in a Russian prisoner-of-war camp.
In the mid-1970s, Härtling embarked on a new literary enterprise—fiction for children—and it is here that he made his greatest mark, both in Germany and elsewhere. Many of the children’s books, like the stories for adults, are set in a troubled postwar Germany, where families are torn apart and young people must struggle to find food, shelter, security, and acceptance. Oma (grandma, 1975) portrays the growth of understanding and respect between young Kalle and his eccentric, sometimes embarrassing grandmother, with whom he lives after his parents die. Ben liebt Anna (Ben loves Anna, 1979) describes how a ten-year-old boy falls in love with a Polish girl whom other German youngsters reject when she moves into their neighborhood.
About half of Härtling’s numerous literary prizes were awarded to his children’s books. He was also presented the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Deutscher Bücherpreis for his contributions to literature. Even late in his career, he continued to earn critical acclaim and recognition, winning the Jacob Grimm Prize in 2010, for example. While his clear, straightforward style was widely praised, reviewers generally agree that the success of his work—especially his juvenile fiction—was due above all to his empathy with his characters, especially the children. The author made a gentle assault upon stereotypes, appealing to readers for understanding of sometimes awkward, complicated characters, who at first seem unlovable. His stories offer children and adults lessons about love, respect and compassion for people different from oneself in a dangerous world.
Härtling died on July 10, 2017, after a brief period of illness. He was eighty-three years old.
Bibliography
Dücker, Burckhard. Peter Härtling. Verlag, 1983.
Review of Oma, by Peter Härtling. Kirkus Reviews, 20 Oct. 1977, www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/peter-hartling-3/oma/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2018.
"Peter Hartling." Bookbird, no. 2, 2008, p. 31. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsggo&AN=edsgcl.184672802&site=eds-live.
Sepplefricke, Oliver. "Author Peter Härtling Dies at 83: How Foreignness Shaped His Career." DW, 10 July 2017, www.dw.com/en/author-peter-h%C3%A4rtling-dies-at-83-how-foreignness-shaped-his-career/a-39626680. Accessed 18 Apr. 2018.
Thorne, Susan. "Encounters with Peter Härtling." PRISM International, 18 Oct. 2013, prismmagazine.ca/2013/10/18/encounters-with-peter-hartling/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2018.