Karl Ernst Laage

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Karl Ernst Laage (born June 9, 1920 in Kiel ; † July 11, 2017 in Husum ) was a German literary scholar and biographer . He studied Latin , German and Slavic and is considered one of Theodor Storm's most renowned experts . From 1956 on he worked as a teacher for almost 30 years (most recently as director of the Hermann Tast School in Husum) before becoming an honorary professor at Kiel University in 1985 . Initially as secretary, later as president, the Husum honorary citizen was also a member of the Theodor Storm Society since 1965 . Starting in 1972, Laage and the poet's descendants built the Storm Museum and, at the same time, the now internationally renowned Storm Archive in Husum.

Life

The first points of contact with Theodor Storm already existed in childhood. For example, father Carl regularly read to his son from Storm's “Little Häwelmann”. And as a boy, Laage always raged around the poet's grave, "which was exactly opposite my grandparents' house". But he didn't know who this Storm was. In general, Karl Ernst Laage had other professional interests and actually wanted to become an architect. And so it might have happened if the Second World War had n't thrown everything upside down.

After graduating from high school and beginning studies in Kiel, Laage took part in the Russian campaign . As a lieutenant and battery leader of the 3./AR 66, a unit of the 30th Infantry Division , he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on November 26, 1944 at the age of 24 . After the fighting for Kurland , he went into Soviet captivity for five years on May 8, 1945, the day of the unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht .

But the imprisonment, which Laage dealt with in his own book many years later, also led to a new encounter with Storm. After he complained that there was nothing to read in the camp, a Russian family gave him Ivan Turgenev's “Weschnije Vody” (Spring Waves), and Laage discovered similarities with Storm's “Immensee” novella: his research ambition was awakened.

But first it was necessary to survive: after the hard years of war in Russia, another five years of forced labor in a construction battalion in Moscow and Tver . When he returned home in 1950, he had not only discovered literature, but also the Russian folk soul. And it was completely different from what the Nazi propaganda had given the soldiers. From now on he campaigned for a differentiated view of Russia and its people.

Back in the university seminar, the 30-year-old continued his interrupted teacher training course for German and Latin and joined the old language grammar school in Husum in 1956 as a study assessor. In 1985 he retired there as senior director of studies. This was his first professional calling - that of a "passionate teacher," as he said. For another ten years he taught as an honorary professor at the University of Kiel and regularly invited people to a literature course at the Husum Adult Education Center.

Storm research

Coincidence once again helped to in-depth Storm studies: The Turgenev topic was not forgotten, but there was no time for own research. In the meantime, however, his father, Carl, had become the secretary of the young Storm Society, and his cand. Phil. gladly consulted on technical questions. The young Laage gradually became an expert: in 1966 he followed his father to the post of secretary, was able to publish the fundamental study on Storm and Turgenev in 1967 and was also in the international spotlight: 1967 was the 150th anniversary of the poet's birthday, the Husum Symposium this became the new secretary's baptism of fire. In the course of these 25 years of activity, the society grew from 200 to 1500 members, acquired Storm's house and expanded it into a museum and research archive.

In doing so, Laage took advantage of the good contacts with the poet's grandchildren, especially Elisabeth Spethmann . The inconspicuous manuscript that she gave him one day turned into the most spectacular latest contribution to Storm research under his editorship - a ghost book! Like the Brothers Grimm their fairy tales, the young poet had been collecting haunted stories from the people, friends and colleagues for a book since 1843. The publication failed in the turmoil of the liberation struggle for Schleswig-Holstein, in the course of which Storm had to flee to Potsdam. The manuscript was forgotten. It was not until 2011 that Laage was able to publish the “New Ghost Book” (Boyens Verlag, Heide 2011), one of more than 20 books that Laage published about “his” poet.

In 2012, on the 40th anniversary of the Storm House, he told the story of the house and museum. He had further plans well into old age: “The person Theodor Storm had to be researched further. That was a very difficult character, ”said Laage.

Effects

The impetus that Laage, who was born in Kiel in 1920 and died on July 11, 2017, and who actually wanted to become an architect and became a teacher in Husum after the war, gave Storm research the impetus, is not least demonstrated by the edition of his work that he and Dieter Lohmeier in 1988 , on the 100th anniversary of the author's death, was published by Deutscher Klassiker Verlag and has been the reference edition ever since.

Laage has published numerous essays and books on Storm. Now, for the poet's 200th birthday, a volume has been published that bundles 25 older and completely new works by Laage and has inadvertently become a kind of legacy.

Ten years earlier, Laage had submitted a narrow volume to Erich Schmidt Verlag, also with essays on Theodor Storm, but taking a completely different path in terms of content. The subtitle “New documents, new perspectives” of this earlier volume is to be taken literally, after all, on just over a hundred pages, there are a total of 35 previously unpublished letters, not to mention files and other archive material. In 2007, however, mainly individual to special aspects of the poet's biography were examined, such as his legal work on the island of Nordstrand or his "Sylt Novelle", which has unfortunately remained a fragment, the now presented anthology is aimed at an audience that is interested in the author, but would like to approach without a scholarly claim.

Laage reports on Storm's school days in Lübeck as well as on his professional beginnings as a young lawyer in Husum, he emphasizes the immense role that the author's exile in Heiligenstadt in Thuringia plays for his view of his homeland and the writing about it. Laage's special love goes to the locations in Husum that are connected to Storm, the preserved ones as well as the ones that have since been demolished, and Laage's grief over the loss of the latter is shared.

Appreciations

“Husum is very proud of its honorary citizen, who has rendered outstanding services to the city and the general public. Professor Laage is the best proof that work keeps the mind young and alert. ”Uwe Schmitz, Mayor

“With his great life's work, Prof. Laage freed the poet Theodor Storm from being taken over by a provincial and backward-looking local art and made it visible again in the context of world literature to which he belongs - from the early works on Storm and Turgenev to the exemplary new edition by Thomas Mann's Storm essay to the books about the traveling, the political, the contemporary Storm. And he did all of this in a language that conveys his insights to all curious readers just as vividly as to his scientific colleagues. " Heinrich Detering , President of the Theodor Storm Society

“Many inspiring books on Theodor Storm are thanks to Karl Ernst Laage. Above all, the Storm Center in the Wasserzeile would not exist without his great dedication, especially not in this form: An excellent reason to take a long journey to Husum. " Tilman Spreckelsen , Theodor Storm Prize Winner 2014 .

Publications (in selection)

  • Theodor Storm and Iwan Turgenjew , Heide: Boyens 1967.
  • Thomas Mann : Theodor Storm Essay . Edited and commented by Karl Ernst Laage, Heide: Boyens 1996.
  • On the way with Theodor Storm: A literary travel guide , Heide: Boyens 2002.
  • With Storm at every turn. Travel guide through Husum and North Friesland , Heide: Boyens 2006.
  • Searching for traces in Moscow and Tver. Memories of people, buildings and labor camps , Berlin: Zeitgut 2006.
  • Theodor Storm - New documents, new perspectives. With 35 unpublished letters (Husum Contributions to Storm Research (HuB), Volume 6) , Berlin: Erich Schmidt 2007.
  • Theodor Storm. Life and work . 8th, expanded and revised edition. Husum 2007, ISBN 978-3-88042-650-4 .
  • Russia - yesterday and today. Personal encounters , Heide: Boyens 2009.
  • The seagull is now flying to the lagoon. In Theodor Storm's footsteps . Ellert & Richter, Hamburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-8319-0379-5 .
  • Theodor Storm's “New Ghost Book”. Contributions to the history of the spook , Heide: Boyens 2012.
  • Theodor Storm. The poet and his house , Heide: Boyens 2012.
  • Theodor Storm private , Heide: Boyens 2013.
  • Theodor Storm. A biography , Heide: Boyens 2014.
  • Encounters with Theodor Storm , Heide: Boyens 2015.
  • Theodor Storm on his 200th birthday. Articles, studies, documents , Heide: Boyens 2017, ISBN 978-3-8042-1460-6 .

literature

  • Gerd Eversberg (Ed.): Stormlektüren. Festschrift for Karl Ernst Laage on the occasion of his 80th birthday , Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann 2000.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://www.verlagsgruppe.de/laage-karl-ernst.html
  2. ↑ Heinz Eduard Tödt : Risk and Fortune. Beginnings of a theological biography , Münster: LIT 2012, p. 246 f.
  3. ^ Karl Ernst Laage: Searching for traces in Moscow and Tver. Memories of people, buildings and labor camps , Berlin: Zeitgut 2006; ders .: Russia - yesterday and today. Personal encounters , Heide: Boyens 2009.
  4. ^ Karl Ernst Laage: Theodor Storm and Iwan Turgenjew , Heide: Boyens 1967.
  5. ^ Karl Ernst Laage: Theodor Storm. The poet and his house , Heide: Boyens 2012.
  6. ↑ https://rotary.de/der-dichter-und-sein-redakteur-a-614.html ; see also: Rüdiger Otto von Brocken: A life for Storm and literature ; created on June 8, 2015 - source: https://www.shz.de/9908221 © 2017.
  7. ^ Karl Ernst Laage: Theodor Storm for his 200th birthday. Articles, studies, documents , Heide: Boyens 2017.
  8. ↑ Tilman Spreckelsen : The Immense Lake? Right in front of Fontane's nose , FAZ article from July 19, 2017
  9. ↑ Source: https://www.shz.de/9908221 © 2017
personal data
SURNAME Laage, Karl Ernst
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German literary scholar and biographer
DATE OF BIRTH June 9, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Kiel
DATE OF DEATH 11th July 2017
Place of death Husum