Karl Emerich Kramer

Karl Emerich Krämer (pseudonyms: André Forban , George Forestier , Georg Jontza , GG Rustesch , Gerhard Rustesch , Sebastian Steegh ; born January 31, 1918 in Düsseldorf ; † February 28, 1987 there ) was a German poet and writer .

Life

Karl Emerich Krämer was the son of an engineer. In 1932 he joined the Hitler Youth . From 1934 to 1935 he did internships at the Kölner Zeitung and the Rheinische Landeszeitung . In 1937 he made up his Abitur as an external student and began studying German and political science at the universities in Bonn and Frankfurt am Main. By the beginning of the war , several works were published by him, which, because of their national socialist sentiments, were explicitly promoted by the state. In 1939, Krämer interrupted his studies and took part in the Second World War as a soldier. After being seriously wounded on the Eastern Front in 1943, he was first transferred to a general command in Nuremberg, then to Würzburg as the spell leader of the Hitler Youth. As the spell leader of the Hitler Youth , he published “flag and battle slogans” for the Hitler Youth with his own poems. At the end of the war he was a special commissioner at the Wehrmacht High Command , which earned him internment by the Allies until May 1946 in a camp near Hersbruck . Despite a writing ban imposed on him, Krämer published a number of volumes of poetry , amateur and radio plays in the following years .

In 1949 he completed his studies at the University of Bonn with a doctorate . In 1950 he became production manager and editor at Diederichs-Verlag in Düsseldorf . From 1953, Krämer was the authorized signatory of the Düsseldorf Rauch publishing house and published books on cultural history about the Rhineland and Westphalia .

Pseudonym "George Forestier"

→ Main article: George Forestier

In 1952, the Diederichs Verlag in Düsseldorf published the volume of poetry "I write my heart in the dust of the street". It contained expressionistic poems influenced by Federico García Lorca and kept in an extremely catchy tone, which allegedly came from the estate of a Franco-German Foreign Legionnaire named George Forestier , who was born in 1921 and who was alleged to have disappeared in Indochina in 1951 . The book developed into one of the greatest successes of poetry in German post-war literature , followed by a second volume of Forestier poems under the title "Strong as death is the night, is love" and a selection of letters before the publisher Peter Diederichs In 1955 the mystification ended and Krämer had to admit to being the author of the works "Forestiers" himself. After the general enthusiasm which the Forestier poems had met with literary criticism, there was now talk of a scandal; The serious critics in particular felt duped and sidelined shopkeepers for the future.

Krämer continued to publish poems under the name "George Forestier", but with which he was never able to build on the success of the early 1950s.

Works (selection)

As an author

Youth books

• Loyalty for loyalty. Six stories of kings and heroes. Union Deutsche VG, Stuttgart 1936 (pennant books).
• When it snows. Children's verses . Quelle publisher, Münster iW 1948.
• The poinsettia shines again. For children . Hoch-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1958.

Poetry

• as author and editor: Fahnensprüche. Published by the war support service of the Hitler Youth in the Mainfranken area (39). Georg Graßer (print), Würzburg 1944, own poems: pp. 6, 10, 21, 26, 27, 30 and 33.
• Please obediently to be able to report. The songs of Corporal Rustesch . Beichner-Verlag, Zurich 1955 (under the name Gerhard Rustesch).
• The heart becomes quieter and quieter . Steffen-Verlag, Limburg / Lahn 1951.
• In my city, in my country. Düsseldorf and the Lower Rhine; Poems . Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf 1968.
• With both hands. Poems and ballads . Vier Falken Verlag, Düsseldorf 1947.
• Smoke pebbles. Nonsense verses from the allotment of lusts . Argus-Verlag, Opladen 1973, ISBN 3-920337-08-5 (under the name GG Rustesch).
• Goals scored by someone else. interjections at a soccer game . Argus-Verlag, Opladen 1974, ISBN 3-920337-22-0 (under the name GG Rustesch).

prose

• In the rain that falls over Europe. Novel . Bourg-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1953 (under the name Georg Jontza).
• Rhenish archbishop stories . Limes-Verlag, Wiesbaden 1985, ISBN 3-8090-2230-6 .
• Two women. Eve and Germaine; Novel . Bourg-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1954 (under the name André Forban).

Non-fiction

• Bergische Castle Tour . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1971 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• Castles in and around Aachen . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1983, ISBN 3-87463--113-3 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• Castles in and around Düsseldorf . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1980, ISBN 3-87463-090-0 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• Castles in and around Krefeld . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1981, ISBN 3-87463-091-9 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• Castle tour through the Münsterland . Verlag Schwarze, Wuppertal 1975 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• Castle trip to the Lower Rhine . Verlag Schwarze, Wuppertal 1978 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• The development of the industrial folk on the Rhine and Ruhr especially in the mirror of contemporary literature . Dissertation, University of Bonn 1949.
• Through the Düsseltal to Düsseldorf . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1968 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• The big road from Aachen to Helmstedt . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1972 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• In the green land of the Niers . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1969 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• Churches and monasteries on the Lower Rhine . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1980, ISBN 3-87463-078-1 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• Koblenz and the Middle Rhine in old views . Verlag Kunst & Wohnen, Wuppertal 1981.
• Mercator . A biography . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1980, ISBN 3-87463-088-9 .
• Mönchengladbach. Kaleidoscope of an urban landscape . Verlag Schwarze, Wuppertal-Barmen 1974 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• The Münsterland in front of my door. Otto Pankok and the Droste . Otto Pankok Museum, Hünxe-Drevenack 1980 (one lecture).
• Lower Rhine Castle Tour . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1969 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• Romantic views of Rhenish cities and castles from Düsseldorf to Breisach . Verlag Schwarze, Wuppertal 1982.
• The Ruhr area in old cityscapes . Verlag Kunst & Wohnen, Wuppertal 1980.
• The Ruhr valley in Westphalia . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1969 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• The beautiful Ruhr . Verlag Schwarze, Wuppertal-Barmen 1969 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• The silent witnesses. Historic sites of the Lower Rhine . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1971 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• Unknown West Munsterland . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1977 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• Our Münsterland in color . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1983, ISBN 3-87463-101-X (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• The lower Ruhr valley. From Essen to Duisburg . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1970 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• From Brühl to Kranenburg. Castles, palaces, gates and towers that can be visited . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1979, ISBN 3-87463-074-9 (together with Eva Umscheid).
• From castle to castle through the Westerwald . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1982, ISBN 3-87463-107-9 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• From castle to castle through the Ruhr area . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1981

1. 1981, ISBN 3-87463-097-8 .
2. 1981, ISBN 3-87463-098-6 .

• From castle to castle on the Lower Rhine . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).

1. 1973.
2. 1980, ISBN 3-87463-076-5 .

• From castle to castle through the Eifel . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1976 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• From castle to castle in Westphalia . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1975 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• From castle to castle between Cologne and Aachen . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1979, ISBN 3-87463-117-6 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• From castle to castle between Cologne and Siegen . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1981, ISBN 3-87463-093-5 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• Westphalian Castle Tour . Mercator-Verlag, Duisburg 1968 (illustrated by Eva Umscheid).
• Winter in Viechtach . Büchner Verlag, Düsseldorf 1970 (under the name Sebastian Steegh; illustrated by Idelore Tettau).

Plays

• Brother death. a game in reality and dream . Buchner Verlag, Munich 1948 (amateur games; 48).
• Yesterday Today Tomorrow. An Advent and pre-Christmas game . Buchner-Verlag, Munich 1967.
• The captain and his servant. a passion play . Glock & Lutz publishing house, Nuremberg 1952 (Nuremberg Games; 54).
• The light over the dune. A game in five events . Höfling publishing house, Munich 1953.
• The red coat. an avowed game of young people . Don Bosco Verlag, Munich 1950.
• Door of grace. A young man game at Christmas time . Don Bosco Verlag, Munich 1951.
• People, your fires are burning again . NS-Theaterbund Bonn 1938
• The way to luck. A fairy tale game . Matthias Grünewald Verlag, Mainz 1950 (The game treasure chest; 54).
• The magic violin. A happy folk game . Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel 1949 (amateur games; 60).

As a processor

• The city of roses. Fairy tales of European countries . Publishing house of the European library, Bonn 1948.
• Nikolai Semjonowitsch Leskow : The foreign guest. Narrative game . Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel 1950 (amateur games; 87).
• Flag sayings , published by the war support service of the Hitler Youth in the Mainfranken area, Würzburg (Georg Graßer) 1944.

As editor

• Svend Fleuron : Our friends the animals. The most beautiful animal stories . Diederichs Verlag, Düsseldorf 1952.
• Land of our love. East German poems . Diederichs Verlag, Düsseldorf 1953 (German East; 8).
• East German ballads . Diederichs Verlag, Düsseldorf 1953 (German East; 9).

As translator

• Nico Jesse : Praise of the Riviera (“De Franse Rivera”). Büchner Verlag, Darmstadt 1957.
• Paul Julien : Campfire at the equator ("Kampvuren lang de evenaar"). Brockhaus Verlag, Wiesbaden 1950 (together with Leo Delfos).
• Adam Ważyk : A poem for adults. Verses that started the Warsaw uprising . Büchner Verlag, Darmstadt 1957 (together with Zbigniew Majewski).

Under the name of George Forestier

• As if my fingertips had eyes . Bläschke publishing house, Darmstadt 1972.
• Everyone is left alone at the end of the street. Selected poems . Argus-Verlag, Opladen 1974, ISBN 3-920337-16-6 .
• Report on the child, the coffin and the dog . Argus-Verlag, Opladen 1973, ISBN 3-920337-14-X .
• Biblical poems . Bechtle-Verlag, Munich 1968 (Bechtle-Lyrik; 16).
• Letters to a stranger . Büchner Verlag, Darmstadt 1955.
• Your face won't leave me New poems . Publishing house Gilles & Francke, Duisburg 1979.
• The women from the Rhine . Limes-Verlag, Wiesbaden 1987, ISBN 3-8090-2252-7 (under the name KE Krämer-Forestier)
• Collected poems . Bechtle-Verlag, Munich 1969.
• Glass shape and night railing . Bechlte-Verlag, Munich 1966.
• If I had the word that means truth. New poems . Limes-Verlag, Wiesbaden 1985, ISBN 3-8090-2228-4 .
• I write my heart in the dust of the road . Limes-Verlag, Wiesbaden 1986, ISBN 3-8090-2236-5 (reprint of the Düsseldorf edition 1952).
• Cain, Moses and others . Argus-Verlag, Opladen 1973, ISBN 3-920337-09-3 .
• Only the wind knows my name. New songs and poems . Büchner Verlag, Darmstadt 1961.
• Strong as death is night, is love . Diederichs Verlag, Düsseldorf 1954.
• Where is the freedom that you speak of . Orion-Heimreiter-Verlag, Heusenstamm / Offenbach 1974.

literature

• Düsseldorf City Library (ed.): Karl Emerich Krämer (Forestier) . Düsseldorf 1977 (Documentation by Düsseldorf authors; 20).

Individual evidence

1. ^ Karl Emerich Krämer: Flag sayings. Published by the war support service of the Hitler Youth in the Mainfranken area (39). Georg Graßer (print), Würzburg 1944.
2. ↑ UA on April 16, 1938 in the auditorium of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität

Web links

• Literature by and about Karl Emerich Krämer in the catalog of the German National Library
• http://www.freitag.de/autoren/der-freitag/brennend-heisser-wustensand
• BR-Online ( Memento from April 17, 2004 in the Internet Archive )