Fritz Böttger (writer)

Fritz Böttger (born January 31, 1909 in Leipzig ; † June 18, 1994 there ) was a German writer .

Life

Kurt Erich Fritz Böttger was the son of the printer Ernst Böttger and his wife Martha Böttger, nee. So much not. The family on the father's side worked in the graphic trade in Leipzig for several generations. (Type foundry Gebr. Böttger founded in Paunsdorf near Leipzig in 1863).

After attending school, he first completed a commercial apprenticeship in the textile wholesaler Hermann Samson in Leipzig. After a brief activity in the profession, he studied philosophy, German literature and art history at Leipzig University from 1929 to 1933. This was followed by a one-year study visit to Belgium and France.

After several years of temporary employment as a teacher, he got a permanent job in 1940 at the grammar school in Strasburg / Westpr. In the same year he married Mrs. Elfriede Oehme, who also worked as a teacher. In 1942 the son Till was born. This was followed by conscription to the Wehrmacht and after the end of the war three years in Soviet captivity.

After his return, Fritz Böttger began to build up an existence as a freelance writer. Initially, he was involved in the collective for literary history of the Volk & Wissen publishing house with the publication of materials for literary lessons. For the first time after the Second World War , von Böttger, in cooperation with a collective of authors with cross-sectional literary-historical presentations, undertook a re-evaluation of the literary heritage for teacher training. In 1949 the second son Jean-Christophe was born.

In the following years, the focus of Böttger's work was the editing and indexing of literature and journalism from the 19th and 20th centuries for a broader readership. He was concerned with the care of the literary heritage, especially with regard to the breadth and richness of the literary work of lesser known poets. He was particularly interested in the prose form of the novella.

At Verlag der Nation in Berlin, these titles became an integral part of the publishing program. A broad response to the volumes with novellas by Theodor Storm prompted Böttger to write a Storm biography. The preoccupation with the political conditions of the Vormärz found its expression in the biography of the poet Christian Dietrich Grabbe . One of Böttger's main works is the biography of Hermann Hesse , published in 1974 , who was particularly popular during this time due to the hippie movement.

The women's literature of the 19th century and the incipient emancipation of women in literature and in public life became a further field of Böttger's work and led to the publication of various volumes with letters and self-portraits of important women personalities. The most important late work on this is his biography Bettina von Arnim . In cooperation with the publisher, special attention was paid to the book art for the editions. Many editions have been awarded in the competition "The most beautiful books of the GDR" of the Börsenverein der Deutschen Buchhandels zu Leipzig.

Fritz Böttger was particularly interested in contemporary visual art. Through the art dealer Heinrich Barchfeld, who had his gallery in Universitätstrasse in Leipzig, Böttger got to know the painters Jorgos Busianis and Otto Th. W. Stein . He acquired a number of her works and had extensive correspondence with them until their death. Between 1958 and 1972 Böttger was in intensive correspondence with the publicist Kurt Hiller . This correspondence is of particular interest because of the emerging exchange of ideas about the living and political situation in both parts of Germany under the conditions of the Cold War , control and censorship.

Works

• The Soviet literature . Berlin 1951.
• Literature of the Vormärz. 1830-1848 . Berlin 1952.
• Theodor Storm. Five novels . Berlin 1952.
• Contemporary writers: Bertolt Brecht, Friedrich Wolf. Auxiliary material for literature lessons . Berlin 1953.
• Ludwig Börne. If only you are not timid yourself ... reviews, essays, sketches, letters . Berlin 1953.
• Legacy of romance. 8 novellas by Kleist, Brentano, Arnim, ETA Hoffmann, Chamisso, Tieck, Hauff and Eichendorff . Berlin 1955.
• Johann Gottlieb Fichte. Call to action. His life in letters and reports combined with a selection from his generally understandable writings . Berlin 1956.
• Joseph von Eichendorff. O valleys wide, o heights ... German hiking songs . Berlin 1957.
• Theodor Storm. Novellas of love . Berlin 1958.
• Theodor Storm in his time . Berlin 1958.
• Karl Gutzkow. Under the black bear. Experienced 1811–1848 . Berlin 1959.
• Karl Gutzkow. The Sadducees of Amsterdam . Berlin 1960.
• Capriccios. 7 comical stories by Ludwig Tieck, Jean Paul, Bonaventura, EJA Hoffmann, Hauff, Heine and Weerth . Berlin 1960.
• Wilhelm Raabe. German scherzos. 6 stories . Berlin 1962.
• Grabbe: the splendor and misery of a poet . Berlin 1963.
• Malwida from Meysenbug. From the memoir of an idealist . Berlin 1963.
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Novellas . Berlin 1964.
• Joseph von Eichendorff. Wanderlongs . Berlin 1966.
• Karl Immermann. In the shadow of the black eagle. A picture of the poet and his time in personal testimonies, work samples, letters and reports . Berlin 1967.
• Bertha von Suttner. Life memories . Berlin 1968.
• ETA Hoffmann. Hoffmann's stories . Berlin 1969.
• The wonderful. Novellas of German Romanticism . Berlin 1972.
• Hermann Hesse. Life, work, time . Berlin 1974.
• The magic fountain. Historical novellas of German romanticism . Berlin 1974.
• Wilhelm Raabe. The geese from Bützow. Novella . Berlin 1975.
• Imperial maneuvers. 20 stories from the early days to the eve of the First World War . Berlin 1975.
• ETA Hoffmann. The Miss von Scuderi. Historical narrative . Berlin 1976.
• Women on the move. Women's letters from the Vormärz and the revolution of 1848 . Berlin 1977.
• The blue flower. Fairy tale novels of German romanticism . Berlin 1978.
• ETA Hoffmann. Master Martin the Küfner and his journeymen. Historical novella . Berlin 1979.
• To new shores. Letters from Women from the Mid-19th Century to the November Revolution of 1918 . Berlin 1981.
• Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach. Images of women. 6 stories . Berlin 1982.
• Wilhelm Hauff. The image of the emperor. Historical novella . Berlin 1982.
• Karl Leberecht Immermann. The carnival and the somnambule . Berlin 1983. Ed.
• Clemens Brentano. The fairy tale of Gockel and Hinkel . Berlin 1983.
• Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach. The barons of Gemperlein. Novella . Verlag der Nation, Berlin 1983.
• Wings of the times. Tales between romance and realism . Berlin 1984.
• ETA Hoffmann. Little Zaches, called Zinnober. A fairy tale . Verlag der Nation, Berlin 1985.
• Bettina von Arnim. A life between day and dream . Berlin 1986, ISBN 3-373-00052-1 .
• Theodor Storm. Renate. Novella . Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-373-00244-3 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Fritz Böttger in the catalog of the German National Library