Arnulf Zitelmann

Arnulf Zitelmann (born March 9, 1929 in Oberhausen - Sterkrade ) is a German writer and theologian . His main work is divided into novels for young people and non-fiction , including several biographies of personalities who were formative for philosophy or theology .

Life

Arnulf Zitelmann, the second youngest of six siblings, initially spent his childhood in the Ruhr area . After several, through the World War II -related, he made school Jump 1949 his Abitur at a classical languages secondary school in casting . He then studied Protestant theology , philosophy , German and psychology in Marburg and Heidelberg .

After graduation, he worked as a pastor in Frankfurt am Main and Messel ( Darmstadt-Dieburg district ). From 1977 to 1992 he was a religion teacher at the Ludwig-Georgs-Gymnasium in Darmstadt . Since then he has lived as a freelance writer in Ober-Ramstadt .

He is married and has four children, including the historian and journalist Rainer Zitelmann .

Trivia

The actor Matthias Matschke was one of Zitelmann's students .

Literary work

His first publication with the manual Didaktik der Sexualerbildung (1970) was followed by work on process theology and other non-fiction books.

At the same time he published numerous works of fiction . His novels , mostly historical ones, aimed at young people, deal with the biblical and Hellenistic-Roman antiquity as well as the Middle Ages and the time of National Socialism . The main characters , developed from the respective everyday world, make history tangible "from below". The author himself characterizes these works as "theological-philosophical adventure novels ". Zitelmann's leitmotif, to be open to others and to meet others peacefully, is also the subject of his novels, which are set in the present or anticipate the future as science fiction . Many of his novels have been translated into several languages.

Zitelmann received numerous prizes and awards for his work. The source-specific expertise and the catchy writing of his works were particularly praised by the critics. This applies in particular to his biographies on personalities such as Kant , Lichtenberg and Martin Luther, which are aimed at young people and adults alike .

Arnulf Zitelmann is a member of the PEN Center Germany .

Awards and honors (selection)

• 1984: In the shortlist for the German Youth Literature Prize : I cannot withdraw
• 1985: In the shortlist for the German Youth Literature Prize: Nobody turns me around
• 1991: Kalbach rattlesnake for Paule Pizolka
• 1992: Gustav Heinemann Peace Prize for Paule Pizolka
• 1994: Friedrich Bödecker Prize
• 1994: Grand Prize of the German Academy for Children's and Young People's Literature
• 1996: Friedrich Gerstäcker Prize for En route to Bigorra
• 1999: Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon

Works (selection)

Fiction

• Little way . Adventure novel from the early days. 1978, 2004, ISBN 3-407-78039-7
• Twelve stones for Judea . 1979, 2002, ISBN 3-407-78520-8
• Among jugglers . Adventure novel from the Middle Ages. 1980, 2002, ISBN 3-407-78477-5
• The tower at Kullab. Adventure novel from biblical times. 1982, 2002, ISBN 3-407-78521-6
• Beyond Aran . Adventure novel from old Ireland. 1984, 2004, ISBN 3-407-80131-9
• Until the 13th moon . A story from the ice age. 1986, 2003, ISBN 3-407-78557-7
• After the big glitch . Adventure novel from the future. 1987 (8th edition 1996), ISBN 3-407-78024-9
• Hypatia . 1988, 2004 ISBN 3-407-78639-5 (see also philosopher Hypatia )
• Paule Pizolka or An Escape Through Germany . Novel. 1991, 2004, ISBN 3-407-78768-5
• Moses, the man from the desert . Novel. 1991, 2002, ISBN 3-407-80083-5
• Abram and Sarai . Novel. 1993, 1998, ISBN 3-407-79605-6
• On the way to Bigorra . Adventure novel from the early Middle Ages. 1994, 2001, ISBN 3-407-78445-7
• Not a place for angels . The story of Amos Filip. 1998, 2000, ISBN 3-407-78843-6
• Jonathan, Prince of Israel . A novel from the early royal times. 1999, ISBN 3-407-79798-2
• Sirrah's dreams . 2000, ISBN 3-407-78848-7
• At the gates of Byzantium . Adventure novel from the Middle Ages. 2003, ISBN 3-407-78684-0
• Alica . Adventure novel from ancient times. 2006, ISBN 3-407-80969-7
• I, Tobit, tell this story. A novel from the time of Jesus . 2009, ISBN 978-3-7941-8093-6
• Heretic sisters . Medieval novel. 2011, ISBN 978-3-522-30266-1

Non-fiction

Biographies

• I cannot withdraw . The life story of Martin Luther . 1983, 2004, ISBN 3-407-80936-0
• Nobody turns me around . The life story of Martin Luther King . 1985, 2003, ISBN 3-407-78901-7
• I want to thunder over them! The life story of Thomas Müntzer . 1989, 1999, ISBN 3-407-78794-4
• Only that I am human . The life story of Immanuel Kant . 1996, ISBN 3-407-80744-9
• Every grain of sand is a letter . The life story of Georg Christoph Lichtenberg . 2001, 2002, ISBN 3-407-80883-6
• Kepler's worlds . Johannes Kepler - A picture of life. Lau-Verlag, Reinbek 2016, ISBN 978-3-95768-171-3

Other works

• Basic Bible . 1972, ISBN 3-407-35510-6
• The world religions . 2002, ISBN 3-593-36946-X
• The history of the Christians . 2004, ISBN 3-593-37413-7
• The world of the Greeks . 2008, ISBN 978-3-593-38536-5
• When Sky became Heaven, and how Eva became a grandmother . 2015, ISBN 978-3-86888-104-2
• Yesterday was today. The world of myths . 2016, ISBN 978-3-86888-109-7

literature

• Kerstin Hasse: Arnulf Zitelmann's books for young people and their significance for reading pedagogy. Master's thesis at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in 1998.
• Ortwin Beisbart: Growing up as a challenge as to which story you want to belong in. Construction of the individual and family in Arnulf Zitelmann's youth novel “Abraham and Sarai” (1993). In: Yearbook for International German Studies, Volume 36 (2004), Issue 1, Pages 183–196.

Web links

• Literature by and about Arnulf Zitelmann in the catalog of the German National Library
• Works by and about Arnulf Zitelmann at Open Library
• Arnulf Zitelmann at the Beltz publishing group

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.goettinger-tageblatt.de/Nachrichten/Panorama/Wie-halten-Sie-es-mit-der-Religion-Schauspieler-Matthias-Matschke-im-Interview
2. ↑ Exemplary selection of reviews for the biography of Arnulf Zitelmann on Georg Christoph Lichtenberg in Every grain of sand is a letter see I: Who is there? Just me. In: Mitteldeutsche Zeitung of March 21, 2002 .; Jürgen Diesner: Five years in the poison kitchen of the scholar . In: Darmstädter Echo of July 2, 2002; Heinz Steuer, in: bibliotheksnachrichten 3 (2002); Ulrich Karger , in: Der Tagesspiegel from August 4, 2002, p. 28; Brigitte Schewe: grain of sand and dawn. Life paths for reading and listening. In: Dog-ear . H. 12 (2002); Alexander Neumann, in: Lichtenberg yearbook 2002 (2003); Martina Wehlte-Höschele, in: Book market. Deutschlandradio from May 18, 2002. Taken from the Lichtenberg Society eV yearbook on Lichtenberg Bibliography 2001-2003 and supplements , compiled by Ulrich Joost
3. ↑ pen-deutschland.de Arnulf Zitelmann, listed in the list of members of the PEN Center Germany .