Walther von Hollander

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Walther von Hollander (born January 29, 1892 in Blankenburg (Harz) , † September 30, 1973 in Niendorf an der Stecknitz ) was a German writer . The narrator was also active in the field of partnership and life counseling and as a screenwriter .

Life

Walther was a member of the 1788 ennobled Riga noble family of Hollander . He was the son of a pastor and graduated from high school in 1910. From 1910-11 he studied at the universities of Berlin, Heidelberg, Jena and Munich economics , literature and philosophy and a doctorate in 1914 with 22 years in German to Dr. phil. He took part in the First World War from 1914 as an infantryman and officer in the field, from 1917/18 as an officer-reporter. After the war he worked in Munich as a publisher's editor at the Georg Müller publishing house, but was also active as a critic and an actor .

Later he worked briefly in Worpswede as a publisher of handprints (only one book was produced in 200 copies in the Hollander press) and finally came to Berlin in 1922, where he was promoted by Theodor Wolff , the then editor-in-chief of the Berliner Tageblatt , soon as lived freelance writer. Initially, Hollander worked in secondary jobs for a second-hand bookshop and the PEN Club , and later also for film and radio.

From 1939 Hollander lived in the manor house in Niendorf an der Stecknitz .

After the Second World War , the novelist increasingly appeared as a columnist and radio writer, but also as a radio presenter. He also wrote over 15 film scripts. In 1967 he received the Federal Cross of Merit, 1st Class. Since 1949 he was a member of the German Academy for Language and Poetry . After the Second World War, personalities such as Peter von Zahn , Axel Eggebrecht , Ray Heycock and Hugh Carlton Greene met in his mansion in Niendorf to discuss the development of the media system in Germany. Axel Springer made the decision to found the Axel Springer Verlag .

Walther von Hollander was married three times: to the translator Else Klawe (1914–1919), with whom he has a daughter; with the Viennese Mira Munk (1920-?) and with the gymnastics teacher Gertrud Markus (from 1924), with whom she has two daughters, Regina and Benita. Hollander left the radio in 1971 and died of a heart attack in 1973 .

plant

Hollander was primarily a narrator, although he also wrote essays, reviews, columns, and hugely successful non-fiction books. One of his first works was the circle of novellas Border of Fulfillment (1920).

novelist

In novels such as The Feverish House (1926), Therese Larotta (1939), Grass Is Growing Over It (1947) and As Nothing Had Happened (1951), he has repeatedly shown himself to be an author of stylish entertainment literature on marriage and family topics. The only exception to this style was the children's book Esbrennt der Stern . During the Third Reich not the NSDAP joined, it was still possible to release him, by its own account, because the NS - propaganda "took the cultured entertainment novel". In total, Hollander wrote over twenty novels.

Non-fiction author and advisor

His non-fiction books, such as the human panorama of fates bundled (1929), the educational book Der Mensch über Vierzig (1938) and Das Leben zu Zwei (1940) , were in the same subject area as his novels . The success prompted the writer, whose Berlin apartment was soon besieged by those seeking advice, to set up a consultation hour for partnership advice on Fridays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The weekly NDR broadcast What do you want to know? (1952–1971) and other non-fiction book publications such as Psychology of Wife (1962) consolidated Hollander's reputation as the “nation's marriage counselor”. Erwin Marcus continued Hollander's popular show until the end of 2000. Since 1949, von Hollander had a regular advice column in the magazine Hörzu under the title “Ask Ms. Irene”, which contributed significantly to the success of the program guide.

Screenwriter

Hollander also began writing his first film scripts in the 1930s. Well-known films at the time such as The Empress's Favorite (1936), Crooks in Tails (1937), Anna Favetti (1938), Comedians (1941) or the later Die Stronger (1953), Soldiers of Fortune (1956) and Love Can Be Like Poison (1958 ) come from his pen. He was also involved in the scripts of the legendary Schölermann family television series (from 1954).

literature

  • Werner Kayser: Walther von Hollander. (with an introduction by Günter Schab) (= Hamburger Bibliographien , Volume 14.) Christians, Hamburg 1971, ISBN 3-7672-0002-3 .
  • Ben Witter in conversation with Walther von Hollander: “You don't abuse an old man” . DIE ZEIT 38/1971, zeit.de
  • Review of Hollander's novel There is already grass growing over it . DER SPIEGEL No. 21/1948, spiegel.de

Web links