Hans Kirk

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Hans Rudolf Kirk (born January 11, 1898 in Hadsund , North Jutland , † June 16, 1962 in Copenhagen ) was a Danish writer, literary critic and communist cultural politician. His best-known work Fiskerne (1928, Eng. Die Fischer) was celebrated as a precise study of the environment. At the center of the collective romans is a community of Limfjord fishermen, whose values ​​and lifestyles, shaped by the Christian awakening movement , have come under pressure.

life and work

Hans Kirk's birthplace, Jacob Møllersgade 7, Hadsund.
Hans Kirk spent his childhood in the house at Jacob Møllersgade 10.

Kirk grew up in a rural area. His father was a doctor from Harboøre , his mother came from a family farmer (including Aggersborggård in Thy ). Through them, his upbringing was shaped by Grundtvig . During the boarding school at the Sorø Akademi (1909-1916) Marxist influences were added. Both should shape Kirk's literary work. He also received inspiration from the writers Henrik Pontoppidan , Jeppe Aakjær , Knut Hamsun and Henri Barbusse . For decades Kirk was friends with Otto Gelsted , who introduced Denmark to the research of Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler . Kirk also contributed to this.

Soon after graduating from law, he wrote his first articles and turned to literary criticism. He published around 300 short stories in the 1920s and 1930s. He lived temporarily with an uncle and other fishermen who wanted independence and religious renewal. These experiences flowed into "Die Fischer", which received a lot of attention when it appeared in 1928. This prose work, fertilized by Nexø and Brandes , has been translated into eleven languages ​​over the years. It is considered to be the first Danish collective novel and deals with solidarity, but also the conflicts in a group of fishermen who, as opposed to basic Vietnameseism, adhere to the Inner Mission . His "high literary rank" was also recognized in Germany. In the 1930s, Kirk became a formative contributor to the Danish communist press.

In 1931, Kirk joined the DKP . From 1934 he was an employee and from 1937 editor of the communist daily Arbejderbladet . The two novels "Die Tagelöhner" and "Die neue Zeiten", published in 1936 and 1939, turn to the emerging industrial proletariat and the dispute between reformist and revolutionary forces, using the example of a cement factory built in a small Jutland town. In June 1941 Kirk was arrested by the Danish police and imprisoned in the Horserødlejren camp (North Zealand ). Together with 90 fellow prisoners, he managed to escape on the night of August 29, 1943, which presumably saved the group from a German concentration camp .

From the end of the war until his death, Kirk was the feature editor of the communist daily, which has since been renamed Land og Folk (Eng. Land und Volk). He also wrote several historical novels. He remained loyal to the Soviet Union during the Cold War . Even after Khrushchev 's speech critical of Stalin in 1956 and the popular uprising in Hungary , Kirk did not give up his worship of Stalin .

In 1960, Kirk developed esophageal cancer , followed by surgery and radiation therapy . The DKP, weakened considerably after the Socialist People's Party split off , provided a first-class burial in 1962 and once again gathered fellow artists and the Danish left at his grave .

Kirk received the Anckerske Legat in 1945 and the Herman Bangs Mindelegat in 1960 .

Works

  • Fiskerne (Die Fischer), Roman, 1928, in German Rostock 1969
  • Daglejerne (Die Tagelöhner), Roman, 1936, German Rostock 2012, trans. by Jörg Seidel. ISBN 978-3-937206-09-7
  • De ny tider (The New Times), Roman, 1939, German Rostock 2013, ISBN 978-3-937206-10-3 .
  • Borgmesteren gaar af , novella, 1941
  • Slaven (slaves), novel, 1948
  • Kristendom og kommunisme , Essays, 1948
  • Vredens søn , Roman, 1950
  • Djævelens penge (The Devil's Money), novel, 1952
  • Klitgaard og sønner (Klitgaard and his sons), Roman, 1952
  • Skyggespil (shadow play), memories, 1953, German 1979
  • Borgerlige noveller , short stories, 1958
  • Gader og mennesker i min barndom , memoirs, 1961
  • The burdensome hairstyles are finished. Essays and articles. Udvalg and forord ved Børge Houmann. Gyldendal, Copenhagen 1969.
  • Literature and tendencies. Essays and articles. Udvalg and forord ved Børge Houmann. Gyldendal, Copenhagen 1974, ISBN 87-00-10461-2 .

literature

  • Julius Bomholt : Hans Kirk. In: Julius Bomholt, Moderne Skribenter. Fremad, Copenhagen 1933, pp. 62-75.
  • Hans Scherfig : Tre digtere. Sirius, Aarhus 1963, pp. 49-65
  • ders .: Holberg and other forfattere. Udvalgte essays. Vinten, Copenhagen 1973, ISBN 87-414-2814-5 , pp. 90-115.
  • Frank Büchmann-Møller: Hans Kirk. En bibliografi. Gyldendal, Copenhagen 1974, ISBN 87-00-02021-4 .
  • Jens Kr. Andersen, Leif Emerek: Hans Kirks forfatterskab. Et forsog pa en litteraturhistorisk revision. Vinten, Copenhagen 1974, ISBN 87-414-8915-2 .
  • Jens Peter Lund Nielsen: Hans Kirk and the literary design of proletarians. In: Northern Europe. 9, 1976, ISSN  0138-2802 , pp. 25-39.
  • Frederik Julius Billeskov Jansen (ed.): Dansk Litteraturhistorie. Volume 5: Fra Tom Kristensen til Halfdan Rasmussen. Politiken, Copenhagen 1977, ISBN 87-567-2467-5 , pp. 168-179.
  • Werner Thierry: Hans Kirk. Gyldendal, Copenhagen 1977, ISBN 87-01-57491-4 .
  • Inger Hojlund: En udviklingslinie i Hans Kirks forfatterskab. Udviklingen i historicitet and historiekonception eksemplificeret ved analysis af Fiskerne, Daglejerne, De ny tider, Djævelens penge and Klitgaard and sønner. Samleren, Copenhagen 1978, ISBN 87-568-0431-8 .
  • Svend Cedergreen Bech (ed.): Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. Volume 7: Høg - Kjoerholm. Gyldendal, Copenhagen 1981, ISBN 87-01-77421-2 , pp. 661-663.
  • J. Bondebjerg: Hans Kirk. In: Torben Brostrøm and Mette Winge (eds.): Danske digtere i det 20. århundrede. Volume 2: Fra Tom Kristensen to HC Branner. Gad, Copenhagen 1981, ISBN 87-12-17452-1 , pp. 198-230.
  • Carsten Jensen : Folkelighed og utopi. Brydninger i Hans Kirk's forfatterskab. Gyldendal, Copenhagen 1981, ISBN 87-00-43081-1 .
  • Morten Thing: Hans Kirk's poor. En biografi . Gyldendal, Copenhagen 1997, ISBN 87-00-31226-6 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ leksikon , accessed on December 6, 2011
  2. ↑ a b Kindler's New Literature Lexicon , Munich 1988 edition
  3. ↑ Article “Hans Kirk” online lexicon Den store danske (Danish), accessed on January 13, 2015
  4. ↑ Brockhaus Encyclopedia , Volume 12, 1990.
  5. ^ Morten Thing: Hans Kirks mange ansiger. En biografi . Gyldendal, Copenhagen 1997, p. 329 f.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kirk, Hans
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kirk, Hans Rudolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish writer and journalist
DATE OF BIRTH January 11, 1898
PLACE OF BIRTH Hadsund , North Jutland
DATE OF DEATH June 16, 1962
Place of death Copenhagen