Wilhelmine Siefkes

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Wilhelmine Siefkes

Wilhelmine Siefkes (born January 4, 1890 in Leer ; † August 28, 1984 ibid), pseudonym Wilmke Anners , was a German writer primarily in Low German and was considered a Christian social democrat from East Frisia . She was also a literary translator from Dutch and West Frisian . Today the most important East Frisian prize for services to the Low German language ( Keerlke Prize ) is named after Siefke's fictional character "Keerlke".

Life

Wilhelmine Siefkes' family came from Leer and ran agriculture , but as a result of an accident in 1879, the father could no longer pursue the profession. In Leer she attended the Lyceum (today Teletta-Groß-Gymnasium ) from 1900 to 1910 , where she decided to become a teacher. Her first job was in rural Jemgum in 1910 . As a young teacher she found access to the Low German language and began to write. From 1917 Siefkes worked at a school in Leer. After the end of the First World War, the until then rather uncritical Siefkes began to participate more intensively in political events. It was mainly based on the ideas of social democracy . She was the companion of Hermann Tempel and Louis Thelemann. By dealing with the school children, Siefkes saw the poverty of the workers 'children and from then on worked alongside her work as a teacher and writer in workers' welfare and wrote for the Leeraner newspaper Volksbote . She was also increasingly active in the home movement and dealt with questions of religious philosophy.

In 1933 she was dismissed from school by the National Socialists and was banned from writing until 1945. Nevertheless Siefkes continued to publish fairy tale games under the pseudonym Wilmke Anners . In protest against a large number of Protestant pastors, who did not oppose the new regime, in 1933 she resigned from the Evangelical Lutheran Church and joined the Mennonites , to which she belonged until her death. In 1940, the Low German Keerlke manuscript, which she submitted anonymously, was awarded the Fehrs Prize.

After the Second World War , Siefkes did not resume her work as a teacher, but expanded her literary and cultural-political activities. In 1952 the High German novel Kasjen und Amke was published , which describes the life of a bog farmer . The years from 1949 to 1970 were her main creative phase, in which she wrote novels, poems, short stories and radio plays, among other things. Siefkes was primarily interested in the individual. A recurring theme in her stories was the existential problems of children and young people.

Over a decade after her death in 1984, a biography of Siefkes and her life's work was published, which has now reached its third edition.

Wilhelmine Siefkes Prize

In Siefkes' honor, the city of Leer awards the Wilhelmine Siefkes Prize, which is now endowed with € 2,500, every four years. It is awarded for "works that were created in East Frisia or have an East Frisian / regional topic as their content or deal with the interrelationships between East Frisia and other regions [...] The Low German language is of particular importance as a means of expression and / or as a topic. "

Prize winners:

Works (selection)

Still picture of Siefke's fictional character Keerlke in Leer

Siefke's work includes novels, short stories, poems and fairy tales. Her novel Keerlke , initially published anonymously, was awarded the Fehrs Prize in 1940.

Novels
  • Uda von der Mölen (1920)
  • Keerlke (1941)
  • Kasjen and Amke (1952)
  • Van de Padd of (1961)
  • Uwe from Leer (1959)
stories
  • Hear a little eegen (1922)
  • Rena in Königsmoor (1955)
  • Uke prevails (1957)
  • Tant 'Remda in Tirol un anner Vertellses (1964)
fairy tale
  • Dor was ins mol (1923; 1965)
Poetry
  • Tüschen Saat und Seise (1961)
Radio plays
Discography
  • Wilhelmine Siefkes tells "Tant 'Remda in Tirol" and "De Levenstiet"; Series of Low German Voices
  • Wilhelmine Siefkes reads from “Keerlke” and poems; Series of Low German Voices
  • Wilhelmine Siefkes, Low German Fairy Tales; Series of Low German Voices

literature

  • Heide Braukmüller: Wilhelmine Siefkes. About their life and their work. Leer 1996 1 , ISBN 3-927139-25-4
  • Erhard Brüchert: Wilhelmine Siefkes (1890–1984) . In: Angela Dinghaus (Ed.): Frauenwelten. Biographical-historical sketches from Lower Saxony. Hildesheim-Zurich-New York 1993, pp. 356-361.
  • Heinold Fast : ... and it's not you either. Wilhelmine Siefkes or: a contribution to the day of national mourning and eternity Sunday. In: Mennonite leaves, Hamburg, 1975

Web links

Commons : Wilhelmine Siefkes  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

swell

  1. ^ East Frisian landscape: Biographical lexicon for East Frisia
  2. ^ Wilhelmine Siefkes Prize. In: leer.de. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
personal data
SURNAME Siefkes, Wilhelmine
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Anners, Wilmke (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German writer in Low German
DATE OF BIRTH January 4, 1890
PLACE OF BIRTH Empty
DATE OF DEATH August 28, 1984
Place of death Empty