Karl-Aage Schwartzkopf
Karl-Aage Schwartzkopf (born January 5, 1920 in Lund ; † March 25, 2009 ) was a Swedish writer of children's and youth literature.
Life
At the age of six, Karl-Aage Schwartzkopf moved with his parents to Corsica , where he attended school. After graduating from high school , he was used as a border police officer in Lapland during World War II and lived in solitude among nomads .
After the end of the war he initially worked as a photographer , switchman and locomotive heater, mountain guide and travel agent . In 1946 he became active as a children's writer for the first time by writing a radio series about the "railway family" Tuff-Tuff, which later appeared in book form.
In 1951 Schwartzkopf took up the profession of journalist and wrote travel reports around the world for various newspapers, from 1963 to 1974 he was editor of the travel magazine Utflykt (German: excursion). His travels took him to Alaska , where he completed his pilot training . Both the country of Alaska and his passion for flying shaped his work as a book author significantly. His adventure stories usually take place in great, wild landscapes, with the characters mastering challenges through tenacity and willpower.
Schwartzkopf's interest in history and his research into the Carolinian era were reflected in two historical books for young people that play during General Armfeldt's campaign against Norway and illustrate how deeply the war affects the lives of young people.
For many years he was a very productive writer of programs for school radio , in total he wrote about 200 children's and youth programs for radio and television.
Schwartzkopf died on March 25, 2009.
Books
Alaska pilot John Cross
Original title Alaskapiloten , published 1956, in Germany 1958, as paperback 1963. The military aviator John Cross actually has a brilliant career ahead of him as a commercial pilot , but after he accepted the invitation of his uncle Josef Grumman to spend a summer in Alaska as a bush pilot he is fascinated by the magic of this land and, against his parents' wishes, decides to stay there. In individual adventure stories, the reader experiences how Cross discovers flying in the wilderness as the purpose of his life.
The enigmatic island
Original title Ishavspiloten (German: Der Eismeerpilot), published in 1957, in Germany in 1959, as a paperback in 1965 under the title Notsender… SOS . On one of their supply flights to a research station in the Arctic Ocean, John Cross and Josef Grumman stumble upon a mountain where, according to the map, there is only sea. The official authorities do not believe their account, only an old Eskimo tells them that on a hunting expedition that was far back in the past, he saw a mountainous island at the presumed location, which is almost always shrouded in thick fog. Some time later, Grumman went off course on a routine flight, had to make an emergency landing, survived the landing seriously injured and found himself on the very island whose population, it turns out, consists of two warring clans of Russian origin. After a three-month search, John finally succeeds, with the help of the old Eskimo, in tracking down the missing person, who was believed to be dead, and rescuing him from the greatest danger.
The wilderness pilot
Original title Ödemarkspiloten , published 1958, in Germany 1966. John Cross and Josef Grumman take part in the search for fugitive criminals in the border area of Alaska and Canada . After John's plane is sunk by an angry moose , he is captured by those wanted who want to buy their freedom with his release. Only by a lucky coincidence can the fugitives in the escape plane be overwhelmed.
The Föhrenburg
Original title Höghuset vid myren , published in Germany in 1968. Children's book. A lonely high-rise, inhabited by nature lovers in the forest, will one day be cut off from the industrialized society embodied by “the city”, whereupon an intact community will form among the residents, one that respects the interests of everyone, adults and children alike, and needs technical comfort renounced in favor of a nature-loving lifestyle. Everyone is happier and healthier than ever before. When the leader of the community finally returns to the city out of a sense of duty, he is locked in prison there. The three main representatives of the children free him, but are followed by the police on the way back to the "Föhrenburg", as the house is called because of its tree cover. The residents then decide to leave the Föhrenburg and move deeper into the forest in order not to have to give up their free lifestyle.
Campfire in front of Trondheim
Original title Yngste karolinen (The youngest Karoliner), published 1960, in Germany 1978. The Swedish general Armfeldt marches against Norway in 1718 with the royal order to conquer Trondheim . Eleven year old Andreas Henrik Ramsay is proud to be able to ride as the general's page. For the boy, war is a colossal game in which you perform heroic deeds and in the end defeat all the bad guys. In the rough community he befriends the 14-year-old drummer Martin. During some personal encounters with the enemy, Andreas realizes that it is not about anonymous evil, but about people who could just as easily be his friends. The conquest of Trondheim fails, especially since the army is doing worse and worse due to a lack of supplies. On the privation-rich retreat, the death march of the Carolinians , Martin also succumbs to his exhaustion and frostbite on the last night before reaching the Swedish border, despite Andreas' loving care. Andreas takes over Martin's drum and realizes that the war has not only made him lose his best friend, but also his entire childhood.
Other works
(not published in German)
- Class 5 flyter bort (Class 5 out of town, 1951)
- Fjällflygaren (The Fjällflieger, 1963)
- Fjällflygaren och vargen (The Fjällflygaren and the Wolf, 1964)
- Trumvirveln (The drum roll, 1966) - historical narrative
- Klart spår till Tomteboda , TV family series with 24 15-minute episodes in Swedish, started in 1968
Web links
- Karl Aage Schwartzkopf in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schwartzkopf, Karl-Aage |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swedish writer of children's and youth literature |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 5, 1920 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Lund |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 25, 2009 |