Walter Ernsting
Walter Ernsting was a notable German writer and translator, born on June 13, 1920, in Koblenz, Germany. He served in the German army during World War II and was captured, spending several years as a prisoner of war in Siberia until 1950. After the war, Ernsting transitioned into a literary career, initially struggling to find a platform for his work in German science fiction, a genre that was relatively new at the time. To overcome this challenge, he adopted the pen name Clark Darlton, under which he published his first novel in 1955 and “translated” his own stories.
Ernsting played a significant role in the evolution of German science fiction, serving as a literary agent and co-founding the Science Fiction Club Deutschland. He became best known for his contributions to the Perry Rhodan series, one of the most successful science fiction series in Germany, where he was involved in writing over forty novels. His contributions to the genre were recognized with multiple awards, and in 2003, an asteroid was named in his honor. Walter Ernsting passed away on January 15, 2005, in Salzburg, Austria, leaving behind a legacy in the world of science fiction.
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Subject Terms
Walter Ernsting
Fiction, Nonfiction and Children's Literature Writer
- Born: June 13, 1920
- Birthplace: Koblenz, Germany
- Died: January 20, 2005
- Place of death: Salzburg, Austria
Biography
Walter Ernsting was born in Koblenz, Germany, on June 13, 1920. His parents were Martin Ernsting and Grete Risse. He attended school at Realgymnasium Essen-Bredeney, and graduated in 1938. He was drafted into the German army at the start of World War II, and served from 1939 to 1945. While serving on the eastern front as an intelligence officer, he was captured and sent to Siberia as a Russian prisoner of war. He remained in captivity until 1950. In November, 1942, he married Ursula Kaiser, and they had two children, named Robert and Sonja. Ernsting died in Salzburg, Austria on January 15, 2005.
After the war, Ernsting worked as a translator for the British government, which was where he first discovered science fiction. He began writing some of his own work, but could not get the attention of any German publishers, because no one had ever heard of a German science-fiction writer before. To get his work published, Ernsting created the identity of Clark Dartlon, a British writer, and then sold what he claimed were “translations” of Darlton’s fiction. His first novel, Ufo am Nachthimmel, was published in 1955. In addition to his writing, Ernsting worked as a literary agent, representing American and English science fiction writers in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. He was also a founding member of the Science Fiction Club Deutschland and served as the editor of the club magazine, Andromeda, through the end of the 1960’s.
Ernsting was best known for being one of the creators and writers for Perry Rhodan, the most successful science fiction series in Germany. Starting in 1961 with the first novel, Ernsting (writing as Darlton for all but four novels) either wrote or contributed to more than forty novels in the series. Ernsting was a five-time winner for the best German science fiction novel and in 2003 had an asteroid named after him.