Herbert Wendt

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Herbert Wendt (born May 16, 1914 in Düsseldorf , † June 26, 1979 in Baden-Baden ) was a German writer . In addition to his literary work, Wendt was the author of numerous works in the fields of zoology , anthropology and archeology . His international bestseller I searched for Adam and the reference works for which he is responsible, Grzimek's Animal Life and Kindler's Encyclopedia Man, are of lasting scientific importance .

Live and act

Herbert Wendt has been concerned with the flora and fauna around him since early childhood and tried again and again in the course of his life to describe the ecosystem in literary terms.

After graduating from high school in Düsseldorf, Herbert Wendt studied German and natural sciences in the spring of 1933 and also passed a dramaturge exam. In 1939 he published his first novel titled Dividing Grid . The novel The Forest of the Seven Hills followed a year later . He then published the stories Füchse vom Lehmberg (1940) and Marder im Tann (1943), which were influenced by his biological studies .

In 1939 he was drafted into the navy as a war correspondent and wrote numerous reports during this time, as well as a book requested by the naval management, Der Kampf um die Ostsee (1943), in which the conquest of the Baltic states in the summer of 1941 was traced. Vice-Admiral Adolf Pfeffer wrote the preface to this. After being seriously wounded off Crete, Wendt returned to his family in Berlin in 1943.

After the end of the war he was a member of the anti-fascist committee in Berlin and wrote for the Aufbau-Verlag . Through his writing and the work of his wife, the writer and journalist Ingeborg Wendt , he came into closer contact with Lion Feuchtwanger and Arnold Zweig , and later with Bertolt Brecht . In the following years a lively correspondence should develop, which was supported by numerous visits. In 1946 he published the volume of short novels “Reifeprüfung”, in which he dealt critically with National Socialism. With autobiographical echoes, he described the life of young high school graduates and students in the period after 1933 and their complex behavior between adaptation and critical distance to the ideology of the National Socialists. In the same year his short story Adrian und die Ermeline was published . In addition, in 1946 and 1949 he published the plays A grain of salt , A lovely evening and The Mice Regiment .

In order to avoid the threat of arrest by the authorities in the Soviet occupation zone, Wendt and his family fled in 1947, first to Düsseldorf and later to Baden-Baden , where one of his publishers was based. In the following years he wrote the stories Sebastian and the Deer (1949) and Discovery Tour through the Sea of ​​Seal (1952) as well as the novels The Sea of ​​the Sun (1950) and The Ship of the Damned (1952). Herbert Wendt achieved international recognition in 1953 with his bestseller Ich sought Adam , which deals with the history of human discovery. It was translated into around twenty languages ​​and in August 1956 was the second German book after the war in the USA to be named “Book of the Month”. I was looking for Adam had high print runs and over the next several decades continued to appear in improved editions.

In addition to the volume We and the Animals , the youth book Hands away from Kolksee was also published in 1954 . In the following years he published a number of other works that dealt with evolutionary biological, human history and ecological topics and have also been translated into all world languages: "In Noah's Footsteps" (1956), "It began in Babel" (1958), "The love life in der Tierwelt ”(1962),“ Sources, Streams, Meere ”(1963),“ The Threatened Paradise ”(1965) and“ Before the Flood Came ”(1965, Stalling Verlag), a history of paleontology . In 1958 and 1959 the animal books “How we live with our animals” and “Secret traces” were published.

Extended research trips to Latin America prompted Herbert Wendt to deal intensively with the concerns of the Indian population and the current political development of this continent. He published The Black-White-Red Continent in 1964 , Rebellion under the Sun Gate in 1965 and Shadows over the Amazon in 1970 .

The illustrated book The monkey stands up (1971) took up the Adam theme again. In 1974 and 1975 adventurous jungle life followed and the steppe breaks open . Herbert Wendt was very successful as the editor of The Most Beautiful Animal Stories (1960), which was repeatedly published in new editions.

As editor-in-chief and author of many articles, he worked on the publication of the encyclopedia Grzimek's animal life , which largely bears his stylistic signature through revision. Together with Professor Heberer, he was the editor of the supplementary volume on Grzimek's Animal Life : History of the Development of Living Beings . During the last years of his life he worked on the publication of the Kindler's encyclopedia Der Mensch , which he initiated , and he was still able to finish the first five volumes, which deal with the scientific aspect of the encyclopedia. Shortly before his death, he also finished writing a book that appeared in 1980 under the title On the Trail of the Unicorn . His drama Der Goldfasan or Das Regiment der Mitläufer: Eine deutsche Tragikomödie (1998) appeared posthumously .

Works (selection)

  • We and the animals. The adventurous story of the animal's conquest of our earth. Albert Müller Rüschlikon, Rüschlikon (near Zurich) 1954 (359 pages with 225 illustrations).
  • In Noah's footsteps. The discovery of the animals. Grote, Hamm 1956, 574 pp.
  • The most beautiful animal stories. With lots of nature shots. German Book Association, Berlin / Darmstadt / Vienna 1962, (255 pages).
  • Researchers discover the primeval world , Stalling, Oldenburg © 1965 OCLC 638071081 (384 pages).
    • edited new edition as: Before the Flood came. Researchers discover the primeval world. List, Munich 1971 (392 pages), ISBN 3-471-60374-3 .
  • Rebellion under the Sun Gate. The departure of the Aymará Indians of Bolivia into a better future. (= Arena pocket book ), Arena, [Würzburg] 1969, (180 pages).
  • It started in Babel. The discovery of the peoples. New through Issue [5. Ed.], (= Rororo-sachbuch ), Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1974, (507 pages), ISBN 3-499-16654-2 .
  • The love life in the animal world. Erw. Edition, Rowohlt, Reinbek b. Hamburg 1970, 408 p. M. 102 fig .; ISBN 3-499-16714-X (rororo-Sachbuch)
  • I was looking for Adam. The discovery of man. New through u. exp. Ed., Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1978, 502 p .; ISBN 3-499-16631-3 (rororo non-fiction book)
  • The discovery of the animals. From the unicorn legend to behavioral research. Christian, Munich 1980, 374 p .; ISBN 3-88472-004-X
  • Springs-currents-seas. The epic of water. Albert Müller Rüschlikon, Rüschlikon ZH 1965, (329 pages).

As editor

Wendt was responsible for the following volumes in Kindler's encyclopedia Der Mensch
  • Volume 1: In the forefront of man. (Red .: Wolf Keienburg), Kindler, Zurich 1982, 803 p. M. Fig .; ISBN 3-463-26001-8 .
  • Volume 2: The Development of Humanity. Kindler, Zurich 1982, 790 p. M. Fig .; ISBN 3-463-26002-6 .
  • Volume 3: The Human Body. Kindler, Zurich 1983, 864 p. M. Fig .; ISBN 3-463-26003-4 .
  • Volume 4: The special position of humans. (Red .: Wolf Keienburg and Michael Matthes), Kindler, Zurich 1981, 800 p. M. numerous Fig .; ISBN 3-463-26004-2 .
  • Volume 5 (together with Norbert Loacker): Social and historical behavior of people. Kindler, Zurich 1983, 780 p. M. Fig .; ISBN 3-463-26005-0 .
  • Volume 6: Language, Art and Religion. Kindler, Zurich 1983; ISBN 3-463-26006-9 .
  • Volume 7: Philosophy, Science and Technology. Kindler, Zurich 1984; ISBN 3-463-26007-7 .
  • Volume 8: Politics, Economics and Law. Kindler, Zurich 1984; ISBN 3-463-26008-5 .
  • Volume 9: The love of man. Kindler, Zurich 1984; ISBN 3-463-26009-3 .

literature

  • German Literature Calendar / Kürschner's German Literature Calendar: 1943, 1952, Nekrolog 1971–1998

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See The Publishers Weekly Volume 169 (1956), p. 2330.
  2. ↑ Herbert Wendt in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely accessible)
personal data
SURNAME Wendt, Herbert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German writer
DATE OF BIRTH May 16, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Dusseldorf
DATE OF DEATH June 26, 1979
Place of death Baden-Baden