Siegfried Berger (writer)

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Siegfried Hermann Walther Berger (born December 20, 1891 in Merseburg , † March 27, 1946 in Halle (Saale) ) was a German writer and state politician .

Life

Siegfried Berger was the second son of the middle school teacher Hermann Berger (1863-1923), who also worked as a singing teacher at the Domgymnasium Merseburg , as cathedral cantor and director of the Merseburg Bach Society he founded, and his wife Hermine nee. Block born. He attended the Domgymnasium Merseburg, from which he said goodbye in 1911 with a self-confident high school graduation speech, and then studied philosophy, German, history and theology in Tübingen, Berlin, Halle (Saale) and Marburg. With his dissertation "About an unpublished science of JG Fichtes " he was awarded a Dr. phil. PhD in Marburg .

On April 1, 1922, Siegfried Berger finally became editor, then editor-in-chief at the Merseburg correspondent . He wrote z. Sometimes under the pseudonyms "Chronos" and "Montanus" not only articles about historical personalities, landscape-related cultural considerations and cultural-political topics of the day, but also came out with his own stories and descriptions and stood up humorous for the local dialect ("Merscheborcher Babeleien von Baul by dr Saole ”). In addition, he promoted young talents such as the young Walter Bauer (1904–1976).

Berger established friendly contacts early on with Erhard Hübener as a member of the German Democratic Party (DDP), who later became the first Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt. On May 1, 1927, Hübener appointed Siegfried Berger to the civil service as governor of the Prussian province of Saxony. Initially, Berger was his scientific assistant, in February 1928 he was elected to the state council for 12 years by the 43rd state parliament of the province of Saxony. His tasks included the press, institutional welfare, the support of the aid department for finances and cultural maintenance. In this function, Berger was the governor's delegate in numerous committees for the maintenance of landscape culture. For example, the maintenance of the Goethe Theater in Bad Lauchstädt in the 1930s is largely due to him.

After the National Socialists came to power in 1933, some of his political writings were banned. Due to his excellent administrative knowledge, he was able to remain in the civil service despite his democratic convictions. He managed to devote himself mainly to the field of cultural maintenance. So in 1938, with skillfully acquired funding from Governor Kurt Otto, he published the book From the Province of Saxony by Louise von Francois with a knowledgeable epilogue and in 1939 the bibliophile edition "Die Merseburger Zaubersprüche ", dedicated himself to Leopold von Ranke and remained active as a writer.

After the end of the Second World War he was involved in the founding of the cultural association for the democratic renewal of Germany and became its first chairman in Saxony-Anhalt . At that time, Berger was one of the most widely read contemporary writers in Saxony-Anhalt, who was able to rely on his loyal publishing house dealer Helmut Schoepke (Friedrich Stollberg publishing house in Merseburg) even during the Nazi era .

In 1945 Siegfried Berger was appointed president of the administrative district of Merseburg in the province of Halle-Merseburg . During the rebuilding of the supra-local administrative organization and a new cultural beginning, he ruined his already impaired health and died, only 54 years old, on March 27, 1946. The funeral service took place in Merseburg Cathedral with overwhelming sympathy.

Honors

  • Appointment as canon and member of the Merseburg cathedral chapter
  • Name of the secondary school in Merseburg
  • Naming of a street in Merseburg
  • Naming of a street in the Berlin district of Koepenick
  • Designation of a hall in the Merseburg Ständehaus

Works

  • The probationary year. A cheerful candidate and small town story , Merseburg 1924
  • The master's dream. For the 550th anniversary of the cathedral high school in Merseburg, June 27, 1925 , Merseburg 1925
  • The silver couple. A delightful story from Kaffeesachsen , Bad Pyrmont u. a. 1925
  • Conflagration. Historical narrative , Merseburg 1925
  • Holy Sacrifice , Bad Pyrmont u. a. 1926
  • Professor Dr. Wilhelm Bithorn , Bad Pyrmont a. a. 1927
  • Uta and the blind man , Merseburg 1931
  • Castle stories , Bad Pyrmont, 1932
  • Shine over a small town. A history of hussars, petty bourgeoisie and grand dukes , Merseburg 1934
  • The brave feet. Novellas , Merseburg 1935
  • Chimneys grow in the country , Merseburg 1938
  • The Glockner ride. Story, Merseburg 1941
  • The King and the Singer , 1942
  • Regine and the ancestors , Leipzig 1943
  • The rude raven , Merseburg 1946
  • The illustrious bones , Gütersloh 1946

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Erhard Hübener: Life circles. Apprenticeship and wandering years of a prime minister . Ed .: Thomas Klein. Böhlau Verlag, Cologne and Vienna 1984, ISBN 3-412-05483-6 .
  2. ^ René Schmidt: Euphrosyne and Lauchstädt - Siegfried Berger and Goethe's Theater. In: Sachsen-Anhalt-Journal, issue 4-2017. Landesheimatbund Sachsen-Anhalt eV, December 11, 2017, accessed on February 6, 2020 .
  3. ^ Siegfried Berger - Lebensdaten , on: merseburg.de, accessed on November 19, 2017.
  4. ↑ Jürgen Goydke: Saale-Unstrut-Yearbook 2008 . Edited by Saale-Unstrut-Association for Cultural History and Natural History e. V., Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle (Saale) 2008. ISBN 978-3-89812-556-7 .
  5. ↑ Hans-Martin Pleßke: Yes to life is the content of all art. A Siegfried Berger reading book . Ed .: Literaturbüro Sachsen-Anhalt eVi V. md Landesheimatbund Sachsen-Anhalt eV projekte verlag 188, Halle (Saale) 2000, ISBN 3-931950-26-3 .
personal data
SURNAME Berger, Siegfried
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Berger, Siegfried Hermann Walther (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German writer and local politician
DATE OF BIRTH December 20, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Merseburg
DATE OF DEATH March 27, 1946
Place of death Halle (Saale)