Alexander Spoerl

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House of the Spoerls, 1998
Memorial plaque for the writers Heinrich and Alexander Spoerl at their former school in Düsseldorf

Alexander Johann Heinrich Spoerl (born January 3, 1917 in Düsseldorf , † October 16, 1978 in Rottach-Egern ) was a German writer, film and radio author.

Life

Alexander Spoerl was born as the son of the writer Heinrich Spoerl and his wife Gertrud. After finishing school (Oberrealschule in Düsseldorf-Bilk , today's Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium , which is no longer located on Fürstenwall), he first studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Charlottenburg . Between 1939 and 1949 he hired himself as an interpreter , engineer , film production assistant and rental car driver. He supported Libertas Schulze-Boysen with her work for the Red Orchestra . In 1949 he turned to writing.

In 1948 he married Margot Klinzmann from Berlin, with whom he had two children: Anna-Katharina Gertrud, b. 1949 and Florian Alexander, b. 1951. After his divorce in 1954 he married the Düsseldorf photographer Ingeborg Wollenzien .

Spoerl died on October 16, 1978 of a heart attack in Rottach-Egern am Tegernsee (Upper Bavaria) and was buried there in the new Catholic cemetery in his parents' grave.

Artistic creation

Spoerl's most famous works were created in the 1950s. In his characteristic style - a mixture of humor and irony, mixed with melancholy undertones - he repeatedly targeted the weaknesses of his contemporaries, both in the present and during National Socialism , authorities, civil servants and the judiciary.

In addition to novels ( memoirs of a mediocre student , sidewalk ), he published specialist books (including. Mit dem Auto auf Du , Das große Hundebuch ) and wrote as a car tester for Stern magazine . He was unable to complete his last work, The Brown Thirties ; it was published posthumously in 1988.

Spoerl on Spoerl

“Born in 1917 with long hair, about eight pounds. Bit in the legs of women at the tea party, then went to school and didn't improve afterwards either. Studied mechanical engineering, was a dramaturge, became an engineer. In the military I reached the rank of senior soldier without significantly extending the war. Became an interpreter, rental car chauffeur, asset manager. Finally a writer.

I think women are great, cars are charming, and wine is indispensable. I smoke a pipe for everything. When I work, I'm in a good mood but unbearable. If I don't do anything, I get soft but depressed. Beethoven is already too modern for me, thank God Hitler dead, I don't understand Einstein. In company, I prefer to talk to what I talk best to. I'm on time for appointments, provided I don't forget them completely. The tax office still gets money from me. With which my honor is sufficiently saved. "

Works (selection)

  • The iron broom. From father and son Spoerl , 1949 (together with Heinrich Spoerl)
  • Memoirs of a mediocre student . R. Piper & Co, Munich 1950 (most popular work) (new edition 1995)
  • I have nothing to do with it (later title: The man who did not commit murder. An almost serious crime story. R. Piper & Co., Munich), 1951
  • An untalented lover , 1952
  • With the car on you , 1953
  • Morale underwater , 1953
  • Sidewalk - Defiant Novel , 1954
  • Gentlemen in Underpants - Textbook for the Lord in the House , 1955 (later title: Gentlemen can do it themselves )
  • With a motorcycle and scooter on you , 1955
  • On the Breast of Nature - A Serene Book for People Inside and Outside the Tent , 1956
  • With the camera at you , 1957
  • Dealing with a Goddess , (A promotional brochure for Citroën) 1958
  • Test for yourself - For people who buy a car , 1959
  • Everyday life is a joke , 1960
  • Catching fish , 1960
  • Matthäi am last - novel about the end of the world , 1960
  • The breakdown to the collar. R. Piper & Co, Munich 1962.
  • Little man builds in Ticino. R. Piper & Co, Münchn 1963.
  • This is how people came up with cars , 1963
  • Enlarging a trifle , 1964
  • The man in the car - revelations and advice. R. Piper & Co, Munich 1965.
  • Auto in Winter - A little chat with practical tips for driving a car in winter , 1966
  • The other people - from forty-five to today , 1967
  • Filming with Spoerl , 1967
  • Third class people , 1968 (about homeless people, among whom Spoerl mingles as a teacher)
  • Groschen and Millions - Everything you need to know about the lottery and pools, crosses and systems, stakes and profits , 1969
  • The ABC of Big Cars , 1970
  • Written under the school desk , 1970
  • Computer book , 1971
  • An untalented husband , 1972
  • The Alphabetic Lord , 1973
  • Microwave cooking - device technology, application, recipes , 1973
  • Pachmayr - The life of a corpse , 1973
  • The sound makes the music - all about records, tapes and devices , 1975
  • More about heating , (for Buderus) 1975
  • It all started all over again - A young adult novel , 1976 (for children aged 10 and over)
  • The new color fishing book , 1977
  • The new dog book in color - everything about you and your partner , 1978
  • Landlords' breviary - dealing with nails, screws and other afflictions , 1985
  • The brown thirties , 1988 (from the estate)

Film adaptations

literature

  • Fritz Wiesenberger: Father and son threw balls to each other. Spoerl estate now in the Heinrich Heine Institute. In: Düsseldorfer Hefte . 29 (1984) 5, pp. 6-7.
  • Gert Rosiejka: The Red Chapel. "Treason" as an anti-fascist resistance . results, Hamburg 1986, ISBN 3-925622-16-0

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://main.gsg-duesseldorf.de/?p=1000
  2. ↑ Blurb to: Films with Spoerl. Piper and Heering publishers, Munich 1967.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Spoerl, Alexander
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Spoerl, Alexander Johann Heinrich (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German writer, film and radio author
DATE OF BIRTH January 3, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH Dusseldorf
DATE OF DEATH October 16, 1978
Place of death Rottach-Egern