Gustav Weng

Gustav Weng (born April 26, 1869 in Munich , † June 17, 1945 in Lindau (Bodensee) ) was a German writer , playwright and poet .

life and work

Gustav Weng was born in Munich in 1869. After studying German and philosophy, he worked as a journalist, u. a. as a correspondent for the “Strasbourg Post”. He was also active in literature. He wrote the dramas “Aus Mitleid” (first performed in 1897 in the Alexander Theater in Berlin ) and the tragedy “Warbeck” (first performed in 1902 in Strasbourg ). At the turn of the century, Weng was sent to Paris as a correspondent , where he married in 1901. His only daughter was born there in 1911. Weng wrote the novels “Overcomer of Love” and “Ecce Homo” as well as novellas and short stories in Paris. In addition, he wrote other dramas, conducted philosophical studies and published a polemic that dealt with the overestimation of technical progress. Another work with the title “Schopenhauer-Darwin, Pessimism and Optimism, a Contribution to the Progressive Movement” found recognition in professional circles. Weng also wrote the historical tragedy “Danton” in Paris, which he also translated into French. Shortly before the planned premiere of the work in the Paris theater “Odeon” in autumn 1914, the First World War broke out and Gustav Weng had to leave Paris with his family, leaving behind valuable manuscripts and all of his belongings.

After the First World War he worked for the "Lindauer Tagblatt" and lived in Lindau-Reutin . There he had contact u. a. with the Lindau poet Celida Stuhlmann and the poets Wilhelm von Scholz , Count Strachwitz and Freiherr von Gleichen-Rußwurm. His dramas were performed in the Lindau City Theater.

Poems were written in Lindau in the 1920s that extol the beauty of the landscape and revolve around the topic of man's place in nature and history. In 1924/1925 Gustav Weng participated in the establishment of the “Arbeitsgemeinschaft Volksbildung am Bodensee”, a cross-border predecessor institution of the adult education centers . In 1926 Gustav Weng suffered a stroke , which caused paralysis of the right side of the body, including the tongue. He died on June 17, 1945 in Lindau-Reutin, where he was also buried.

Works (selection)

• Schopenhauer - Darwin. Pessimism or optimism? A contribution z. Progress movement by Gustav Weng , E. Hofmann, Berlin 1911
• Lindau and the Bavarian Lake Constance area , tourist office f. Lindau and Bavaria. Lake Constance area, Lindau 1926

literature

• Karl Bachmann (Ed.): Glückseliges Lindau, poems about Lindau and Lake Constance from the 1920s by Gustav Weng , Antiqua Verlag Lindau 1985

Web links