Álmos Csongár

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Álmos Csongár (1989)

Álmos Csongár (born September 6, 1920 in Ungvár ; † May 31, 2016 in Berlin ) was a German writer, publicist, philosopher and Nietzsche connoisseur. He tried to open the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche - far from the cliché - to a broader readership in popular science and to draw attention to similarities between Nietzsche and Karl Marx . Born in Hungary, he was also considered a translator and mediator between Eastern European and German cultures.

Live and act

Álmos Csongár was born in Ungvár in 1920. He spent his childhood in a middle-class home in the small town in Upper Hungary , which belonged to the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and was assigned to the Czechoslovak Republic (ČSR) since 1920 (the Trianon Peace Treaty ) . Therefore, he graduated from high school in the Czech language. From 1938 the city belonged again to Hungary.

Csongár studied philosophy, classical philology and German in Debrecen / Hungary , Munich and Berlin. Since it was not possible to do a doctorate on Nietzsche in Horthy-Hungary , he went to Berlin in 1943 as a research fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to do his doctorate with Alfred Baeumler on the subject of Nietzsche and decadence . But the divergence between Csongár and Baeumler, who Nietzsche used for the fascist system, was too great. After refusing military service, Csongár experienced the end of the war in Berlin, hiding with his future family.

Because of his diverse language skills and his belief in a new world, he worked as a lecturer in Russian and Soviet literature after 1945. He also taught Hungarian at the Berlin-Mitte adult education center for decades .

In 1946 he founded the Southeast Press Service. He worked as a freelance writer for the press of the Soviet Union and the People's Democracies, for the Daily Rundschau, Neues Deutschland , Berliner Zeitung , for the Sonntag , the Wochenpost and the Eulenspiegel . In 1947 the Hungarian diplomat Imre Horváth encouraged him to see himself as a mediator between the different cultures.

Since 1949 Álmos Csongár belonged to the Kulturbund of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) , since 1952 he was a member of the German Writers' Association . In 1961 he received citizenship of the GDR . Csongár worked as a freelancer for life.

Álmos Csongár died on May 31, 2016 at the age of 95 in Berlin.

In 2018 the Akademie der Künste, Berlin took over a selection of his written estate.

Certificate Pro Cultura Hungarica

Awards

In 2000 he received the Great Gold Medal for his services to the dissemination of Hungarian literature presented by President Árpád Göncz .

In 2010 he was awarded the Pro Cultura Hungarica cultural prize by the Hungarian government.

Private

Csongár lived in Berlin and was with the Berliner Lissy Csongár, nee. Lang (1925–2005), married since 1945. The couple had two children. Besides work, sport dominated his life; He played tennis when he was 90 years old.

Publications (selection)

Csongár translated more than 30 Hungarian novels into German (see section translations). This included authors such as Árpád Göncz, Imre Dobozy . His well-founded afterwords should be emphasized. After the fall of the Wall, he continued his Nietzsche research, participated in several international symposia and wrote about the philosopher. Csongár tried to think Marx and Nietzsche together.

He published essays on Strittmatter , Kant , Fühmann , Christa Wolf , Kunert , Enzensberger . The archives of Berliner Zeitung and Neues Deutschland contain over 80 of his journalistic contributions.

  • Hungary - country and people, VEB FA Brockhaus Verlag, Leipzig 1964, 52 pages.
  • With a thousand tongues - confession of an eventful life. Autobiography, Verlag der Nation , Berlin 1984, 425 pages.
  • Free the prisoner Nietzsche , Junghans Verlag, Cuxhaven & Dartford 2000, 222 pages, ISBN 3-932905-16-4 .
  • The good European from the point of view of Friedrich Nietzsche , Junghans Verlag, Cuxhaven & Dartford 2003, 203 pages, ISBN 3-932905-53-9 .
  • How the Virgo became a Taurus. Curse and blessing of a century. Revised autobiography , Oberbaum Verlag, Berlin 2006, 448 pages, ISBN 3-933314-53-4 .
  • I love you in hungarian. Stories, feuilletons, humoresques , Oberbaum Verlag, Berlin 2008, 448 pages, ISBN 3-938989-07-6 .
  • Nietzsche light. Between Genie and Wahn , Patchworldverlag, Leipzig 2010, 160 pages, ISBN 978-3-941021-01-3 .
  • Herd morale. To be good German means to de-German , Patchworldverlag, Leipzig 2012, 160 pages, ISBN 978-3-941021-15-0 .
  • Mein Kater der Philosopher , Patchworldverlag, Leipzig 2013, 127 pages, ISBN 978-3-941021-34-1 .
  • The Hungarian dilemma. Stories and essays , Verlag am park, Berlin 2015, 229 pages, ISBN 978-3-945187-25-8 .

He also wrote a history of Hungarian literature in 1963, which is available as a typescript .

Translations

  • The wind is not blowing by chance : Roman, Asztalos, István - Berlin, Aufbau-Verlag, 1951
  • White August : Roman, Sándor, Kálmán - Berlin, Tribüne, 1953
  • Hungary tells : Documentation, Weise-Standfest, Hilde - Berlin, Volk u. Knowledge, 1954
  • Bálint Zsóry must die : Roman, Keszi, Imre - Berlin, Tribüne, 1955
  • The story of a pencil : Roman, Tersánszky, Józsi Jenö - Berlin, Verlag des Ministry f. National Defense, 1957
  • Nothing but trouble : Roman, Tersánszky, Józsi Jenö - Berlin, Verlag der Nation, 1959
  • Sun over the Danube : modern Hungarian stories, Diószegi, András; Csongár, Almos [transl.] - Berlin, Verlag der Nation, 1962
  • Mischi with the black tail : Roman, Tersánszky, Józsi Jenö - Budapest, Corvina-Verlag, 1962, 2nd edition
  • On the shores of the purple sea : Roman, Németh, Imre - Berlin, Altberliner Verlag Groszer, 1963
  • On a sultry summer's day : Kriminalroman, Móricz, Zsigmond - Berlin, Verlag der Nation, 1964 (novel for all; 149)
  • Guardian angels wanted : humoresques and satires, Gádor, Béla - Berlin, Eulenspiegel Verlag, 1966
  • Martin Kakuk on election : Novel episode, Tersánszky, Józsi Jenö - Leipzig, Reclam, 1968 (Reclams Universal-Bibliothek; 401)
  • Marci Kakuk in luck : Roman, Tersánszky, Józsi Jenö - Berlin, Eulenspiegel-Verlag, 1968
  • On a sultry summer day : Roman, Móricz, Zsigmond - joint edition - Budapest, Corvina-Verlag, 1968
  • The great prince : historical novel, Móricz, Zsigmond - Berlin, Verlag der Nation, 1973
  • Goodbye dearest! : Roman, Tersánszky, Józsi Jenö - 1 edition - Berlin, Verlag der Nation, 1973 (novel for all; 209)
  • The adventures of the good shoemaker Ficzek : A novel from Budapest at the turn of the century, Hidas, Antal - 1st edition - Berlin, 1973
  • Marci Kakuk : a Hungarian picaresque novel, Tersánszky, Józsi Jenö - 1st edition - Berlin, Verlag der Nation, 1975
  • The spiral staircase : Roman, Bárány, Tamás - 1st edition - Berlin, Verlag der Nation, 1976 (Roman for all; 217/218)
  • Mihály Munkácsy : Life and Work, Munkácsy, Mihály - Berlin, Henschelverlag Kunst u. Society, 1977, 1st edition
  • Magic garden : Roman, Móricz, Zsigmond - Budapest, Corvina-Verlag, 1977, 2nd edition
  • The adventures of the good shoemaker Ficzek : A novel from Budapest at the turn of the century, Hidas, Antal - Abridged version, 2nd edition - Berlin, Verlag der Nation, 1978
  • The prayer stool of the princess and other stories , Dobozy, Imre - Berlin, Verlag der Nation, 1978, 1st edition
  • Bartolomé Esteban Murillo : Life and Work, Murillo, Bartolomé Esteban. - Berlin, Henschelverlag, 1978, 1st edition
  • Shadows of the Sun : Roman, Móricz, Zsigmond - Budapest, Corvina-Verlag, 1979, 2nd edition
  • The cavalry army : Stories, Babel, Isaak - Verlag Büchergilde, 1964, translators Nemeth Imre and Almos Csongár
  • Thomas Gainsborough : Life and Work, Gainsborough, Thomas - Berlin, Henschelverlag, 1979, 1st edition
  • The cattle with the letter of nobility : Stories, Móricz, Zsigmond - 1st edition - Berlin, Verlag der Nation, 1979 (Roman for all; 238/239)
  • Legend of the rabbit goulash : Roman, Tersánszky, Józsi Jenö - 1st edition - Berlin, Verlag der Nation, 1980 (Roman for all; 242/243)
  • Masaccio : Life and Work, Masaccio - Berlin, Henschelverlag, 1980, 1st edition
  • The Chain Bridge : Roman, Lengyel, József - Budapest, Corvina Kiadó, 1982
  • The readiness : 10 stories, Thurzó, Gábor - 1st edition - Berlin, Evangelische Verlags-Anstalt, 1982
  • The King of the Crusaders : historical novel, Szabó, Pál - 2nd edition - Berlin, Verlag der Nation, 1982
  • Change of front : Roman, Dobozy, Imre - 1st edition - Berlin, Verlag der Nation, 1983
  • Christmas painting : Stories, Thurzó, Gábor - Berlin, Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 1983
  • Goodbye dearest! : Roman, Tersánszky, Józsi Jenö - 1st edition - Berlin, Verlag der Nation, 1984
  • Jan van Eyck : Life and Work, Végh, János - 1st edition - Berlin, Henschelverlag, 1984
  • The fifth seal : Roman, Sánta, Ferenc - 1st edition - Berlin, Verlag der Nation, 1985
  • Rebel against Habsburg : Lajos Kossuth's life novel, Cseres, Tibor - 1st edition - Berlin, Verlag der Nation, 1987
  • The judge : Roman, Bárány, Tamás - Berlin, Verlag der Nation, 1988, 1st edition
  • Sandal wearers : Roman, Göncz, Árpád - 1st edition - Berlin, Aufbau Taschenbuch Verlag, 1993 (Aufbau-Taschenbücher; 1009)
  • A Brief History of Hungary , Lázár, István - Budapest, Corvina Publishing House, 1996
  • Illustrated History of Hungary , Lázár, István - Budapest, Corvina Publishing House, 1997
  • Love : Hungarian short prose from the 20th century, Bart, István [editor]; Buschmann, Jörg [translator]; Csongár, Almos [translator] 3rd edition - Budapest, Corvina Könyvk., 1998
  • Sandal wearers : Roman, Göncz, Árpád - 2nd edition - Berlin, Aufbau-Taschenbuch-Verlag, 1999 (Aufbau-Taschenbücher; 1593)

Web links

  • Klaus Haupt, review of: How the virgin became a bull , Ossietzky - two-week publication for politics / culture / economy; Issue 16, 2006
  • Klaus Haupt, Confessions of an old tennis crack , review : I love you in Hungarian , Neues Deutschland, March 6, 2008
  • Rüdiger Schmidt-Grépály at the table with Álmos Csongár, East-West rebel , hr2 culture, double head, January 18, 2010, podcast
  • Álmos Csongár: Echoes of the Carpathian Rhapsody by Béla Illés , RotFuchs 142, September 2013 ,
  • Matthias Biskupek, Mutti, Herr Papa and Schnurri , review of: Mein Kater the Philosopher, Neues Deutschland, March 20, 2014
  • Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi: Practical Idealism , quote from: Almos Csongár, The German-Jewish Symbiosis , in: The good European from the point of view of Friedrich Nietzsche, Basel November 10, 2013
  • Bruni Steininger, review of: The Hungarian Dilemma , RotFuchs 220, May 2016
  • Eulenspiegel Verlagsgruppe, Our Authors
  • Mediator Álmos Csongár died , Neues Deutschland, June 10, 2016

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ easydb.archive. In: archiv.adk.de. Retrieved August 12, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Csongár, Álmos
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German writer, publicist, philosopher and Nietzsche connoisseur
DATE OF BIRTH September 6, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Ungvár
DATE OF DEATH May 31, 2016
Place of death Berlin