Friedrich Freudenthal

Friedrich Freudenthal with brother August

The house where the Freudenthal brothers were born in Fallingbostel,
photo from 1904

Friedrich Freudenthal (born May 9, 1849 in Fallingbostel in the Lüneburg Heath ; † March 9, 1929 in Fintel ) was one of the most important native writers in Lower Germany .

Life

Elder of the two Freudenthal brothers (brother: August Freudenthal ), he grew up in Fintel with his grandparents Brockmann, a family of sextons and teachers, from 1852 .

From Pentecost 1864 to 1866 he spent a kind of apprenticeship as a scribe with an old bailiff in Lamstedt near Bremervörde .

At the age of barely 17 he became a recruit in Lüneburg and participated in the war against Prussia, initially as a volunteer infantryman, on the side of a Hanoverian infantry regiment at the battle of Langensalza on June 27, 1866 and later as a corporal also in the Franco-German War from 1870/71.

At the age of 24 he published his first Low German poem in 1873 , the transcription of a love song by the Scottish national bard Robert Burns .

In 1875 Freudenthal made a short trip to America ( New York ), where he worked as a clerk.

After this eventful life, Friedrich published his first book Bi'n Füür (“Am Feuer”) in 1879 at the age of 30 and ten years later a second In de Fierabendstied ( At the end of the day ).

From 1881 to 1884 he headed the post office in his hometown, after which he was mayor of Soltau until 1887 , then editor of newspapers in Lüneburg and in the Hamburg area .

Memorial plaque on the old town hall in Soltau

In May 1882 he married Magdalene (1850-1927), a daughter of the teacher Jürgen Heinrich Gathmann and his wife Catharina Magdalene Rönneburg. The couple had three children.

In 1891 he settled down as a freelance writer in his home village of Fintel - most of his life probably a representative of the short form - in order to live there in simple circumstances, where he practically also ran his father's farm on the side.

In his later publications Von Lüneburg bis Langensalza (published anonymously in 1893 out of caution towards the Prussian victors) and Von Stade bis Gravelotte , after the publication of which he was probably placed under Prussian police supervision in 1898, he refuses to give a glorifying depiction of the war and exposes it War with regard to those who cause and who suffer.

In 1895, together with his brother August, he started publishing the then influential supraregional bi-monthly publication “ Lower Saxony ” with contributions from history, regional and folklore and literature, of which he headed the Low German section for almost 30 years.

Friedrich Freudenthal, together with his brother August, is certainly one of the pioneers of Lower Saxony regional literature and discoverers of the peculiarities of the Lüneburg Heath between Hamburg and Bremen - and in a certain sense they are probably pioneers in nature conservation.

Honors

• The Freudenthal Society in Soltau was named after him and his brother. It awards the Freudenthal Prize annually .
• The Friedrich-Freudenthal-Strasse in Bremen- Obervieland , Sittensen and in Visselhövede as well as the Freudenthalstrasse in Fintel received u. a. his name.
• A memorial plaque on the old town hall in Soltau and a memorial stone in a wood in Fintel remind of him.
• The Freudenthal monument in Bad Fallingbostel commemorates the brothers.
• The Friedrich Freudenthal School in Fintel was named after him.

Works

• Bi'n forer. Stories and poems ut de Lünebörger Heide. Bremen 1879; 2nd edition, Norden 1883
• Bi'n for . Histories ut de Lünebörger Heide (En plattdütsch Historiesbook), Dresden first published in 1880 and new editions in 1883, Bremen 1898, Rotenburg / W. 1977, 1985.
• In de Fierabendstied . En plattdütsch history book, Oldenburg first published in 1890 and new editions in 1901, Rotenburg / W. 1971, 1984.
• Eccentrics and vagabonds . Pictures and stories from the north Hanoverian heath, Oldenburg first published in 1891 and new editions in 1901, Rotenburg / W. 1980; out of print (new edition planned)
• From Lüneburg to Langensalza . Memories of a Hanoverian infantryman, Bremen first published in 1893 and new editions in 1895, Fallingbostel 1955, Bremen 1999.
• Unern straw roofer . En plattdütsch history book, Bremen first published in 1897 and new editions in 1909, Fallingbostel 1956, Rotenburg / W. 1968, Soltau 1991.
• In Lust and Leed . En plattdütsch history book (De Invalid von Waterloo), Bremen 1897 first published and in volume 2 of the 'Soltauer Schriften'.
• From Stade to Gravelotte . Memories of an artilleryman 1870/71, Bremen first published in 1898 and reprinted in 1994.
• In the house of the bailiff . Youth - memories, Bremen first published in 1898 and new editions in 1905, Rotenburg / W. 1974; out of print.
• Heather and gorse . Poems, Bremen 1901.
• Goodbye. En Plattdüütsch storybook. Bremen first published in 1901 and new editions in Rotenburg / W. 1962 (part 1) and 1964 (part 2).
• The Cambridge Dragoons and Other Heath Stories . Bremen 1902.
• Lienhop and other stories . En plattdütsch history book, Bremen First published in 1904 and subsequent editions in Rotenburg / W. 1966 (selection) and Soltau 1992.
• Eggert Rolfs and other heather stories . Bremen 1908.
• Beke vom Höltingshof and other heather stories . Bremen 1908.
• De Freewarwer . En Burnstck in enen Uptogg, Bremen first published in 1909 and subsequent edition in 1932.
• Hanoverian soldiers' stories . Arrangements, Bremen first published in 1912 and subsequent edition in 1921.
• Dat Kumma . En Burnstück in enen Uptogg, Bremen first published in 1912 and follow-up edition Verden / Aller 1939.
• Two good comrades and other heathen stories . Bremen first published in 1913 and subsequent edition in 1934.
• Wittboldshöfen and other heather stories . Bremen first published in 1920 and follow-up in Hermannsburg in 1990.
• De Inbräker . En Burnstück in enen Uptogg, Bremen first published in 1920 and follow-up edition Verden / Aller 1938.
• De eeken Lad . En Burnstück in dree Uptöög, Bremen first published in 1920 and follow-up Verden / Aller 1922.
• My childhood . Fallingbostel first published in 1953 and subsequent editions in Hermannsburg 1981 and Bremen 2000.
• Tönjesvadder . En plattdütsch historiesbok, Fallingbostel 1957; New edition.
• Ole stories . En plattdütsch history book, Rotenburg / W. First published in 1960 and subsequent edition in 1995.
• Adjus, America! High German and Low German stories, Hermannsburg 1988.

literature

• Rudolf Eckart : Handbook for the history of Low German literature . Bremen 1911, pp. 355-357.
• Jörg Schilling: "Heimatkunstbewegung in Niedersachsen" - An investigation into the life and work of Friedrich Freudenthal . Verlag C. Bösendahl Rinteln 1986, ISBN 3-87085-112-0 and ISSN  0179-8561 .

As a German-speaking literary society, the Freudenthal Society in Soltau is dedicated to maintaining and spreading the Low German language and the work of the Freudenthal brothers .

Web links

• Literature by and about Friedrich Freudenthal in the catalog of the German National Library
• Freudenthal Society