Inge Meyer

Inge Meyer (born January 18, 1929 in Magdeburg ; † November 12, 2009 there ) was a German writer and screenwriter who became famous for her work on the crime literature scene in the GDR.

She began her professional life as a teacher in Magdeburg. Since 1972 she has worked as a freelancer for radio and television in the GDR . In the 1990s, stories and the novel “Stachel des Scorpions” were published, which tells the story of her mother who set out from Magdeburg to Africa as a young girl before the First World War.

1929-1956

Inge Meyer's childhood was shaped by the material worries of her family and the seizure of power by the National Socialists. For many Magdeburg residents, the successes of the NSDAP also meant an improvement in their own living conditions. Inge Meyer's parents were able to buy a house in the newly founded district of Reform and lived a relatively quiet, middle-class life. While large parts of Magdeburg were "Aryanized" and the "racial madness" spread more and more, the parents still managed to teach their daughter a critical distance from National Socialism.

After 1945 she worked as a voluntary helper in the Christian station service. She then completed an apprenticeship as an industrial clerk at the Krupp works in Magdeburg. At the instigation of her old director, however, she then started training as a new teacher and continued to work as a teacher until 1956. Due to constant conflicts with the school management and the resulting psychological stress, she finally gave up her career.

Literary work in the former GDR

Her first work was the radio play “Elfenreigen”, which she wrote for a competition organized by the “Eulenspiegel” magazine. Inge Meyer won the competition and her radio play became the most played on the radio. The success drew the attention of a radio play dramaturge who encouraged Inge Meyer to write more radio plays.

Her strength lay in realistic, dramaturgical narratives. She therefore devoted most of her work to crime fiction.

The first two crime stories ("The old woman at the window" and "The man in the fog") by Inge Meyer appeared in the Blaulicht series of the publisher "Das Neue Berlin". Both texts were a great success and helped her to work as a screenwriter for various television productions. The crime story "The hearing of the witnesses" was published by Greifenverlag Rudolstadt , which had specialized in crime literature. The story "Love on Probation" was then published again by the publishing house Das Neue Berlin , in which 35 percent of the entire GDR crime literature could be found.

In the years 1972 to 1991 published 11 radio plays (. Eg turn offense ), four stories and the scripts for seven TV movies (for the series " Polizeiruf 110 " and " The prosecutor has the word "). In 1987, DEFA filmed her story “The hearing of the witnesses” under the title “The hearing of the witnesses ”.

1990-2009

In the anthology "Das seasickke Fräulein" the fate of lonely female characters in the Second World War is the focus. Inge Meyer took up a similar topic with her novel "Stachel des Scorpions", in which she recorded the memories of her mother who emigrated to German East Africa as a young woman. "With a lot of empathy and precision, Inge Meyer tells not only the life story of her mother, but also part of her own childhood during a difficult time in Magdeburg in the 1930s and 1940s" in "Stachel des Scorpions".

The city of Magdeburg was of great importance as a living space for Inge Meyer. Until her death in November 2009 she lived secluded in Magdeburg and devoted herself to writing and literary work with young people and senior citizens. A large part of her estate is in the Magdeburg Literature House .

Works

• 1982: The old woman at the window , crime story, Berlin; Publisher: Das Neue Berlin, roro
• 1983: The Man in the Fog , crime story, Berlin; Publisher: Das Neue Berlin
• 1983: Examination of the witnesses , story, Rudolstadt; Greifenverlag
• 1988: Love on probation , story, Rudolstadt; Greifenverlag
• 1994: The seasick lady , stories, Oschersleben; Dr. Ziethen publishing house
• 1997: Sting of the Scorpion , novel; Blue Apples Magdeburg Publishing House
• 1972: Elfenreigen , radio play
• 1973: night recording , radio play
• 1974: What will happen to Angela? , Radio play in the series of facts
• 1975: Rödelstraße 14 , radio play in the series of facts
• 1976: Beermann has a heart for everyone , radio play in the series of facts
• 1977: Der Spinner , radio play in the series of facts
• 1977: Interrogation without a contract , Berlin: The New Berlin
• 1978: Money for a Marriage , radio play in the series of facts
• 1979: The lovely Roland , radio play in the series of facts

literature

• Nicole Neuschultz (diploma thesis): Investigation of masculinity and femininity in the work of Inge Meyer. Magdeburg 2000.
• Wolfgang Mittmann: It started with a series of booklets. Comments on crime literature in the GDR , in: Das Mordsbuch. Everything about crime novels , ed. by: Schindler, Nina, 2nd edition, Hildesheim 1998.
• Writer in Saxony-Anhalt, ed. by: Support group of writers in Saxony-Anhalt eV, Halle 1999.

References and comments

1. ^ Nicole Neuschultz: Investigation of masculinity and femininity in the work of Inge Meyer. Magdeburg 2000, p. 10