Elisabeth von Oertzen

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Elisabeth von Oertzen , née von Thadden (born July 19, 1860 in Trieglaff , † April 29, 1944 in Dorow ) was a German writer who wrote Pomeranian homeland stories.

family

Trieglaff Castle

Elisabeth von Oertzen comes from the Pomeranian noble family von Thadden . She was the eldest daughter of Reinhold von Thadden (1825–1903) and his wife Marie, b. Witte (1834-1922). She had an older brother Adolf von Thadden (1858-1932), district administrator of the Greifenberg district, and three sisters. Her paternal grandfather was the Prussian conservative Adolf von Thadden-Trieglaff (1796–1882), who played a central role in the Pomeranian revival movement. Her maternal grandfather was Professor Karl Witte (1800–1883) from Halle , who had become known as the “Lochauer Wunderkind” and Dante researcher. In 1890, she married Charles of Oertzen (1855-1907), owner of the goods Dorow , Regenwalde . From this marriage a son Günther von Oertzen (1891-1918), who fell as a pilot lieutenant in 1918, and five daughters were born.

Life

She spent her childhood and youth on her parents' estates Batzwitz and Trieglaff, in the Greifenberg district . As a young girl, she had the opportunity to travel to France, Italy and Switzerland. Her first attempts at writing also fell during this time. Under the pseudonym Elisabeth Gruchow, she wrote stories for children that were printed in the then very well-known periodicals “Herzblättchen” and “Töchteralbum” published by Thekla von Gumpert . A short training in the deaconess mother house St. Elisabeth in Berlin gave her an insight into the social misery of the big cities.

Dorow manor house (before 1900)

After her marriage she devoted herself fully to her new tasks as mother and landlady in Dorow. At the same time, she was involved in social policy beyond her closer home: In particular, she dealt with the problems of child protection and reform pedagogy . In 1897, together with like-minded women, she called for the founding of a child protection association - a forerunner of today's child protection association . She collected signatures for a petition she wrote to the Reichstag, which called for improved child protection legislation. The petition with 6,500 signatures was dealt with in the Petitions Commission on May 4, 1899 and in the plenary session of the Reichstag on June 16, 1899 and transferred to the Chancellor as material. Elisabeth von Oertzen vehemently advocated a “nursery reform” and against “beatings”. She summarized her reform ideas in a book published in 1906, “Maternal Reform Thoughts”. During the First World War, she supported the “Country stay for city children” campaign with a publication “Schattenkinder - Sonnenkinder” in order to alleviate the famine in the cities, from which children in particular suffered.

Elisabeth von Oertzen began her actual literary activity in 1901 with the book “Entenrike and other stories from the Pomerania”. Through this book, which appeared in many editions, most recently in 1967, she became known far beyond her immediate homeland as a master of the description of Pomeranian village life. She deserves the credit for bringing the Pommersche Platt used in the dialogues closer to a wider audience. Further books with Pomeranian stories followed by 1930, including a book about her childhood (Der goldene Morgen, 1913) and a book about the childhood of her own six children (Über Hecken und Fences, 1922). (For further works see list of works.)

Elisabeth von Oertzen only saw her work as a writer as a sideline. First and foremost, she saw herself as a landlady. After the early death of her husband in 1907, the responsibility for the management of the property rested with her. It was not until 1922 that she was supported by her son-in-law Otto von der Linde , who leased the business from 1929. As a landlady, she saw it as her duty to look after all the villagers. In addition, she influenced Dorow's village life through amateur play, sports and music.

Works (selection)

  • Entenrike and other back Pomeranian stories. 1901.
  • The beach farm. 1902.
  • My cow and other stories. 1903.
  • Maternal reform thoughts. 1906.
  • The ole guys and other stories. 1909.
  • You and your children: a story from rural life in the Pomerania region. 1911.
  • The widower, a story from the Pomerania region. 1913
  • The golden morning. Childhood memories. 1913.
  • We in the country. Western Pomerania pictures from the war. 1916
  • Shadow children - sun children. An advertising profession: big city kids in the country! 1917
  • Over hedges and fences. 1922.
  • Heinz Pottin and other stories. 1924
  • Kikakü and other East Pomeranian stories. 1930

literature

  • Hildegard von Thadden: Elisabeth von Oertzen-Dorow, b. von Thadden-Trieglaff on her 80th birthday on July 19, 1940. “Oertzen-Blätter” 11th year. Dec. 1940, No. 15, pp. 6-10.
  • (Without author): Elisabeth von Oertzen, Dorow. In: Heimatkalender Kreis Regenwalde 1941, pp. 84–85.
  • Werner Karnowsky: landlady and writer. In memory of E. von Oertzen on the occasion of her 100th birthday. Die Pommersche Zeitung, year 10 of June 23, 1960, p. 6
  • Johannes Hinz : Pomerania. Dictionary. Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-86047-185-6 , p. 225.
  • Fritz Raeck: Pomeranian literature. Samples and dates. Pommerscher Zentralverband, Hamburg 1969, p. 348.
  • Rudolf von Thadden : Trieglaff. A Pomeranian living environment between church and politics 1807-1948. Göttingen 2010, 294 pp.

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ a b Gunild v. Alvensleben, b. v. Oertzen (1904-1997). In: Gut Falkenberg near Fürstenwalde. Alvensleben Falkenberg, accessed on May 14, 2010 .
  2. ↑ a b c Hans-Joachim v. Oertzen:  Oertzen, v .. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 19, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-428-00200-8 , p. 454 ( digitized version ).
  3. ^ Biography of Günther von Oertzen: http://www.frontflieger.de/3oergu0t.html see also: Elisabeth von Oertzen: Gefallenen-Denkmal (Günther von Oertzen). Oertzen-Blätter, Vol. 2, No. 1 (February 1930), pp. 1-6.
  4. ^ Stenographic reports on the negotiations of the Reichstag. 10th legislative term. I. Session. 1898/1900. Third investment band. Berlin 1899, pp. 2196-2197 and shorthand reports on the negotiations of the Reichstag. Xth legislative period. I. Session. 1898/1900. Third volume. Berlin 1899, pp. 2623-2625.
personal data
SURNAME Oertzen, Elisabeth von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thadden, Elisabeth von (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German writer
DATE OF BIRTH July 19, 1860
PLACE OF BIRTH Trieglaff
DATE OF DEATH April 29, 1944
Place of death Dorow