Günter Eich

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Günter Eich (born February 1, 1907 in Lebus ; † December 20, 1972 in Salzburg ) was a German radio play author and poet . His best-known works include the post-war poems Inventur und Latrine , the radio play Träume and the prose collection Moles .

Life

After dropping out of economics and sinology studies from 1925 to 1932 in Leipzig , Berlin and Paris , Eich lived as a freelance writer in Berlin and in the seaside resort of Poberow . In 1927, under the pseudonym Erich Günter, eight poems by the then twenty-year-old appeared in the first volume of an anthology of the latest poetry edited by Klaus Mann and Willi Fehse , to which Stefan Zweig had written the preface. In 1930 the first collection of poetry appeared under its own name, entitled Poems . In 1931, Eich was one of the authors of the literary magazine Die Kolonne . Further works by him were published in the journal Neue Rundschau .

The years 1933 to 1940 were the most productive period as a radio writer. In the mid-1930s, the magazine Das Innere Reich published some of his poems. His story Katharina also appeared there in November 1935 , which came out as a book the following year and later reached 32 editions as a field post edition.

In 1940 he married his first wife, the cabaret artist Else Burk, from whom he was divorced again in 1949 and who - hopelessly dependent on morphine - took her own life in 1951. In 1943 it was bombed out in Berlin. Almost all of the manuscripts were destroyed. Only chance finds from an estate allowed an intensive and controversial discussion about Eich's literary work and his life during the Nazi era . Eich's application to join the NSDAP on May 1, 1933 has been handed down beyond any doubt, but confirmation was never given ( membership ban ). During the war years, Eich served as a non-commissioned officer on Jürgen Eggebrecht's staff , who saved him from being deployed at the front until 1944. At times, Eich worked for the literary censorship department at the Wehrmacht High Command . During the Nazi era, Eich co-wrote 150 radio manuscripts, including 75 episodes of the radio series “German Calendar - Monthly Pictures from the Königswusterhäuser Landboten”.

In 1945, Eich was taken prisoner by the Americans, where he began to write again. After his release from captivity, he settled in Geisenhausen near Landshut . Eich lived there until 1954 in the Schmid plumber, Kirchstrasse 71 ¼.

Eich's first post-war works appeared in the magazine Der Ruf , for example the poem Latrine, which was influenced by the prisoners of war in 1946 . The poem Inventur , which was deliberately kept simple and published for the first time in 1947 in Hans Werner Richter's anthology of German prisoner-of-war poetry , your sons, Europe , was a trailblazer for clear-cut literature in the first years of the post-war period . Both poems were part of Eich's first post-war poetry collection Remote Homesteads , which was published in 1948. In 1948, Eich also joined Group 47 for the first time, led by Hans Werner Richter . In the early years he was considered the most prominent author and “secret star” of the young literary group. In 1950, Eich received the first advertised price of Group 47 for poems that were published in 1955 mainly in Embassies of the Rain . In 1951 he was awarded the literature prize of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts . After a temporary hesitation on the part of those in charge, Eich was accepted into the German PEN Club in the same year . From 1960 he was a member of the German Academy for Language and Poetry .

In addition to poems, Eich also wrote numerous radio plays. His radio play Dreams , which led to violent audience protests in 1951, became particularly well known . His radio play The Others and I was awarded the War Blind Radio Play Prize in 1953 . In the same year he married the Austrian writer Ilse Aichinger , who was also a member of Group 47. The couple lived with their children Clemens (1954 to 1998) and Miriam (* 1957) first in Breitbrunn am Chiemsee , then in Lenggries and, from 1963, in Großgmain near Salzburg . The short prose collection Moles , published in 1968, and its sequel A Tibetan in my office from 1970 are among Eich's best-known works . In 1972 Eich died in a sanatorium in Salzburg.

Eich wrote relatively little. His poetry is characterized by a simple language that reflects post-war society in its ideational emptiness, which nevertheless evokes complex associations and images in the reader. He is considered the creator of the poetic radio play. In 1968 he was awarded the Schiller Memorial Prize. Eich's estate is in the German Literature Archive in Marbach .

A poetry prize and a radio play prize were donated in his honor .

Debate about Eich's work in the Nazi regime

Axel Vieregg accused Eich of having “consciously opted for the National Socialist state”. Eich himself later said about this period: “I did not oppose National Socialism actively. It is not for me to pretend. ”In part, Eich is counted as part of Inner Emigration . "Eich's position in the years of National Socialism is neither to be heroized nor condemned," wrote Heinz F. Schafroth in 1976 in his Eich monograph.

Awards

Works

Remote homesteads , volume of poetry from 1948

Books

  • Poems - 1930 (poems)
  • Rebellion in the Goldstadt - 1940 (new edition 1997 ISBN 3-518-11766-1 with audio cassette)
  • Trains in the Fog - 1947 (Considered Eich's most popular prose piece; often printed in school books against the author's wishes)
  • Remote homesteads - 1948 (poems with illustrations by Karl Rössing )
  • Underground - 1949 (poems)
  • Messages of the Rain - 1955 (Poems) ISBN 3-518-10048-3
  • Voices - 1958 (7 radio plays)
  • To the files - 1964 (poems)
  • Occasions and rock gardens - 1966 (poems)
  • Kulka, Hilpert, Elefanten - 1968 (prose)
  • Moles - 1968 (prose)
  • A Tibetan in my office - 1970 (prose)
  • After Seumes Papers - 1972 (poems)
  • Translated from Chinese - 1976 (poems)
  • Collected works in four volumes , Frankfurt / Main (Suhrkamp) 1991:
Volume I: The Poems. The moles. Edited by Axel Vieregg. ISBN 3-518-40209-9
Volume II: The radio plays 1. Ed. By Karl Karst . ISBN 3-518-40210-2
Volume III: The radio plays 2nd ed. By Karl Karst. ISBN 3-518-40211-0
Volume IV: Mixed Writings. Edited by Axel Vieregg. ISBN 3-518-40212-9

Radio plays

  • Life and death of the great singer Enrico Caruso (together with Martin Raschke ) - first broadcast on April 9, 1931, radio hour Berlin. According to Eich, his first radio play.
  • A dream on Edsin-gol (1932) - first broadcast on September 14, 1950, SDR. New productions: NDR 1962, ORF-Oberösterreich 1972. ISBN 978-3-932929-34-2
  • The adventurers. Based on the novella of the same name by Joseph von Eichendorff (before January 1933) - first broadcast on May 25, 1933, Deutschlandsender. New productions: Munich 1935, Hamburg 1935
  • Steps to Andreas . A funkish attempt (1935) - First broadcast on February 5, 1935, Reichssender Berlin
  • The cold heart. Fairy tale opera for radio based on Wilhelm Hauff's Wirtshaus im Spessart - first broadcast on March 24, 1935, Germany's broadcaster. New production: BR / RB / SFB / SDR / SR / WDR 1973
  • Wheat Cantata (1935) - First broadcast on May 11, 1936, Germany's broadcaster
  • Tracks in the prairie . A game from the falling world of Old Shatterhands and Winnetous. (1936/1959) - First broadcast on July 11, 1936, Reichssender Berlin. New production: NDR 1959
  • Radium . Based onmotifs from the novel by Rudolf Brunngraber (1937/1951) - first broadcast on September 22, 1937, Reichssender Berlin. New productions: NWDR-Hamburg 1951, HR 1952, ORF / NDR / SWF 1981
  • Rebellion in the Goldstadt (1940) - First broadcast on May 8, 1940, Deutschlandsender, Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft
  • February 29th. Children's radio play for a leap day. Original broadcast probably in the leap year 1948. New productions: SWF 1984, BR 1984 ( ISBN 978-3-89835-512-4 ), RIAS Berlin 1985.
  • The lucky shoes . Based on a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen - original broadcast on January 1, 1949, BR. New productions: BR 1974, SDR 1974, BR 1987 ISBN 978-3-89835-512-4
  • The Bought Exam (1950) - First broadcast on December 20, 1950, NWDR. New productions: ORF-Kärnten 1951, SWF 1952. Eich's first original radio play of the post-war period. According to Eich, the end should be offered without a final scene, without any solution to the conflict. The NWDR dramaturgy wanted to play three models of a final scene to the listeners to make their decision easier. At that time there were about 5000 letters from the audience.
  • The diamond necklace. Based on the story La Parure by Guy de Maupassant (1950) - first broadcast on August 6, 1950, SDR (on behalf of SDR.)
  • Do not go to El Kuwehd or The Double Death of the Merchant Mohallab (1950) - first broadcast on July 21, 1950, BR. New productions: HR 1950, SWF 1954, SDR 1956, RIAS 1956, NDR 1957, BR 1959, SRG-Zurich 1961, ORF-Vienna 1961, HR / NDR / WDR 1978
  • Wheat. Based on the novel The Golden Freight by Frank Norris (1950) - first broadcast on March 13, 1951, HR (On behalf of HR.)
  • Dreams (1950) - First broadcast on April 19, 1951, NWDR. New productions: HR 1951, SWF 1955, ORF-Steiermark 1964, BR 1964, Rundfunk der DDR 1981, NDR 2006 (original broadcast on January 31, 2007). In 1951 the broadcast provoked violent reactions from listeners and the press. In 1954 the sixth dream comes into being, it replaces the second dream of the original version. ISBN 978-3-86717-033-8
  • Sabeth (Sabeth or The Guests in Black Skirt) (1951) - First broadcast on June 14, 1951, SDR. New productions: HR 1953, SWF 1954, NWDR 1954, SRG-Bern 1954, ORF / Reinhardt Seminar 1962, SDR 1983, DRS 1988
  • Muck repair shop (1951) - Original broadcast on June 19, 1951, SWF / RB
  • F sharp with overtones . A grotesque game (1951) - first broadcast on July 1, 1951, SDR. New production: ORF Vienna 1953
  • Under the pear tree . After Theodor Fontane (1951) - first broadcast on September 3, 1951, HR. New productions: NDR 1956, BR / NDR 1962, ORF-Tirol 1967
  • Lingering, Wanderer (1951) - First broadcast on November 18, 1951. New productions: SWF 1954, ORF Tirol 1965
  • The Others and I (1951/1958) - Original broadcast on February 3, 1952, SDR (Director: Cläre Schimmel ), NWDR February 6, 1952 (Director: Gustav Burmester ). New productions: RWR (Rot-Weiß-Rot) Studio Vienna 1953, HR 1962, SRG-Zurich 1969, MDR 1993. Awarded the radio play award of the war blind for the best radio play of 1952.
  • View of Venice (1952 / new version of the radio play 1960) - original broadcast on May 27, 1952, SWF (abridged version), NWDR July 22, 1952 (original long version). New productions: SDR 1955, ORF-Steiermark 1954, SRG-Bern 1956, NDR / BR 1960 (first broadcast of the new version on April 27, 1960)
  • The Tiger Jussuf (1952 / new version of the radio play 1959) - first broadcast on August 15, 1952, NWDR. Parallel production: SDR October 12, 1952. New productions: HR 1953, ORF-Wien 1954, BR 1962 (first broadcast of the new version on March 20, 1962), ORF 1967, SDR 1985. ISBN 978-3-932929-02-1
  • The guests of Mr. Birowski (1952) / New version of the radio play under the title My Seven Young Friends (1960) - first broadcast on October 28, 1952, NWDR. Original broadcast of the new version on November 9, 1960 NDR / BR. New production: ORF-Tirol 1961
  • The girls from Viterbo (1952 / new version of the radio play 1958) - first broadcast on March 10, 1953, SWF / BR / RB. New productions: NWDR 1953 (director: Fritz Schröder-Jahn ), RWR (Rot-Weiß-Rot) Studio Salzburg 1954, HR / SDR 1959 (first broadcast of the new version on June 8, 1959). Awarded the Schleußner-Schiller Prize from HR, which was awarded for the last time in 1959.
  • The year Lazertis (1953/1958) - first broadcast on January 25, 1954, NWDR. New productions: SWF 1954, ORF-Vienna 1959, SRG-Zurich 1969, SWF 1971 (SWF production from 1954, with music by Ennio Morricone )
  • Beatrice and Juana (1954) - First broadcast on May 4, 1954, SWF / BR / RB. New production: SRG-Zürich 1965. TV version of the SWF (without the participation of Eich) January 3, 1963. ISBN 978-3-932929-33-5
  • Zinngeschrei (1955) - First broadcast on December 25, 1955, NWDR (director: Gustav Burmester). Parallel production: January 4, 1956, SDR / NDR (director: Otto Kurth ). New productions: SRG-Zurich 1970, WDR 1992. TV adaptation by Ludwig Cremer and Peter Göbbels , ZDF December 23, 1974
  • The last day / the last day of Lisbon. Developed in collaboration with Ilse Aichinger . (1955) - Original broadcast on January 31, 1956, BR / SWF / RB (unabridged original version). New productions: SDR 1961 (shortened version, without Eich's consent), NDR 1977 (also shortened version)
  • The laughing girl . After Pu Sung-Lin (1956) - first broadcast on July 15, 1956, NDR (as part of the 10-part series Fantastic Stories ). New production: WDR / HR 1974
  • The hour of the coltsfoot (1956 / new version of the radio play 1959/60) (director: Fritz Schröder-Jahn ) - first broadcast on November 11, 1958, BR / NDR. New productions: NDR 1964, ORF-Tirol 1968, NDR 1980 (original broadcast of the original version from 1956 on April 5, 1980) A total of eight versions in the estate.
  • The surf off Setúbal (1957) - first broadcast on May 2, 1957, NDR / BR / HR. New productions: ORF-Tirol 1958, SRG-Zurich 1960
  • Allah has a hundred names (1957 - Insel-Bücherei 667/1) - first broadcast on June 18, 1957, SWF / BR / RB. New productions: ORF-Salzburg 1958, SRG-Zurich 1979
  • Omar and Omar , also under the title: Der Ring des Kalifen (1957) - first broadcast on August 25, 1957, NDR. New productions: ORF-Steiermark 1959, SDR 1962
  • Philidor's Defense (1958) - First broadcast: December 12, 1973, WDR. New productions: WDR 1977, SRG-Zurich 1977. Accepted by NDR, but withdrawn by Eich and no longer released for production even if the SWF asked later.
  • Festianus, Märtyrer (1958) - First broadcast on October 16, 1958, NDR / BR
  • Under water. Marionette play (1959) - first broadcast on March 9, 1978, SWF (The piece was conceived as a marionette play. Otto Düben , together with Ilse Aichinger, produced a version for artificial head stereophony.)
  • The confused wizard. Based on Johann Nestroy's The Confused Magician or Loyalty and Flutterability (1962) - first broadcast on June 24, 1962, BR / NDR
  • One asks to ring the bell (1964) - first broadcast on November 15, 1964, NDR / BR. New production: NDR 1974
  • Time and Potatoes (1972) - first broadcast on October 5, 1972, SWF / HR / NDR. New production: SWR 2006, original broadcast February 2, 2007
  • The current. Von Schicksal und Zeit - audio series from the estate, NDR 1973
  • Conversation of the pigs / John and Mildred and other scenes from the estate - original broadcast on December 19, 1992, NDR
  • The Wolburg fragment (1945) , with a preliminary remark by Axel Vieregg, in: Sinn und Form. -, Vol. 67 (2015), 5, pp. [581] -601

Günter Eich wrote numerous other radio plays, including some fairy tale adaptations, school radio plays and series such as:

literature

Settings

7.  End of summer (“Who would like to live without the comfort of the trees ...”) - 8. No matter  how gray it rains
  • Beat Furrer : Aria (1998/99) for soprano and 6 instruments (text from Go not to El Kuwehd [?])
  • Ulrich Klan : Be sand, not the oil in the gears of the world , for choir and orchestra. Based on the poem of the same name by G. Eich (1988)

Exhibitions

  • Permanent exhibition on Günter Eich and his work in Schmid's shop in Geisenhausen

Web links

Wikiquote: Günter Eich  - Quotes
Commons : Günter Eich  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Axel Vieregg (ed.): "Our sins are moles". The Günter Eich debate . Editions Rodopi, Amsterdam 1995, ISBN 90-5183-927-8 , p. 50 f.
  2. ↑ Art. Günter Eich on data from German literature .
  3. ^ Ernst Klee : The culture lexicon for the Third Reich. Who was what before and after 1945. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-10-039326-5 , p. 130.
  4. ↑ Welt.de : The poets, the NSDAP and the silence afterwards. It's a piece of them. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  5. ↑ a b zeit.de : A dispute about calibration. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  6. ↑ Roland Berbig: On the edge of the world. Place of life and place of life: Günter Eichs Geisenhausen . In: Language in the technical age (Spritz), issue 189, pp. 91-109.
  7. ^ Heinz Ludwig Arnold : The group 47 . Rowohlt, Reinbek 2004, ISBN 3-499-50667-X , p. 60.
  8. ↑ kulturkreis.eu: 1953-1989 sponsorship awards, honorary gifts  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed April 1, 2015)@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.kulturkreis.eu  
  9. ^ Table of contents Roland Berbig: At the edge of the world. Günter Eich in Geisenhausen 1944–1954
  10. ↑ Eich in the shop window. Literatur Portal Bayern, accessed on July 27, 2014 .
personal data
SURNAME Eich, Günter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German radio play author and poet
DATE OF BIRTH February 1, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Lebus
DATE OF DEATH December 20, 1972
Place of death Salzburg