Engelbert Wittich

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Engelbert Wittich, 1927

Engelbert Wittich (born April 18, 1878 in Lützenhardt ; † March 4, 1937 in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt ) was a writer in Germany who mainly published on the subjects of the Yenish language and Sinti .

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Drawing by E. Wittich, before 1911

Engelbert Wittich was born in the Yenish village of Lützenhardt on April 18, 1878 as the sixth child of Karl Wittich and Katharina Wittich. Peacocks born. The Wittichs earned their living by making brushes and basketry, which were sold by peddlers in the summer months. Engelbert Wittich only attended elementary school for a few years. Otherwise he was out and about with the older traders to sell brush goods. On one of these trips he met the painter Paul Kämmerer, who was very impressed by Wittich's drawing skills. So Karl Wittich gave his son to the painter for some time to train his talent. After he had some (unprinted) success as a draftsman, especially of animal life, he began with written descriptions of animal life. Even Karl May is said to have noticed him and advised him to turn more to the writing profession. At the age of 24 he married the widow Friederike Denner, née Schmid, who was 17 years his senior in Strasbourg . She brought five children from her first marriage into the family. The two of them made a living from a show shop with smaller performances and puppet shows. Stays resp. Residences in Pforzheim , Dörreswang- Mühlacker and Stuttgart-Gablenberg . Wittich cultivated friendships with the writer Heinrich Schäff (d. I. Hermann Zerweck), Gregor Gog , Jo Mihaly and others and also corresponded with Clara Zetkin . Engelbert Wittich died on March 4, 1937 in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt.

Works

Portrait of Wittich's stepdaughter Hilda Denner, 1907
  • Look into the life of the gypsies . Huss, Striegau 1911.
  • The Yenish language , in Archives for Criminal Ahthropology and Criminology , Volume 63, Vogel, Leipzig 1915-1916.
  • The real gypsy dream book . Duphorn, Bad Oldesloe 1926.
  • Look into the life of the gypsies . New, thoroughly worked out and significantly expanded edition Advent, Hamburg 1928.
  • Kasper as a servant . SJW booklet No. 12, Zurich 1932.

The bibliography in the book “brawo sinto!” (Joachim S. Hohmann, Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt 1984) shows 64 Wittich's works, including for the Swiss Folklore Archive : Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society , Kosmos .

Secondary literature

Self-portrait of Wittich, before 1911
  • Joachim S. Hohmann: brawo sinto! Traces of life of German gypsies. Frankfurt, 1984.
  • Joachim S. Hohmann (Ed.): Engelbert Wittich - Contributions to Gypsy Studies. Frankfurt, 1990.

Literature archive

Wittich's estate in the German Literature Archive in Marbach includes

  • Dramatic: Punch and Judy plays.
  • Prose: essays and lectures about the language and dialect of the Gypsies, about their customs and laws, art and trade, their poetry, sagas, oracles and fortune-telling.
  • Letters to: Friederike Wittich and other family members, Clara Zetkin and others; Süddeutscher Rundfunk.
  • Letters from: Karl May, AR Meyer, Oscar C. Pfaus, Heinrich Schäff-Zerweck, Grete von Urbanitzky a. a .; The Gypsy Lore Society, Süddeutscher Rundfunk.
  • Associated materials: certificates, certificates, etc.; Newspaper clippings; small collection of handicrafts by gypsies.

Web links

Commons : Pictures by Engelbert Wittich  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "Look into the life of the gypsies" (PDF), on sifaz.org
  2. ^ Yenish language (PDF), on sifaz.org
  3. ↑ Customs of love and amulets of love by the gypsies , four gypsy stories , superstitious festival customs of the gypsies , magic and superstitions of the gypsies ; Wittich's contributions to the "Swiss Folklore Archives" online and as pdf
personal data
SURNAME Wittich, Engelbert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Jenic writer in Germany
DATE OF BIRTH April 18, 1878
PLACE OF BIRTH Lützenhardt
DATE OF DEATH March 4, 1937
Place of death Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt