Steffen Möller

Steffen Möller (2020)

Steffen Möller (born January 22, 1969 in Wolfhagen ) is a German actor , cabaret artist and author who enjoys wide popularity in Poland .

Life

Steffen Möller is the son of Christian Möller , professor of Protestant theology at Heidelberg University , and his wife Sigrun, a religion teacher. He grew up with his two younger brothers in Wuppertal , where he graduated from high school and did his community service at the humanistic Wilhelm-Dörpfeld-Gymnasium , where he was also active in a school cabaret .

Möller then went to the Free University of Berlin to study theology and philosophy and also took Italian . He went to Krakow for a Polish language course . After completing his studies in Berlin, he moved permanently to Poland in 1994. There he was first a German teacher at the Warsaw high school Królowa Jadwiga ( Queen Hedwig ) and later a lecturer for German at the University of Warsaw . In his first years in Poland he also recorded several tapes for German textbooks.

In 2002 Möller reached second place in the national cabaret competition Paka in Krakow , which was to be the beginning of his further career in Poland. From 2002 to 2009 he played a German potato farmer named Stefan Müller in the popular TV series M jak miłość (“L for love”) , and in 2005 hosted the first season of Załóż się , the Polish version of Wetten, dass ..? and was a permanent guest of the show Europa da się lubić (“Europe lets itself be liked”), which was canceled in 2008 .

In 2006 his first book was published in Poland under the title Polska da się lubić (“Poland can be liked”), followed in 2008 by the German adaptation under the title Viva Polonia - As a German guest worker in Poland . With the stage program Viva Polonia - As a German guest worker in Poland , Steffen Möller performed over 300 times in Germany and Austria.

Since 2008 Möller has only appeared sporadically on Polish television. He has been living in Berlin since 2009, and according to his own admission, he has been commuting between the two capitals ever since.

Steffen Möller (2012)

In 2009 Vita Classica was published - Confessions of someone with a different hearing , in which Möller describes himself as a fan of classical music. In 2012 the second Polish book Expedition to the Poles was published . In the same year the last presentation of the corresponding live program took place. In 2013 and 2014 Möller only performed rarely. In 2015 Möller's subjective travel guide through Warsaw Viva Warszawa - Poland for advanced travelers was published . From 2015 to 2019 Möller performed his program “Viva Warszawa” in over 70 cities.

In August 2019 Möller's fifth book, Weronika, your man is there! - When Germans and Poles love each other , in which he reports on his conversations with over seventy German-Polish couples. He then went on a cabaret tour.

The book Viva Polonia

Möller's book Viva Polonia - As a German guest worker in Poland , published in February 2008, deals self-ironically with his experiences in the country and with the mentality of Poles since he found his adopted home there fourteen years earlier. The book is the heavily revised and expanded version of Polska da się lubić . A German version of the book was not originally planned as Möller suspected no interest from the Germans. The 50 keywords he describes in the book include superstition , conspiracy theories , Radio Maryja and taboos . In the Superstition chapter , the reader is given a list of 17 things to consider at a wedding. In PKP ( Polskie Koleje Państwowe ) Möller writes about his positive experiences with the Polish railways, which contradict the views of the Poles. At the beginning of the book, Möller describes his first encounter with Polish grammar in Krakow . So he suspected the pseudonym of a feminist behind "Ludwiga van Beethovena", while it is actually the genitive of Ludwig van Beethoven .

The book was on the Spiegel bestseller list for almost a year and sold over 300,000 times. While most reviewers emphasized the entertainment value and the contribution to international understanding, others criticize the superficial presentation of facts and the use of clichés.

honors and awards

2004: "Telecamera" in the category "Entertainment" (together with Kevin Aiston)

2004: "Wiktor" in the category "Discovery of the Year" (together with Anita Werner)

2005: Federal Cross of Merit for his services to German-Polish relations

2008: Citizens' Prize German Unity

2008: DIALOG Prize

2009: "Bene Merito" (Poland)

2012: LovelyBooks readers' award in the non-fiction / guidebook for expedition to the Poles category

2013: International Bridge Prize

2015: Richard von Weizsäcker Prize of the German National Foundation

Filmography

2002–2009 M jak miłość ("L for love")

2002 Kasia i Tomek ("Kasia and Tomek")

2003 Koniec wojny (" End of the War")

2003-2008 Europa da się lubić ("Europe lets itself be liked")

2005–2006 Załóż się ("Wetten dass")

2010 Poland for Beginners ( road movie , director: Katrin Rothe; with Kurt Krömer )

2012 Expedition to the Poles (live show + bonus material)

2012 Bigos Rap

2015 Viva Warszawa (The Song to the Book)

Works

Literature by and about Steffen Möller in the catalog of the German National Library
Polska da się lubić . Warsaw 2006, ISBN 83-245-1062-1 .
Niemiecki ze Steffenem , with Mariusz Kisielewski and Aneta Głowska. Warsaw 2007, ISBN 978-83-7476-147-5 .
Viva Polonia: as a German guest worker in Poland . Frankfurt am Main 2008, ISBN 978-3-502-15155-5 .
Viva Polonia . Audio book. Read by Steffen Möller. Argon Verlag, Berlin, ISBN 978-3-86610-558-4 .
Viva Polonia: Live in Berlin . Argon Verlag, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-86610-766-3 .
Vita Classica: Confessions of someone with a different hearing . Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-502-15168-5 .
Vita Classica . Audio book. Read by Steffen Möller. Argon Verlag, Berlin, ISBN 978-3-86610-844-8 .
Expedition to the Poles: A trip with the Berlin-Warszawa-Express . Malik Verlag, ISBN 978-3-89029-399-8 .
Expedition to the Poles: A journey with the Berlin-Warszawa-Express (audio CD). Osterwoldaudio, ISBN 978-3-86952-113-8 .
Viva Warszawa: Poland for advanced learners . Malik Verlag, ISBN 978-3-89029-459-9 , new edition Piper Verlag, 978-3-49230-900-4.
Weronika, your husband is here! When Germans and Poles love each other . Malik Publishing House. Munich 2019. ISBN 978-3-89029-518-3 .

Translator and editor

Piotr Wierzbicki: The flickering sound. Essay on Chopin's style . Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 2019, ISBN 978-3-447-11266-6 .

Trivia

Starting in 2003, Steffen Möller recorded the listening comprehension texts for the German Abitur subject every year for the Polish Ministry of Education. They will be played during the central German exams in May.