Christian Schultz-Gerstein

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Christian Schultz-Gerstein (born October 2, 1945 in Dahl (Hagen) , † March 3, 1987 in Hamburg ) was a German journalist .

Life

Christian Schultz-Gerstein was a son of the lawyer Günther Schultz (1911–1993) and Charlotte Gerstein (1919–2006). His older brother is the lawyer Hans-Georg Schultz-Gerstein . He studied German and theology at the universities of Hamburg and Tübingen . From 1970 he worked as an employee of the time and as a tennis instructor. In 1976 he became the culture editor of the Spiegel .

In 1979 he published the volume "Der Doppelkopf". This essentially contained an interview with the Austrian writer Jean Améry , in which it was about Améry's book Hand on yourself , and an essay in which he dealt with the behavior of his father Günther Schultz as a judge during the Nazi era .

The Schultz-Gerstein newspaper articles were characterized by the particular willingness of the author to express themselves. It was not his job to show particular respect for the big names in the cultural scene. His responses to culturally critical remarks by Botho Strauss will be remembered :

“[...] stopped in the cultural morality of the 50s [...] when television and rock music were still the devil, but human beings' real destiny was to read a good book and listen to classical music . Just as the blessed sexton once did with the 'clean canvas' campaign , so now Botho Strauss stands up to us as an advocate for the pure soul with a high school diploma, general education and erudition and fights the old battle against its contamination by newfangled trivialities. The demon of television, the nasty advertising, the banal magazines - the whole forbidden, youth-endangering world of the Pfäffischen educated middle class of the Adenauer era is spreading once again. "

The life story of Schultz-Gerstein shows parallels to the life of Bernward Vesper . Both showed a great talent for literary and columnist works, and both of them left life voluntarily. The Nazi past held up against both fathers does not apply equally to Schultz-Gerstein. His father was considered a staunch opponent of National Socialism. Against his will, he was seconded to a criminal senate in 1943, where he participated in trials under the “ Nuremberg Laws ”. This entanglement led to an irreconcilable antagonism between father and son.

Fonts

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Christian Schultz-Gerstein: The gospel of the critical opportunists . In: Der Spiegel . No. 35 , 1982, pp. 164 ( online ).
personal data
SURNAME Schultz-Gerstein, Christian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German journalist
DATE OF BIRTH October 2, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Dahl (Hagen)
DATE OF DEATH March 3, 1987
Place of death Hamburg