Ruth Kraft

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Ruth Kraft at the 7th Writers' Congress, Berlin 1973

Ruth Kraft ( pseudonym for Ruth Bussenius ; born February 3, 1920 in Schildau , Torgau district ; † July 8, 2015 in Berlin ) was a German writer .

Life

Memorial plaque in her place of birth

Ruth Kraft was born as the daughter of a businessman in the Prussian province of Saxony (now the Free State of Saxony ). Her grandparents, and later her parents, ran an iron and grocery store. The grandfather was a co-founder of the Sparkasse in Schildau. After attending the Katharina von Bora Lyceum Torgau for two years - albeit without a degree - she completed a commercial apprenticeship , then worked as an accountant and was supposed to take over her parents' business. In 1938 she joined the NSDAP .

She avoided the unwanted entry into her parents' business with her notice of employment on March 1, 1940 as a civilian employee - technical computer in the aerodynamics department of the Peenemünde Army Research Institute . In 1943 she switched to the social sector and became a civilian employee of the Stettin military district command . With the advance of the Eastern Front, it was also moved further to the west of Germany and landed in Rendsburg in May 1945 .

After the end of the war, Ruth Kraft made her way home, began to write and had worked for the youth radio of the Leipzig broadcaster of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk since spring 1946 . Here she got her first literary commissions for youth, school radio and children's programs. In addition to working for several radio stations (Sender Halle, Sonntagskinder-Berlin), a whole series of children's books were produced from 1946 to 1953 .

Ruth Kraft married the radio director and actor Hans Bussenius in 1949 , with whom she had a son René in 1951 and a daughter Ines in 1955. After his appointment as a lecturer in DEFA's dramaturgy , the family moved to Potsdam-Babelsberg in 1953 . She also owned a holiday home in Ahrenshoop . However, due to her relationship with a Leipzig poet, Kraft's relationship with her husband cooled down. She later lived in Zeuthen for over 40 years until 2008 .

Kraft's work includes novels , picture books (e.g. illustrated by Fritz Baumgarten ), books for children and young people , screenplays and radio plays .

In her novel "Insel ohne Leuchtfeuer", she critically processed her experiences and experiences from Peenemünde between 1940 and 1943 and also describes a number of historical people without explicit naming: Wernher von Braun as "Doctor", Walter Dornberger as "General", Hermann Oberth as "Professor", Rudolf Hermann as "Dr. Klemt ”and Hanna Reitsch as“ Carla Winter ”. In addition to the "doctor", there are other, individually sharper-drawn, scientist characters who are faced with the question of their responsibility in this novel. In her second book, “Menschen im Gegenwind” (1965), this basic idea is developed against the background of West German arms production. The Janus face of science is thus a central subject in Kraft's novels.

From the seventies on, she wrote mainly on contemporary issues. In 2000 she was invited to a reading at the University of Alabama , Huntsville , USA. The Förderverein Peenemünde eV granted her honorary membership on April 2, 2007.

In 1946 she became a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPD) of the Soviet zone of occupation ; from 1963 she belonged to the central executive committee of this party. From 1974 she was a member of the GDR Peace Council . Kraft was a member of the GDR Writers' Association and was a member of its board. She received u. a. The following awards: 1967 Theodor Fontane Prize of the Potsdam district , 1969 the Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze, 1974 the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver and 1985 the Literature Prize of the Democratic Women's Association of Germany and the Star of Friendship of Nations in silver.

Ruth Kraft was made an honorary citizen by her native Schildau. She died on the morning of July 8, 2015 at the age of 95 after a brief serious illness in Berlin, where she had last lived. Her urn was, according to her wish, buried in the Schifferfriedhof Ahrenshoop , on the grave of her late husband Hans Bussenius.

Works

  • Turnips, juices and crystals , Halle (Saale) 1950
  • Lutz and Frosch and what they are all called , Berlin 1952
  • The Schildbürgerbuch from 1598 , Rostock 1953 (together with Fritz Koch-Gotha ) (new edition: ISBN 3-356-00052-7 )
  • All sorts of animals , Leipzig 1954 (together with Fritz Baumgarten )
  • Janni in front of the microphone , Berlin 1954
  • Animals from forest and field , Leipzig 1954 (together with Fritz Baumgarten)
  • Tips and Tapps , Leipzig 1956 (together with Fritz Baumgarten)
  • My favorite animals , Leipzig 1957 (together with Fritz Baumgarten)
  • Flick and Flock , Leipzig 1958 (together with Fritz Baumgarten)
  • Animals of Homeland , Leipzig 1958 (together with Fritz Baumgarten)
  • Island without a beacon , Berlin 1959
  • Usch and Thomas an der See , Leipzig 1960 (together with Albrecht Ehnert)
  • Usch and Thomas in the summer camp , Leipzig 1961 (together with Albrecht Ehnert)
  • In the stable and on the pasture , Leipzig 1961 (together with Renate Zürner)
  • At the pond and on the meadow , Leipzig 1963 (together with Renate Zürner)
  • Usch and Thomas in the Toy Land , Leipzig 1963 (together with Albrecht Ehnert)
  • People in the headwind , Berlin 1965
  • Granted love , Berlin 1970
  • Dreams in the luggage , Berlin 1972
  • Solo for Martina , Berlin 1978
  • Restless summer , Berlin 1979
  • The art of receiving women , Berlin 1983
  • Departure to the source , Berlin 1995 (together with Marianne Motz)
  • Living from scratch , autobiography . Vision, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-928787-18-7 .

Editing

literature

  • Gerd Tiedke: Farewell to “PEE”: a snapshot of the life of the writer Ruth Kraft . Engelsdorfer, Leipzig / Berlin / Usedom 2011, ISBN 978-3-86268-293-5 .

Web links

Commons : Ruth Kraft  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Winand von Petersdorff: Inflation and other shocks: Ruth Kraft-Bussenius is 91 years old. In her long life she went through six currencies. The euro crisis can no longer scare someone like that, in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, December 25, 2011, pages 34–35
  2. ↑ Harry Waibel : Servants of many masters. Former Nazi functionaries in the Soviet Zone / GDR. Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main et al. 2011, ISBN 978-3-631-63542-1 , pp. 181-182.
  3. ↑ a b c Klaus Felgentreu: The honorary members of the Peenemünde friends' association. In: Förderverein Peenemünde. Retrieved January 17, 2020 .
  4. ^ A b Walter Kaufmann: Unknown acquaintances. Ruth Kraft (Ahrenshoop, 1963) . In: New Germany . September 15, 2018, ISSN  0323-3375 , p. 10 .
  5. ^ Hans-Georg Schrader: Friends of literature. (PDF; 2.0 MB) Zeuthen Municipality, May 12, 2010, p. 2 , accessed on January 17, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Tanja Kasischke: Grande Dame yes, Queen no. In: Märkische Allgemeine . October 2, 2010, accessed January 17, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Ruth Kraft: Peenemünde encounters. (PDF; 102 kB) In: Missile Specialists. April 9, 2011, accessed January 17, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Horst H. Lehmann: Your top priority: responsibility. For the 80th birthday of the writer Ruth Kraft. In: New Germany. February 3, 2000, accessed January 17, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Personalities (honorary citizens). In: Museum of the Shield Citizens - City of Belgern-Schildau. Retrieved January 17, 2020 .
  10. ^ Gerd Tiedke: Writer Ruth Kraft died in Berlin , Torgauer Zeitung , July 8, 2015
  11. ↑ Gerd Tiedke: In Memoriam Ruth Kraft , Torgauer Zeitung , TZ-Spezial, 11./12. July 2015, accessed July 16, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Kraft, Ruth
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bussenius, Ruth
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German writer
DATE OF BIRTH February 3, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Schildau
DATE OF DEATH July 8, 2015
Place of death Berlin