Hilde Furstenberg

Hilde Fürstenberg (born February 1, 1902 in Bonn , † January 30, 2005 in Mölln ) was a German writer , publisher and president of the Knut Hamsun Society .

biography

Early years

Hilde Fürstenberg spent her childhood and youth on the Venusberg near Bonn. At the age of 16 she published her first poems, fairy tales and stories. Due to the illness and the early death of her mother, she also had to take on family responsibilities at an early age. She had a sister and 2 brothers. At the age of 19 she left her parents' home and was a guest student at the universities of Bonn and Munich . She was interested in literary and art history , worked as a gardener, telephone operator, draftsman, community helper and farm worker. Fürstenberg was a constant contributor to daily newspapers and magazines with essays, book and theater reviews and stories.

Their first marriage ended in divorce. In 1927 she came to Schleswig-Holstein by marrying Asmus Fürstenberg . She studied and wrote about the history and literature of the country and the Scandinavian north. Her first book was published in 1932.

time of the nationalsocialism

In 1928 their daughter Gisela Elisabeth was born. The family lived in Prisdorf near Hamburg for several years . After the National Socialists came to power , they fled to the Haseldorfer Marsch , as Asmus Fürstenberg, as a staunch opponent of National Socialism, had to be constantly on the lookout for the local group leaders of the NSDAP . The background was that Asmus Fürstenberg had been involved in the suppression of the Kapp Putsch in March 1920 and had belonged to the Schleswig-Holstein Freikorps , which was taken over by the Hamburg police after fighting unrest in Berlin and Hamburg. In addition, Asmus Fürstenberg was dismissed from his position in a Hamburg institute by the National Socialists. The family lived a poor life for several years. Hilde Fürstenberg herself said about this time: "We were as poor as shepherds and lived in constant fear, but we survived."

After the war, Asmus Fürstenberg was first police chief in Altona and then inspector of the police in Schleswig-Holstein. He was the creator of the first police law under military rule.

The main work of Hilde Fürstenberg, the trilogy of novels "Every day pass", "They move across the streets" and "Lord do not keep this sin for them" describes the adventurous paths of their lives, albeit aesthetically alienated.

But first the family moved to Bremerhaven at the end of the 1930s , where they stayed until 1941. Driven by the bombing of Bremerhaven, Hilde Fürstenberg, whose husband is now in the field, is looking for a refuge for herself and the family , which she also finds in the village of Berensch , south of Cuxhaven between forest and heath near the North Sea . With her own energy and willpower, Hilde Fürstenberg builds a run-down farm in this village and, in the midst of the general chaos of destruction and despair, turns it into a place of rest for her family and many friends. The residents of the village help her, even if they see it a little skeptically that a city dweller wants to try his hand at rural life a little bit. Hilde Fürstenberg described this time very clearly in her book “Das Glück von Deichsende” and it can be seen that this time is also influenced by the spiritual legacy of Knut Hamsun , who in the twenties especially the Germans with his novel “Blessing of the Earth “Loved it. However, the appreciation for Knut Hamsun and his work went back further and further. There is a lot about this in Hilde Fürstenberg's documents and in the magazine “Die Waldhütte”, the newsletter of the Knut Hamsun Society.

During the war, many stories, poems and stories were written in the village of Berensch. The second novel appears: "The Strange Girl".

After the war

Due to the husband's professional situation, the house in Berensch had to be left again after the war. The move to Eckernförde in Schleswig-Holstein took place. From 1948 to 1958, Carlshöhe Castle near Eckernförde was Asmus Fürstenberg's official residence and Hilde Fürstenberg's place of work. On November 27, 1955, a festive event took place at Carlshöhe Palace with Marie Hamsun and her sons Tore and Arild as guests for the foundation of the Knut Hamsun Society. The first president was Ernst Rowohlt , the publisher who headed the company until his death. Then Hilde Fürstenberg took over the office as president and led the company until the end of the 1970s, when she had to give up for reasons of age. This society had the goal of preserving and spreading the material and spiritual legacy of the poet Knut Hamsun .

Knut Hamsun fell out of favor with the Norwegians during the war because of his friendliness towards German, and the support of his work in the 1950s and for a long time afterwards can be described as a courageous and courageous mission that was initiated by Hilde Fürstenberg. But many friends of the great Norwegian also supported him. The book "The Hamsun Trial", which was published in 1979 by the Dane Thorkild Hansen , gives an insight into the complexity of the matter .

After Asmus Fürstenberg's service time had ended, his residence in Eckernförde had to be given up and the company moved first to Lübeck and a year later to Mölln in Lauenburg .

More intensive occupation with Knut Hamsun

As part of her commitment to Knut Hamsun and the Hamsun Society, Hilde Fürstenberg made several trips to Norway. She maintained contact with the Hamsun family and tried to track down the places where Hamsun had written his books or, above all, lived with his second wife, Marie Hamsun. She wrote many reports and essays about it. There is a volume “Die Frauengestalten im Werk und Leben Hamsun” by Hilde Fürstenberg or “Norway journey on Knut Hamsun's footsteps” from 1956 or the book “Geliebtes Norway” from 1968. But she also addressed the political dimension in Hamsun's life, for example in the lecture “The great change and the immense abandonment” or “Knut Hamsun in the field of tension between political passions”. But she never concealed the fact that her primary concern was always people.

Most of it appeared in the publishing house “Die Waldhütte”, which was founded specifically to also publish the newsletter of the Knut Hamsun Society “Die Waldhütte”, which appeared quarterly and in which many authors deal with the work and life of Knut Hamsun the years grappled. Hamsun research was also included, and of course “Die Waldhütte” also showed the changes in the mood and assessment of Hamsun's work.

Hilde Fürstenberg worked tirelessly for the poet and his work, whom she valued so much, and for a reconciliation between the Norwegians and the Germans. She went on many trips, including abroad, to perform from Hamsun's works, and in Norway she spoke in German in Norwegian schools from Oslo to Kirkenes. In 1977 the Hamsun archive, which was compiled by her and many friends, also with the support of the Hamsun family, was handed over by Hilde Fürstenberg and her husband Asmus Fürstenberg in Hamaröy. A place where Hamsun spent essential years of his childhood and youth.

Last years

In old age, Hilde Fürstenberg was struck by a severe blow of fate. In 1978 her daughter Gisela Elisabeth died unexpectedly and her husband six months later. It was the work that helped her through the most difficult times and the great vitality that was part of her being. Hilde Fürstenberg died on January 30, 2005, two days before her 103rd birthday, in Mölln in the “Waldhütte” house where she had lived until the end.

Awards

• For her work in the Knut Hamsun Society , Hilde Fürstenberg received the Dr. Joseph E. Drexel Prize .
• In 1981 she received the Duchy of Lauenburg's Culture Prize for her own writing.

Works

Hilde Fürstenberg wrote poems , fairy tales , stories , short stories , essays and aphorisms .
The total circulation of the titles from 1914 to 1982 was around 130 million in Germany, Austria, Holland, France, Norway, North and South America, in the South African Union, the Balkans, Poland and Switzerland.

Books

Major work novel trilogy

• Volume 1: "Alle Tage die wegieren", 1980 Verlag Hans Richarz, St. Augustin
• Volume 2: "They move across the streets", 1981 Hans Richarz publishing house, St. Augustin, 1983 Die Waldhütte publishing house, Mölln i. Lauenburg
• Volume 3: "Lord don't keep this sin for them", 1984 Die Waldhütte publishing house, Mölln i. Lauenburg

more books

• "The luck of Deichsende / Berenscher Tagebuch", 1979/1980/1991 Verlag Die Waldhütte, Mölln i. Lauenburg
• "The Stranger Girl", novel, 1942 Franz Schneider Verlag, Berlin, 1954 Horst Andel Verlag, Wiesbaden, 1976 Hartfried Voss Verlag, Ebenhausen, 1980 Hans Richarz Verlag, St. Augustin
• "The girl Corry, little novel for young people", 1949 Franz Schneuider Verlag, Berlin
• "Norway trip, for the 100th birthday of Knut Hamsun", 1959 Clausen and Bosse publishing house, Leck / Schleswig
• "Heimat und Weltgeist, yearbook of the Knut Hamsun-Gesellschaft eV", 1960 Verlag Clausen and Bosse, Leck / Schleswig, 1967 Leufgens Verlag Stolberg / Rhineland
• “The world becomes different with every step, poems in the style of Japanese haiku”, 1967 Verlag Die Waldhütte, Mölln i. Lauenburg
• "Under the Rose, love poems", 1968 Die Waldhütte publishing house, Mölln i. Lauenburg
• “This is how autumn glows”, poems, 1969 Die Waldhütte publishing house, Mölln i. Lauenburg
• “Under the chestnut tree, memories of a childhood on the Rhine”, 1970/1978 Verlag Die Waldhütte, Mölln i. Lauenburg
• "The female figures in the work and life of Knut Hamsun", 1971 Verlag Die Waldhütte, Mölln i. Lauenburg
• "People and Landscapes in Norway", poems and stories, 1971 Verlag Die Waldhütte, Mölln i. Lauenburg
• “Der Veilchenstrauss”, short stories, 1974 Hartfried Voss Verlag, Ebenhausen, 1980 Verlag Hans Richarz, St. Augustin
• “Net thrown over stars”, encounters and reflections, 1975/1976/1977 Verlag Die Waldhütte, Mölln i. Lauenburg
• “Forget the roses”, Christmas poems and stories, 1976 Die Waldhütte publishing house, Mölln i. Lauenburg
• “Wonderful Heart of Lovers”, short stories, edited by Jan Herchernröder, 1976 Verlag Die Waldhütte, Mölln i. Lauenburg
• “Unforgettable encounter, poets”, 1976 Hartfried Voss Verlag, Ebenhausen
• “March violets”, poems, 1977 Die Waldhütte publishing house, Mölln i. Lauenburg
• "Serious and cheerful world, miniatures from everyday life", 1977 Verlag Die Waldhütte, Mölln i. Lauenburg
• "Angel of the Abyss", poems, 1978 Verlag Die Waldhütte Mölln i. Lauenburg
• "Christmas", poems and stories, 1978 Die Waldhütte publishing house, Mölln i. Lauenburg
• "When deepest Stillesein", poems, 1979 Verlag Die Waldhütte Mölln i. Lauenburg
• “It's autumn,” poems and stories, 1980 Verlag Die Waldhütte, Mölln i. Lauenburg
• “How solemnly the area is silent”, poems and stories about winter and Christmas, 1980 Verlag Die Waldhütte, Mölln i. Lbg.
• "AVE MARIA", Christmas book, 1980 Verlag Hans Richarz, St. Augustin
• “Menschen am Meer”, poems and stories, 1981 Die Waldhütte publishing house, Mölln i. Lbg.
• “Roses strewn along the way”, poems and stories, 1981 Die Waldhütte publishing house, Mölln i. Lbg.
• “So far in life, Elisabeth's letters”, 1981 Die Waldhütte publishing house, Mölln i. Lbg.
• "Along the way", poems and stories from a quiet village on the edge of the lake, 1981 Verlag Die Waldhütte, Mölln i. Lbg.
• "Stories from a Shell", Stories 1981 Hans Richarz Verlag, St. Augustin
• “Through moor and heath”, poems and stories, 1981 Verlag Die Waldhütte, Mölln i. Lbg.
• “Remembrance haunts me, encounters and reflections”, 1981 Die Waldhütte publishing house, Mölln i. Lbg.
• “Unforgettable days, hikes”, 1981 Die Waldhütte publishing house, Mölln i. Lbg.
• “I come from the mountains”, poems and stories, 1981 Die Waldhütte publishing house, Mölln i. Lbg.
• "Welcome and Farewell, Strange Love Stories", 1981 Die Waldhütte Verlag, Mölln i. Lbg.
• "Throw your heart into the flame, famous love poems", 1982 Verlag Die Waldhütte, Mölln i. Lbg.
• “The time of singing has come”, spring poems, 1982 Verlag Die Waldhütte, Mölln i. Lbg.

swell

• Elisabeth Schütterow-Fürstenberg, Elke Bonness: Hilde Fürstenberg. Bibliography. Verlag "Die Waldhütte", Mölln 1981. (without ISBN)
• Spectrum of mind. (Literature calendar) Volume 27, Read Verlag GmbH, Hardebek 1978.
• Die Waldhütte, newsletter of the Knut-Hamsun-Gesellschaft , born between 1964 and 1978
• personal and handwritten notes and diaries from Hilde Fürstenberg

Web links

• Literature by and about Hilde Fürstenberg in the catalog of the German National Library