Ernst Bergfeld

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Ernst August Adolf Heinrich Bergfeld (born March 9, 1885 in Braunschweig ; † July 5, 1969 there ) was a German writer , civil servant and librarian .

life and work

The son of August Bergfeld, a decoration and lettering painter, and his wife Lina, b. Hoffmeister, at the age of eight, after the death of his father, came together with a younger brother to the large orphanage Beatae Mariae Virginis in the street Hinter Liebfrauen in Braunschweig, where he had a happy childhood and youth. He dealt with the time in the orphanage in 1950 in his autobiographical novel The Evergreen Garden . During this time, Bergfeld taught himself a lot as an autodidact and finally received the secondary school leaving certificate in the orphanage school .

After participating in the First World War as a hospital inspector in the Braunschweig Infantry Regiment No. 92 , Bergfeld initially worked at different locations, including in Elberfeld and Düsseldorf, in various professions. On the side, he continued his education by attending lectures on literary and theater history at the university. During this time he made his first attempts to gain a foothold as a freelance writer. He published poems and stories; In 1904 his first book Gretel was published , a volume of poetry. Overall, however, this early attempt failed.

In 1920, again in Braunschweig, he became a ministerial official and then an official at the Technical University of Braunschweig . In the early years of National Socialism , Bergfeld was initially enthusiastic about its ideals. Sometimes it was expressed in appropriately positively formulated poetry, but soon he was disappointed and turned away from this ideology. As a result, in March 1939, he was deported from his position in the administration to the little-regarded position of librarian in the university library. He held this position until December 1945. During the Second World War , Bergfeld was busy relocating the library holdings and thus protecting them from destruction. After the end of the war he made sure that the books were secured and returned.

Friends of the Great Orphanage

After the end of the war, Bergfeld turned to new tasks: Since the Great Orphanage had been destroyed in the bombing war and was not rebuilt, Bergfeld felt reminded of his childhood and youth in the orphanage BMV and founded the non-profit association in January 1951 to support the orphans in Braunschweig "Friends of the Great Orphanage BMV e. V. ” , of which he became the first chairman and remained until his death.

The "Friends" gave the magazine 1951-1985 "Friends of the Great Orphanage" out. Ernst Bergfeld was editor of the magazine from issue 1 in April 1951 to issue 55 in May 1969, shortly before his death. The booklets contained literary, artistic and local history articles and were distributed until they were discontinued in 1985.

Works (selection)

Bergfeld felt himself to be a “poet with religious ties” and felt a literary connection to Wilhelm Raabe and the Huch family.

  • 1904: Gretel
  • 1921: The Bruderhütte
  • 1922: Sunnenbore. A holiday child's novel
  • 1925: The Liebenburger Evchen
  • 1938: fulfillment
  • 1950: the evergreen garden. Novel of a youth (autobiographical description of his life in the Great Orphanage)
  • 1956: interlude
  • 1965: The blooming banks

In addition, he was also active as a playwright : In 1930 Doortje und die Heidefee was performed, in 1932 the puppet show weekend in Regenhausen , followed in 1936 by works and activities for the 150th anniversary of Vieweg Verlag . The fairytale game Die Tannenburg with music by Karl Theodor Uhlisch was last published in 1942 .

Clothes seller

For several decades, Bergfeld belonged to a social association called The Honest Kleiderseller zu Braunschweig .

Others

Bergfeld lived in the Braunschweig district of Gliesmarode in a house on the Wabe since 1922 . The Bergfeldstrasse in the southwest of Braunschweig is not named after Ernst Bergfeld, but after a parcel from the Cyriakus pen (Braunschweig) .

literature

  • Horst-Rüdiger Jarck, Günter Scheel (Ed.): Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon. 19th and 20th centuries. Hahn, Hannover 1996, ISBN 3-7752-5838-8 .
  • Kurt Hoffmeister : Braunschweig writers. 140 author portraits. A slightly different history of literature. Hoffmeister, Braunschweig 2003.
  • Heinz Mollenhauer : Ernst Bergfeld in memory. In: Braunschweigische Heimat. 55th year, issue 3, October 1969, pp. 105-107.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Heinz Mollenhauer: Ernst Bergfeld in memory. in: Braunschweigische Heimat. 55th year, issue 3, October 1969, p. 106.
  2. ↑ a b c Heinz Mollenhauer: Ernst Bergfeld in memory. in: Braunschweigische Heimat. 55th year, issue 3, October 1969, p. 107.
  3. ↑ Horst-Rüdiger Jarck, Günter Scheel (ed.): Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon. 19th and 20th centuries. Hanover 1996, p. 52.
  4. ^ Alfred Kuhlenkamp: The Technical University of Braunschweig in the war 1939-1945 and in the first post-war period until 1947. Braunschweig 1976, p. 135ff.
  5. ↑ Camerer, Garzmann, Schuegraf, Pingel: Braunschweiger Stadtlexikon. Braunschweig 1992, p. 240.
  6. ↑ quoted from: Heinz Mollenhauer: Ernst Bergfeld zum Gedächtnis , in: Braunschweigische Heimat. 55th year, issue 3, October 1969, p. 106.
  7. ^ A b Kurt Hoffmeister: Braunschweigs literati. 140 author portraits. A slightly different history of literature. Braunschweig 2003, p. 167.
  8. ↑ DNB 576725358
  9. ↑ Heinz Mollenhauer: Ernst Bergfeld in memory. in: Braunschweigische Heimat. 55th year, issue 3, October 1969, p. 105.
  10. ↑ Jürgen Hodemacher: Braunschweigs streets - their names and their stories. Volume 2: Okergraben and city ring. Cremlingen 1996, p. 30.
personal data
SURNAME Bergfeld, Ernst
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bergfeld, Ernst August Adolf Heinrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German writer
DATE OF BIRTH March 9, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH Braunschweig
DATE OF DEATH 5th July 1969
Place of death Braunschweig