Michael Juergs

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Michael Juergs (2011)

Michael Jürgs (born May 4, 1945 in Ellwangen ; † July 5, 2019 in Hamburg ) was a German journalist and book author .

Life

Jürgs studied political science, history and German studies in Munich, but dropped out and instead volunteered at the Münchner Abendzeitung , for which he wrote during his studies. At the age of 23 he became head of the feature pages.

In 1973, Jürgs switched to the development department at Gruner and Jahr . In 1976 he became head of entertainment at Stern , and in 1986 its editor-in-chief (alongside Heiner Bremer ). In 1990 he was dismissed by Gerd Schulte-Hillen out of annoyance over the title headline "Should the Zonis stay where they are?"

From 1992 to 1994 he was editor-in-chief at Tempo . He also hosted the NDR Talk Show . Other non-fiction books and biographies followed. The Romy Schneider case became a bestseller ; his book about Axel Springer was made into a film (with Heiner Lauterbach ); the subject of his book about the " Christmas Peace " on the Western Front in 1914 , an unofficial armistice between Germans, French and British, was filmed with Benno Fürmann and Daniel Brühl under the title Merry Christmas .

Jürgs was the co-author of many TV documentaries and wrote for several newspapers. In 2004 he published a biography about Günter Grass , in which he also referred to his military service in the last months of the Second World War as a 17-year-old flak helper and soldier. Grass had not told him that he was a member of the Waffen SS. After Grass himself had disclosed his service with the Waffen-SS, Jürgs told the Tagesspiegel that this was “the end of a moral authority” and that he was personally disappointed in Günter Grass. In an updated version published in October 2007, Juergs claimed that the writer had volunteered for the Waffen SS. Grass took legal action against this and had this claim rejected as "adventurous". The injunction filed with the Berlin Regional Court against the publishing group Random House , to which the publishing house Goldmann Verlag belongs, was not decided, as Grass and Random House reached a settlement.

In October 2012 he wrote the biography about Nancy Wake (1912-2011). It bears the title Codename Hélène: Churchill's secret agent Nancy Wake and her fight against the Gestapo in France.

Michael Jürgs lived in Hamburg. In July 2018, he made public that he had cancer. He succumbed to pancreatic cancer on the night of July 5, 2019 at the age of 74 . He left behind his wife, with whom he was married for almost 50 years, and a son.

Honors

Bibliography (selection)

  • The trustee. How heroes and scoundrels sold the GDR. Droemer Knaur, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-426-77253-1 .
  • The Cleopatra plot. List, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-471-79376-3 .
  • Alzheimer. List, Tübingen 1999, ISBN 3-612-65110-2 .
  • I loved kissing the women. The Richard Tauber biography. List, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-471-79429-8 .
  • The publisher - the Axel Springer case. List, Tübingen 2001, ISBN 3-548-60188-X .
  • Citizen Grass: Biography of a German Poet. Goldmann, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-442-15291-7 .
  • The Little Peace in the Great War: Western Front 1914: when Germans, French and British celebrated Christmas together. Goldmann, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-442-15303-4 .
  • The day after - when life is no longer like it was yesterday overnight. Goldmann, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-442-15419-7 .
  • A touchable woman. The breathless life of the artist Eva Hesse. Bertelsmann, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-570-00929-1 .
  • Günter Grass. A German biography. Goldmann TB, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-442-15495-1 .
  • The Romy Schneider case. A biography. Ullstein, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-548-37217-4 .
  • How are you Germany? Populists. Profiteers. Patriots. A balance sheet of unity. Bertelsmann, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-570-00998-7 .
  • Shallow areas. Why we go crazy unrestrained. Bertelsmann, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-570-10009-7 .
  • BKA - The hunters of evil. Bertelsmann, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-570-10008-0 .
  • Code name Hélène: Churchill's secret agent Nancy Wake and her fight against the Gestapo in France. Bertelsmann, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-570-10142-1 .
  • Slave market Europe: the billion dollar business with human beings. Bertelsmann, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-570-10187-2 .
  • Who we were, who we are. How Germans experience their history. Bertelsmann. Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-570-10251-0 .
  • Yesterday we were still young. A declaration of love to exciting times. Bertelsmann. Munich 2017, ISBN 978-3-570-10296-1 .
  • Post mortem: What I experienced after my death and who I met in the afterlife. Bertelmann. Munich 2019, ISBN 978-3-570-10411-8 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Hanfeld : The restless. faz.net, May 4, 2015, accessed on May 4, 2015
  2. ↑ Who is Günter Grass? by Michael Jürgs, Tagesspiegel from August 13, 2006
  3. ↑ Controversy over Grass: "Wehrmacht did not automatically mean SS", © ZEIT online, Tagesspiegel | 11/24/2007
  4. ↑ Spiegel Online: COMPLAINT AGAINST SS REPEAL, Grass and Juergs agree on a settlement
  5. ↑ faz.net: Interview
  6. ↑ Codename Hélène: How Churchill's secret agent Nancy Wake fought against the Nazis in France. ( Memento of July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) On: arte.tv , October 16, 2012, accessed on June 7, 2014.
  7. ↑ Essay: Deadline - How Journalism Can Still Be Saved . ( handelsblatt.com [accessed September 23, 2018]).
  8. ↑ Stephan-Andreas Casdorff and Lorenz Maroldt : Obituary for Michael Jürgs: In the exercise of his calling , tagesspiegel.de, published and accessed on July 5, 2019.
  9. ↑ Michael Jürgs is dead , spiegel.de, July 5, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Juergs, Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German journalist and book author
DATE OF BIRTH May 4, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Ellwangen
DATE OF DEATH 5th July 2019
Place of death Hamburg