Gerd Semmer

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Gerhard Friedrich "Gerd" Semmer (born December 21, 1919 in Paderborn ; † November 12, 1967 in Ratingen ) was a German poet, columnist, songwriter and translator. He is considered the "father of the German protest song ".

Life

Born in Paderborn in 1919 as the son of a master tailor, Semmer had to interrupt high school to do a tailoring apprenticeship with his father. In 1943 he passed the master craftsman examination in Weimar and the Abitur in Paderborn. Already in his youth he developed an interest in puppetry. The puppet mask became a vehicle for him to express political criticism at an early stage. This passion accompanied him all his life.

From 1943 to 1946 he studied theater studies, art history and German studies in Vienna , after the end of the war, from 1946 on, Romance studies and sociology in Marburg . In 1950 he began a doctoral thesis on Bertolt Brecht , the completion of which was prevented by the unexpected death of the doctoral supervisor Professor Milch and the outbreak of the Cold War. Own literary works initially remained unprinted. In 1951 he got a job as an interpreter in the local Moroccan barracks in Marburg. From 1952 to 1956 he was assistant director and scientific advisor to Erwin Piscator in Marburg, Gießen and Berlin ; he worked u. a. participated in the production of Büchner's Dantons Tod , which included his research on the songs of the French Revolution , which he also published in a German adaptation.

In 1953, after starting a family, he moved to Düsseldorf and worked as an editor for the satirical newspaper Der Deutsche Michel . Until 1957 his poems, short prose and book reviews were published there under the pseudonym Moritz Messer . Gerd Semmer was the features editor of the Deutsche Volkszeitung from 1954 to 1956 , and from 1957 cultural editor of the weekly newspaper “ Voice of Peace” , which was banned in 1959 for political reasons. In 1957 Semmer founded together with André Müller sen. , Erwin Piscator , Günther Weisenborn u. a. the Bertolt Brecht working group . 1961 founded Semmer together with Dieter Süverkrüp , Arno Klönne and Frank Werkmeister the publisher plans in Dusseldorf.

Working with Dieter Süverkrüp , his satirical and political verses resulted in numerous songs and chansons that influenced the West German peace movement. In addition to his own texts, he published numerous translations in Germany, e. B. songs of the European resistance against fascism and French chansons such as Boris Vian's deserter .

As a pioneer of the German Easter marches , he contributed essential ideas and songs; his last, the evening song at Easter , is "in use" to this day. In memory of "the father of the new German chanson", the literary magazine Kürbiskern dedicated the special edition Songbook to him in 1968 with many of his songs, including all the Easter March songs - some of them set to music by Dieter Süverkrüp - and with poems, protest songs and chansons by Franz Josef Degenhardt , Erich Fried , Fasia Jansen , Rolf Schwendter , Hannes Stütz , Dieter Süverkrüp and others.

Publications

  • The angels are tired. Verses and other prose from the land of milk and honey. 1959.
  • Counter words. Poems and chansons. 1965.
  • Stories from Mr B. (99 Brecht anecdotes, with André Müller senior ), 1967.
  • We want to say something about it - texts for another republic. Edited by Udohaben, 1999, Asso Verlag, ISBN 3-87975-746-1 .
  • Reader Gerd Semmer. Edited by Karin Füllner, 2017, Aisthesis Verlag, ISBN 3-8498-1267-7 .

Translations

  • Paul Tillard : The Puppeteer of Beijing. Roman, Progress-Verlag J.Fladen 1957.
  • Ça ira! 50 chansons, chants, couplets and vaudevilles from the French Revolution 1789–1795. , Rütten & Loening 1958.
  • Georges Brassens : Texts. , Damokles-Verlag 1963.
  • Sergio Liberovici , Michele L. Straniero: Pueblo que canta. Songs from the new Spanish resistance. (including record), Damokles-Verlag 1965.

Records

  • Ça ira ! Songs of the French Revolution (I and II, with Dieter Süverkrüp ), 1962
  • Warning, rat poison designed! Keep children & pets away (with Dieter Süverkrüp), 1962
  • One song - three four. Modern chansons from the land of milk and honey (with Dieter Süverkrüp), 1963
  • Easter songs 62/63. Songs for the Easter March , 1963
  • We want to say something about that. New songs against the bomb , 1964
  • European songs of resistance against fascism , 1965
  • Ça ira Songs of the French Revolution (with Dieter Süverkrüp ), CD release 2015

Other publications

  • in Deutsche Volkszeitung (after 1953, pseud. Moritz Messer, including Moritz Messer's Schmökerecke)
  • in Voice of Peace , weekly newspaper (after 1954)
  • in pumpkin seed. Literature, criticism, class struggle. , Volume 4: The Little King - The New Michel, Düsseldorf 1964
  • in pumpkin seed. Songbook , edited by Manfred Vosz, Damnitz Verlag, Munich 1968
  • About Uwe Johnson , edited by R. Baumgart, 1970
  • Zeit-Gedichte Gerd Semmer , edited by U. Püschel, 1979
  • Peace a dangerous word - Gerd Semmer's political poetry of the 1950s. Karin Füllner, published in: Bilanz Düsseldorf '45, Grupello Verlag 1992, ISBN 3-928234-06-4 .
  • Red pumpkin seeds - Easter march songs by the misunderstood Gerd Semmer. Walter Gödden, published in: 1968: Pop, Protest und Provokation in 68 bullet points, publications of the Literature Commission for Westphalia 2017, ISBN 978-3-8498-1238-6 .
  • And doesn't have to be like that ... Gerd Semmer's contradictions. Documentary film Bettina Semmer , 2017

Awards

Web links
personal data
SURNAME Semmer, Gerd
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Semmer, Gerhard Friedrich (full name); Messer, Moritz (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German poet, columnist and translator
DATE OF BIRTH December 21, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Paderborn
DATE OF DEATH November 12, 1967
Place of death Ratingen