Erich Kunter

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Erich Kunter (born January 29, 1898 in Barmen ; † February 13, 1982 in Freiburg im Breisgau ) was a German writer .

Life

The son of the book printer and lithographic manager Hugo Kunter attended secondary schools in Leipzig , Hanover , Magdeburg and finally Heilbronn , where he graduated from secondary school in 1916 , because the family moved frequently . His first lyrical attempts were made during his apprenticeship as a bookseller until 1919. The World War , the war death of Brother Hugo and the November Revolution triggered his commitment to the labor movement and his resolute opposition to the war. He became a freelance writer, poet, bookseller and publisher in Heilbronn. From 1924 to 1933 he was the publisher and editor of the cultural-political journals Weg and Wende and Die Arche .

In 1926 he went on a study trip with other authors to Poland and made contacts with young Polish authors. He lived in Heilbronn until he moved to Klosterreichenbach in the Black Forest in 1928 . On August 16, 1928, he married Maria Brunner (1904–1982). They had four children: Gerrit (1927–1934), Georg (* 1929), Erika (* 1935), Eva (* 1950).

In 1930 he lived in Riedenberg near Stuttgart . In 1930 he joined the KPD , for which he organized cultural work. In 1932 he lived again in Klosterreichenbach. After the National Socialist seizure of power , three more issues of the Weg und Wende project were published between March and May 1933 , until he was arrested in June 1933. Because of “ cultural Bolshevism ” he was taken into “ protective custody ”. At first, Kunter was imprisoned in the Heuberg concentration camp near Stetten on the cold market . After the dissolution of the Heuberg concentration camp, he said he was transferred on December 25, 1933 to the Oberer Kuhberg concentration camp founded at the end of November 1933 .

When the older son died in January 1934, the father was refused entry to the funeral. He was released in July 1934, moved to Stuttgart in 1936 and to Gerlingen in 1938 . He survived the time of National Socialism by writing apolitical novels. He met like-minded people, was involved in the resistance, supported those in danger in fleeing across the Czech border and Jewish fellow citizens in emigrating, for example his Stuttgart dentist Eisack. He supplied food to forced laborers. Declared "unworthy of defense" during the war, he was "conscripted" to work at the district tax office. The wife Maria was drawn into the armaments industry, but sent home again because of "lack of employment" and obliged to work from home. Shortly before the end of the war, the family took in a deserter and hid their son from being drafted. Kunter made contact with the invading French troops and was appointed first acting mayor of Gerlingen, later responsible for culture and education in the local council. He participated in the development of the municipal administration and organized the supply of the population. In Stuttgart he became a member of the state committee of anti-fascists. In autumn 1945 his most important book was written: Weltreise nach Dachau , which deals with the actual experiences of the concentration camp prisoner Max Wittmann in the form of a novel.

Kunter lived in Ludwigsburg from 1946 to 1962 . In 1946 he became cultural advisor to the district administrator in the Ludwigsburg district and head of the district cultural office . He ran for the KPD in the district elections. In the summer of 1949 his son enrolled at an East German university and stayed in the GDR. The political events of 1953 and 1956 heightened his doubts about developments in “ real socialism ”.

In 1961 Erich Kunter retired and suffered from physical and psychological stress. From 1962 to 1970 he lived in Sulzbach am Kocher , and from 1970 until his death in Nürtingen-Roßdorf . In 1971 he was one of the founding members of the Kuratorium KZ Oberer Kuhberg (Ulm) .

Erich Kunter died on February 13, 1982 in Freiburg. Exactly one month later to the day, his wife Maria died in Nürtingen.

Works

  • My blood. Verses. Stuttgart-Cannstatt 1919
  • From blood and spirit. Verses. Leipzig [1923]
  • (Ed. With Anton Krauße): Phantasus. A reading from yesterday and tomorrow. Heilbronn. 1924
  • We. A collection of modern poetry. Heilbronn 1924
  • (Ed.): (Ed.): Weg und Wende. Magazine. Heilbronn and Klosterreichenbach (Die Arche publishing house) 1924–1933
  • The yellow book. Heilbronn 1925
  • (Ed.): Jahrbuch deutscher Lyrik 1925. Heilbronn [1925]
  • (Ed.): "We boys". Poems of our time. An anthology. Heilbronn [1927]
  • In the breath of the world. Poems. Heilbronn 1927
  • The cocaine mill. Novel. 1930
  • The theater count. Novel. 1930
  • The source of happiness. 1931, Leipzig 1933
  • The golden heart and other little stories. Rastatt 1932
  • Lively everyday life. New stories. 1932
  • The aria of death. Novel. 1933
  • Heart without a home. Heidenau [1936]
  • The death aria. Hamburg 1938
  • Doom in someone else's house. Novel. Dresden 1938, Salzburg [1949]
  • "... and love guides!" Roman. Leipzig 1938
  • Up and down with Götz von Berlichingen. A story for boys. Reutlingen 1940
  • World trip to Dachau. A factual report based on the experiences of the world traveler and former political prisoner Max Wittmann. Recorded by Erich Kunter. Stuttgart-Botnang 1946, Bad Wildbad 1947
  • Doom in someone else's house. Berchtesgaden-Untersalzberg [1948]
  • The woman with the three and a half daughters. Berchtesgaden-Untersalzberg [1948]
  • Kerner, Justinus. Consolation in poetry. Lorch / Württ. 1948
  • The knight with the iron hand. Reutlingen [1951]
  • Art in the Ludwigsburg district. Culture dept. d. District Office Ludwigsburg 1952
  • The South German Chamber Orchestra plays in counties. District Office Ludwigsburg 1957

literature

Individual evidence

  1. Erich Kunter: Weltreise nach Dachau , 2nd edition, Bad Wildbad 1947, p. 258 ff