Edvard Kocbek
Edvard Kocbek (born September 27, 1904 in Sveti Jurij ob Sčavnici (St. Georgen an der Stainz) near Maribor ; † November 3, 1981 in Ljubljana ) was a well-known Slovenian writer and publicist. He is counted among the most important intellectuals in Slovenia in the 20th century.
Kocbek was born in Lower Styria , Slovenia . After briefly studying theology at the seminary in Maribor, he studied Romance languages at the University of Ljubljana from 1927 to 1930 . He spent the academic year 1929/30 in Berlin. During the Spanish Civil War in 1937, he turned to left- wing Catholicism .
As a middle school professor and a staunch Catholic, he turned against the Slovenian bishops who supported the fascists in the Spanish civil war after studying in Paris - where he came into contact with the philosopher Emmanuel Mounier - and advocated the republic . His essai Premišlevanije o Španiji (Thoughts on Spain) is a criticism of the Catholic right in its attitude towards fascism.
He joined the partisans ( Osvobodilna Fronta ) in 1941 after the German army marched into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia ; his “ partisan diary ” is now regarded as the most important source of objective reporting on this controversial era. In the presentation of his work (by Lev Detela , Vienna) and the edition of important texts it becomes clear that the intellectual was abused by Tito and sometimes used as a "useful idiot" to keep Christians in the coalition of the people's liberation movement .
In 1951 , Kocbek dealt with the murder of thousands of Domobranci (members of the Slovenian Home Guard ) disarmed after the Second World War in the collection of novels Strah in pogum ( Fear and Courage ), which resulted in his dismissal as Yugoslavia's minister of culture and a publication ban .
In 1975, in an interview with Boris Pahor , Kocbek publicly commented on these atrocities. Heinrich Böll's intervention - his letter was edited in Germany - saved him from arrest. The Udba State Security Service collected over 5,000 pages of reports on him.
Kocbeks reflections on the coexistence of Germans and Slovenes and on the role of the “little ones” in Europe are particularly important in the context of EU expansion.
The disintegration of Yugoslavia and the end of Titoism made it possible to reassess his work.
A bibliography of the reception in German-language organs shows the early engagement with his work in Austria; his essays on Kierkegaard and Karl Barth the philosophical discourse beyond the Karawanken .
Works
- Ashes. Poems. Edited by Klaus Oloft. Wiesner, Klagenfurt 1996, ISBN 3-85129-171-9
- Berilo. Reading book. Ed. Lev Detela. Mohojeva, Klagenfurt 1997, ISBN 3-85013-473-3
- The dialectic . Poems, German and Slovenian. Heiderhoff, Frankfurt 1968
- The black sea . Edition Thanhäuser , Ottersheim 1997
- Strah in pogum (German: fear and courage. Stories, 1951)
- Tovarišija (German comradeship. Diaries, 1949)
- Roki - Hands. Pesmi - Poetry. Bilingual Slovenian, English. Translated by Feliks J. Bister, Heribert Kuhner. Wieser, Klagenfurt 2015
literature
- Edvard Kocbek: poezija, kultura, politika . - Ljubljana: Komunist, 88. - ISBN 86-7045-026-7 .
- Edvard Kocbek, literature and engagement : poems, diaries, essays, afterlife / ed. v. Lev Detela et al. Peter Kersche. - Klagenfurt: Kitab, 2004.
Web links
- Literature by and about Edvard Kocbek in the catalog of the German National Library
- http://www.kitab-verlag.com
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kocbek, Edvard |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Slovenian writer and publicist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 27, 1904 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Sveti Jurij ob Scavnici (St. Georgen an der Stainz) near Maribor |
| DATE OF DEATH | 3rd November 1981 |
| Place of death | Ljubljana |