Horst Krüger (writer)

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Horst Krüger (born September 17, 1919 in Magdeburg ; † October 21, 1999 in Frankfurt am Main ) was a German cultural journalist and writer. His autobiographical debut novel The Broken House. A youth in Germany is regarded as an exemplary processing of a youth in Germany at the time of the Third Reich and accordingly found international approval. His travel stories from many parts of the world found a large audience.

Life

Childhood and youth

Krüger was born the son of Fritz and Margarethe Krüger. His twin sister Ruth died three months after giving birth. The father was a German-nationally oriented civil servant who had risen from assistant to district councilor in the Prussian Ministry of Culture . He spent his childhood and youth in Berlin . He attended the Wald elementary school in Eichkamp for four years and the Grunewald grammar school for nine years , where he graduated from high school in 1939 . Kruger's older sister Ursula perpetrated in 1938 with 21 years of suicide . His parents died in 1945.

Studies, political imprisonment, war

He studied philosophy and literature , initially at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin with Nicolai Hartmann , Eduard Spranger and Romano Guardini . He was arrested in December 1939 and was held in Gestapo detention in Moabit . He was accused of "preparing for high treason" because he had worked as a courier for a group of national Bolsheviks founded by Ernst Niekisch . In March 1940 he was released on parole by the Gestapo and left Berlin. He continued his studies in Freiburg im Breisgau with Martin Heidegger . In 1942 he was drafted into the Wehrmacht . Two years later he was badly wounded in the Battle of Monte Cassino . After his rehabilitation , he changed fronts near Unna at Easter 1945 , was an American prisoner of war in the Cherbourg camp , and was released from there to Freiburg in 1946.

Culture editor

After 1946 he worked initially as an employee at the Herder publishing house , and from 1947 as a literary employee for the features section of the newly founded Badische Zeitung in Freiburg. From 1952 to 1964 he headed the literary night studio of Südwestfunk in Baden-Baden . There he tried above all to make the literature of the exiled and emigrated writers known again. Theodor W. Adorno , Arnold Gehlen , Ernst Bloch and Alexander Mitscherlich came to his rounds of talks, which were broadcast on the radio .

Writer, journalist

In 1964 he moved to Frankfurt am Main as a freelance writer . He made friends with the Hessian attorney general Fritz Bauer , at his invitation observed the first Frankfurt Auschwitz trial for four weeks . The trial became the trigger for his autobiographical novel about his youth during the Nazi era . From 1969 onwards he mainly wrote travel stories that often took a socio- ethnographic perspective and, despite their eloquence, eschewed columnar arbitrariness. Krüger's themes were always the National Socialist past and its consequences, the division of Germany and the memories of his youth in Berlin.

Between 1963 and 1987 he wrote for the features section of the weekly newspaper Die Zeit . He regularly presented his texts on the radio . He was noticed by the so-called Krüger sound: a lyrical parlando that omitted periods, commas and other punctuation marks. His readings always triggered a lot of mail from the audience to the broadcasters. He made documentaries for ARD and ZDF , including the city portraits Der Kurfürstendamm - Splendor and Misery of a Boulevard (1982), Frankfurt am Main - Plea for a Notorious City (1983), San Francisco - Description of a Fascination (1983) and Invitation with István Bury to Budapest (1985).

Last years

In the last years of his life, illnesses prevented him from writing any further. He had already spent his 80th birthday seriously ill in an intensive care unit.

He was a member of the German Academy for Language and Poetry , the PEN Center of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Author Council in the Free German Association of Authors .

Private life

From 1948 until the divorce in 1955 he was married to the psychotherapist Hildegard Lange-Undeutsch.

Awards and honors

Works

  • What's left today? Theses and theories on a political position . Edited and introduced by Horst Krüger. Paul List , Munich 1963.
  • The broken house. A youth in Germany . Rütten and Loening , Munich 1966; reissued, with an afterword by Martin Mosebach , Schöffling & Co. 2019, ISBN 978-3-89561-014-1 audio book rbb culture October 15, 2019, ard audiothek
  • City maps: explorations of a loner . Rütten and Loening, Munich 1967.
  • German moments: pictures from my fatherland . Piper Verlag , Munich 1969.
  • Foreign fatherlands: travel experiences of a German . Piper, Munich 1971, ISBN 3-492-01896-3 .
  • Laughter of Time: A German Panorama . Hoffmann and Campe , Hamburg 1973, ISBN 3-455-04013-6 .
  • East-West Passages: Travel pictures from two worlds . Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1975, ISBN 3-455-04012-8 .
  • Poetic Geography: Travel Tales . Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1978, ISBN 3-455-04026-8 .
  • Ludwig, dear Ludwig: An attempt on Bavaria's fairytale king . Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1979, ISBN 3-455-04009-8 .
  • On the way: Collected travel prose . Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1980, ISBN 3-455-04007-1 .
  • Twilight of mockers: songs of praise and lamentation at the time . Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1981, ISBN 3-455-04027-6 .
  • The Kurfürstendamm: shine u. Misery of a boulevard . Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1982, ISBN 3-455-04023-3 .
  • First moments: travel prose . Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag , Munich 1983, ISBN 3-423-10103-2 .
  • Deep German dream: traveling into the past . Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1984, ISBN 3-455-04015-2 .
  • Time of no return: Collected features . Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1985, ISBN 3-455-04018-7 .
  • The spring trip: 7 weather letters from Europe . Eremitenpresse , Düsseldorf 1988, ISBN 3-87365-239-0 .
  • Do you know the country: travel stories . Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1987, ISBN 3-455-01892-0 .
  • A heavenly pleasure: a trip with the "Danube Princess" . With illustrations by Ingrid M. Schmeck . Shipping company Peter Deilmann , Neustadt 1990.
  • Like God in France: My trip with the "Princesse de Provence" . Illustrations by Ingrid M. Schmeck. Shipping company Peter Deilmann, Neustadt 1992.
  • This lust for life: time images . Suhrkamp Verlag , Frankfurt am Main 1993, ISBN 3-518-38763-4 .
  • Not a beautiful country: A river trip in memory with the "Princess of Prussia" . Illustrations by Ingrid M. Schmeck. Shipping company Peter Deilmann, Neustadt 1996.

Fonts

  • Essay and Journalism , in: Impulses. Reports from the work of the Evangelical Academy Hofgeismar , 3/1960, pp. 113–124
  • The radio essay. Attempting a determination , in: Neue Deutsche Hefte , 101/1964, pp. 97–110
  • Stranger in the city - memorial sheet for Fritz Bauer , in: Die Zeit , No. 28, July 12, 1968
  • Write about travel. A balance sheet , in: German Academy for Language and Poetry , Darmstadt, Jb. 1988, pp. 78–89

Television films

  • The Chance Journey - Portrait of the Castilian City of Valladolid , with Luis Trenker , Südwestfunk, 1958
  • The man from Aix - portrait by Paul Cézanne , Südwestfunk 1960
  • El Escorial - Spain's Dark Dream , Saarländischer Rundfunk, 1976
  • Reval-Tallin - Pictures from Estonia , ZDF, 1979
  • The Kurfürstendamm - splendor and misery of a boulevard , with István Bury , ARD, 1981
  • Frankfurt am Main - Plea for a disreputable city , with István Bury, ARD, 1982
  • San Francisco - Description of a Fascination , with István Bury, ARD, 1983
  • I chose love as my homeland - A film about the poet Mascha Kaleko , ZDF, 1984
  • Bayreuth scene - guest of Richard Wagner , ZDF 1984
  • Invitation to Budapest , with István Bury, ARD 1985
  • Berlin - the beautiful island city , Südwestfunk, 1987

Radio features

  • Camping - Pictures from a new leisure society , with Fritz Schröder-Jahn , Südwestfunk / SFB, 1969
  • The perfect shadow realm - experiences during a trip to Sweden , Südwestfunk / SFB / WDR 1970
  • Normalization - Prague, four years after August 1968 , SFB 1972
  • On the coasts of California , hr / SFB / WDR 1973, repetition of SWR2 - essay on July 15, 2019
  • Bayreuth scene - observations in the festival city, Bayreuth and its great days , BR 1973
  • The Limit , SFB 1975
  • The friendly nevertheless - pictures from a trip to Hungary , hr / SFB 1975
  • Vienna - or the burden of the past - a German attempt to understand Austria , hr / SFB / WDR 1976
  • Foreign Home - Touristic Experiences between Brandenburg and Frankfurt / Oder , SFB / DLF / WDR 1976
  • The Spring Journey - Seven Weather Letters from Europe , CRC 1977
  • Overlord (Landing of the Allies) , SFB1977
  • Egypt - A Journey into 4000 Years of Past , CRC 1977
  • Brothers and sisters? or: How strange are the Germans? - 25th anniversary of the Day of German Unity , SFB / SDR 1978
  • East Prussia - Afterwords to a Lost Province, Travel Pictures , SFB / SWF 1978
  • Go quietly, because you are walking on my dreams - An encounter with Ludwig II. , SFB / BR 1978
  • A feeling of home - a plea by an intellectual for the Federal Republic of Germany , SFB / SDR 1979
  • Magdeburg Diary - Notes from the GDR Province , SFB / SWF / WDR 1979
  • Passion for a stranger - The Oberammergau Passion Play 1980 , BR / SFB / SWF 1980
  • America now. A picture of the mood before the American presidential elections , SFB / SWF 1980
  • The king. An attempt to make Frederick the Great visible - Part 1: The youth , SFB / SWF 1981
  • The king. An attempt to make Friedrich the Great visible - Part 2: Time of maturity , SFB / SWF 1981
  • The Wall - Observations before and after August 13 , 1961 , SFB / BR / DLF 1981
  • Goethe in Weimar - travel pictures from the GDR , SFB / SWF / DLF / BR 1982
  • The Broken House - A Youth in the Third Reich , 13 parts, CRC 1983
  • Luther's Habitats - A Journey into the Reformation , SFB / DLF / BR / SWF 1983
  • Oh Calcutta! - Pictures from India's cruelest city , SFB / BR / SWF 1984
  • Travel destination GDR , SFB 1985
  • Cordelia's story - A German memory , SWF 1985
  • Jerusalem - Reunion with the Holy City , SFB / BR 1986
  • Rothenburg , SFB 1987
  • Writing about travel , SFB 1989
  • A heavenly pleasure - From Passau to Budapest on the "Danube Princess" , BR 1991
  • Like God in France - My days on the "Princesse de Provence" , DS-Kultur / SFB 1993

literature

  • Marcel Reich-Ranicki (ed.): Horst Krüger - a writer on the move: materials and personal testimonies . Hoffmann et al. Campe, Hamburg 1989, ISBN 3-455-04019-5 .
  • Marcel Reich-Ranicki: A Berliner, a Prussian, a German. Laudation for Horst Krüger , in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , April 21, 1990.
  • Walther Killy (Ed.): Literature Lexicon. Authors and works in German (15 volumes). Bertelsmann-Lexikon-Verlag, Gütersloh / Munich 1988–1991 (CD-ROM: Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-932544-13-7 )
  • Bernhard Albers (Ed.): Born 1919: Michael Guttenbrunner - Hans Bender - Horst Krüger . Rimbaud, Aachen 2010, ISBN 978-3-89086-492-1 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Biographical note, in: Marcel Reich-Ranicki (ed.): Horst Krüger - A writer on trips, Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1989, p. 279.
  2. ↑ Horst Krüger: Biographical Note, in: This lust for life, Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt 1993, p. 245.
  3. ^ Die Zeit: A Book of Germany Without Lies , April 22, 1966
  4. ^ Horst Krüger: The broken house. A youth in Germany, Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1976, p. 25.
  5. ^ Die Zeit: A Book of Germany Without Lies , April 22, 1966
  6. ↑ Horst Krüger: Do you know the country. Reise-Erzählungen, Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1987, p. 255.
  7. ↑ radio time. When the Berliner Funkhaus was built, in: Horst Krüger: This lust for life. Zeitbilder, Suhrkamp Taschenbuch, Frankfurt 1993, p. 207.
  8. ↑ Horst Krüger: Biographical Note, in: This lust for life, Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt 1993, p. 245.
  9. ↑ Horst Krüger: Biographical Note, in: This lust for life, Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt 1993, p. 247.
  10. ↑ Biographical note, in: Marcel Reich-Ranicki (Ed.): Horst Krüger - A writer on the move, Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1989, p. 280.
  11. ↑ Munzinger Internationales Biographisches Archiv 07/2000 of February 7, 2000
  12. ↑ Biographical note, in: Marcel Reich-Ranicki (Ed.): Horst Krüger - A writer on the move, Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1989, p. 280.
  13. ↑ Biographical note, in: Marcel Reich-Ranicki (Ed.): Horst Krüger - A writer on the move, Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1989, p. 280
  14. ^ Horst Krüger: The broken house. Eine Jugend in Deutschland, Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1976, p. 103, p. 131.
  15. ^ A book on Germany without lies
  16. ↑ Munzinger Internationales Biographisches Archiv 07/2000 of February 7, 2000
  17. ^ Horst Krüger: Zeittafel, in Horst Krüger: Die Lust am Leben, Suhrkamp Taschenbuch, Frankfurt 1993, p. 249
  18. ^ Horst Krüger: The broken house. A youth in Germany, Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1976, p. 159 ff.
  19. ↑ Biographical note, in: Marcel Reich-Ranicki (Ed.): Horst Krüger - A writer on trips, Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1989, p. 281.
  20. ^ Hoffmann and Campe: Author Info Horst Krüger
  21. ↑ Horst Krüger: Biographical Note, in: Horst Krüger: This lust for life, Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt 1993, p. 247.
  22. ↑ Biographical note, in: Marcel Reich-Ranicki (Ed.): Horst Krüger - A writer on a journey, Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1989, p. 282.
  23. ^ Horst Krüger: The broken house. A youth in Germany, Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1976, p. 222.
  24. ↑ Der Spiegel: Hitler, who stays with us , February 28, 1966.
  25. ↑ Die Zeit: Horst Krüger: News and Info , April 1, 2018.
  26. ↑ Biographical note, in: Marcel Reich-Ranicki (Ed.): Horst Krüger - A writer on trips, Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1989, p. 283.
  27. ↑ Godehard Schramm : Writing everything comes back, in: Marcel Reich-Ranicki (ed.): Horst Krüger - A writer on trips, Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1989, p. 25
  28. ↑ Wolfgang Buhl: Speech of praise, in: Marcel Reich-Ranicki (ed.): Horst Krüger - A writer on trips, Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1989, p. 33 f.
  29. ↑ Der Spiegel: Died: Horst Krüger , November 1, 1999.
  30. ↑ Hamburger Morgenpost: Frankfurt writer Horst Krüger died , October 21, 1999.
  31. ↑ Biographical note, in: Marcel Reich-Ranicki (Ed.): Horst Krüger - A writer on trips, Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1989, p. 283.
  32. ↑ Award of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany on January 31, 1990 . In: The Hessian Prime Minister (Ed.): State Gazette for the State of Hesse. 1990 No. 8 , p. 306 , point 172 ( online at the information system of the Hessian state parliament [PDF; 6.1 MB ]).
  33. ↑ Bibliography, in: Marcel Reich-Ranicki (Ed.): Horst Krüger - A writer on the move, Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1989, p. 286.
personal data
SURNAME Kruger, Horst
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German writer
DATE OF BIRTH September 17, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Magdeburg
DATE OF DEATH October 21, 1999
Place of death Frankfurt am Main