Helmut Clahsen

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Helmut Clahsen (born June 16, 1931 in Aachen ; † October 23, 2015 ) was a German writer who made a name for himself primarily with local historical works and the publication of eyewitness accounts about his childhood and youth during the Nazi dictatorship.

Life

Clahsen was born on June 16, 1931 in Aachen as the eldest of three children of the city official Heinrich Clahsen and the Jewish concert pianist Else Clahsen, née Klein, and was exposed to racial discrimination after the so-called seizure of power by the National Socialists. Clahsen escaped imminent arrest and deportation, among other things, by hiding in the Belgian border town of Gemmenich . After the war, he first learned the bakery and confectionery trade, after a professional reorientation he later worked as a display designer. In 1988 he was retired for health reasons and began to write in this episode.

In his first autobiographical report Mama, what is a Jewish kid? , which appeared in 2003, Clahsen addressed his life and survival as a so - called half - Jewish child in Aachen and the surrounding area. He also described his own fate in other works The Secretary (2006), ... By Igniting Fires (2008), And after that, David? Is Goliath Really Defeated? (2010), but also published essays on the history of Aachen during the Nazi dictatorship, the Second World War and the post-war period that were increasingly interested in local historical issues. In his last book, published in 2014, Clahsen dealt with the rubble women in the Aachen area.

In 2003, in the experience report I'm missing words , he described the fate of his wife suffering from aphasia .

Helmut Clahsen lived in Aachen and appeared regionally and nationally as a contemporary witness in front of schoolchildren and students to report on his personal experiences during the Nazi dictatorship. During one of his last major appearances, he told his life story in front of over 1500 listeners at the University of Antwerp .

Helmut Clahsen died on October 23, 2015 after a serious illness.

Works

  • Words fail me ... Aphasia after a stroke - a field report . Mabuse Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2003.
  • Mama, what is a Jewish brat? A Jewish childhood in Aachen 1935–1945 . Helios-Verlag, Aachen 2003, ISBN 3-933608-74-0 .
  • The Secretary. Fate of a large Jewish family from Aachen during the Nazi era . Helios-Verlag, Aachen 2006, ISBN 3-938208-38-4 .
  • ... by lighting fires. Helios-Verlag, Aachen 2008, ISBN 978-3-938208-90-8 .
  • And after that, David? Is Goliath Really Defeated? Survival in destroyed Aachen 1945–1949. Helios-Verlag, Aachen 2010, ISBN 978-3-86933-038-9 .
  • Trümmerfrauen: Fear, hardship, suffering and death in Aachen during and after World War II Helios-Verlag, Aachen 2014, ISBN 978-3869331218 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Data on the memorial book project
  2. ^ Aachen writer and contemporary witness Helmut Clahsen died Aachener Nachrichten, accessed on October 29, 2015
  3. ^ Author Helmut Clahsen died Aachener Zeitung, accessed on October 28, 2015

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Clahsen, Helmut
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German writer
DATE OF BIRTH June 16, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Aachen
DATE OF DEATH October 23, 2015
Place of death Aachen