Willi Wottreng

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Willi Wottreng (born October 27, 1948 in Kreuzlingen ) is a Swiss writer and journalist . His work focuses on everyday culture , criminal history and people on the fringes of society.

Life

Wottreng attended the Freudenberg Cantonal School in Zurich from 1961 to 1967 and graduated with an old-language Matura . He then began studying history at the University of Zurich . In 1971 he completed his studies as a Magister Artium at the University of Marburg in philosophy , political science and history.

During his studies, Wottreng became editor of the newspaper Zürcher Student and member of the board of the Association of Swiss Student Associations VSS. He was an activist of the 1968 movement and later a functionary of the Maoist small party Communist Party of Switzerland / Marxist-Leninists (KPS / ML).

Wottreng worked from 1971 to 1978 as a teacher for general subjects at the trade school in Zurich and in 1979 opened a bookshop for workers' literature.

In 1987 Wottreng began to write again and became the sole editor of the customer magazine for the Swiss Federal Railways ' Bahnhofblatt . In 1993 he entered the press office terms , where he wrote as a freelance journalist for various items Swiss papers. From 1994 to 1998 he also worked at the press office of the University of Zurich and, in the role of editor, helped develop the Uni-Report magazine , which received an award from the Swiss Academy of Sciences in 1998.

In 1997 he switched to Weltwoche , where he was in charge of the Forum , Extra and Inland departments . The employment at Weltwoche was terminated in 2001 by Roger Köppel, who was newly appointed editor-in-chief . In 2002 Wottreng joined NZZ am Sonntag as an editor in the Background and Opinions section ; he mainly wrote obituaries , a selection of which appeared in book form. In a review of Wottreng's work, the paper wrote in 2013: "With this section in the NZZ am Sonntag he introduced the Anglo-Saxon tradition of obituary, the obituary, as a genre of text in Swiss journalism."

From 2000 to 2017 Wottreng was a board member of the Society for Minorities in Switzerland .

Since October 1, 2014, he has been the managing director of the Radgenossenschaft der Landstrasse , the umbrella organization of the Yeniche and Sinti in Switzerland. In this capacity, in 2015 he was co-initiator of the petition for the “Recognition of the Yenish and Sinti as national minorities and their naming according to the self-designation of the minorities”, which was answered with approval by the Federal Council and in 2016 led to the recognition of the Yenish and Sinti as a national minority . Wottreng describes his own origins from the “milieu of the German gypsies” in the Hungarian Banat , which today belongs to Serbia , in a publication entitled “Gray spots in family stories”.

The book author Wottreng is a member of the German-Swiss Pen Center. As a former 68er, Wottreng is one of the protagonists in the documentary film “My Generation” by the director Veronika Minder , 2012. As an artist in the field of acrylic painting and plastic (masked objects) Wottreng figures in the Swiss Lexicon of Art by Sikart.

Literary work

In 2015 Wottreng's first novel («Lülü») was published. His second novel (“Because they believed in it”, 2017) deals with the subject of the aging sixty-eight. In 2018 his third novel “Deskaheh - An Iroquois on Lake Geneva” was published by Bilgerverlag with the addition “A true story”.

Effects

The subjects that Wottreng takes up regularly lead to debates or are further interpreted by other cultural workers:

  • With his book “Hirnriss” (1999) he initiated a public debate about coercive measures in psychiatry and the work of the psychiatrists Auguste Forel and Eugen Bleuler at the Burghölzli psychiatric clinic in Zurich.
  • His book "The Millionaire and the Painter" led to the public recognition of the patrician Lydia Welti-Escher as a patron of the arts; Wottreng gave the laudation in the Kunsthaus Zürich at the christening of a nearby square in her honor. The writer Lukas Hartmann explains in the epilogue to the novel "A Picture of Lydia" that Wottreng, with his work on Welti Escher, was one of three authors who "inspired" him.
  • The book "Deubelbeiss & Co" served as the basis for a play by the Theater am Bahnhof in Reinach AG - at one of the crime scenes of this criminal incident . A gangster film based on the book “Deubelbeiss & Co” has been announced.
  • The book “Farinet” was the basis for a theater production in 2010 in the open-air museum Ballenberg about the counterfeiter Farinet . The reciter Franziskus Abgottspon and the musician Helena Rüegg realized an interpretation as a ballad.
  • Wottreng's book about rock boss Tino served as the basis for Adrian Winkler's film, “Tino - Frozen Angel”, which premiered in 2014 at the Solothurn Film Festival.
  • His book "Lady Shiva" gave an "impetus" to the creation of the film "Glow", as the film's credits were used, and contributed to the research of director Gabriel Baur.

Honors

Exhibitions

  • 1991 - GDR - German decorative remnants , exhibition on everyday culture in the GDR, in the Kunsthaus Oerlikon , Zurich
  • 1992 - Art of survival , co-curator, exhibition of Zurich artists, in the civil defense facility Antoniusschacht, Zurich
  • 2002 - Nomads in Switzerland , exhibition with photos by Urs Walder about Yeniche , in the Zurich city hall
  • 2005 - zunderobsi - Revolutionary Zurich residents , historical exhibition with designer Heinz Kriesi in the Zurich City Hall
  • 2008 - criminal - Zurich criminal history as a mirror of its time , exhibition with designer Heinz Kriesi in the Zurich city hall
  • 2011 - Zurich in motion - A city history in pictures , exhibition with designer Heinz Kriesi in the Zurich city hall
  • 2013 - Der Arbeiter-Kaiser , August Bebel 1840–1913, exhibition in the Friedhofs-Forum of the City of Zurich
  • 2015 - Scribble sketches - When the hand thinks , co-curator, exhibition in the Forum Schlossplatz Aarau
  • 2016 - Your unknown neighbors - The Yeniche and the Sinti , traveling exhibition of the Radgenossenschaft der Landstrasse, with the designer Heinz Kriesi and the illustrator Markus Roost
  • 2019 - Small world stories on linen , exhibition with acrylic paintings by Willi Wottreng in the cultural space of the Letzibades Zurich ("Max-Frisch-Bad"), curated by Sascha Serfözö

Books (selection)

  • Contemporary (autobiography), self-published, 1988 (Zurich Central Library, etc.)
  • Brain rupture. How the psychiatrists August Forel and Eugen Bleuler wanted to save the human race. Weltwoche-Verlag, 1999, ISBN 3-85504-177-6 . (On the history of forced psychiatry in Zurich)
  • A single race of immigrants. The history of immigration to Switzerland. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 2000, ISBN 3-280-02652-0 .
  • Tino - king of the underground. The wild years of the youngsters and rockers. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 2002, ISBN 3-280-02821-3 . (Biography of the Hells Angels founder Martin Schippert )
  • The millionaire and the painter. The tragedy of Lydia Welti-Escher and Karl Stauffer-Bern . Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 2005, ISBN 3-280-06049-4 .
  • Small world stories - 100 obituaries. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 2006, ISBN 3-280-06071-0 .
  • Deubelbeiss & Co - How a gangster duo terrified Switzerland. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 2007, ISBN 978-3-280-06095-7 . Completely revised new edition: "Deubelbeiss", Elster-Verlag, Zurich 2017, ISBN 978-3-906065-99-1 .
  • Zurich, Langstrasse - Vivarium 4 . With photos by Stefan Süess, Walkwerk, Zurich 2008, ISBN 978-3-905863-02-4 .
  • Farinet . The fantastic life story of the Swiss counterfeiter, who was bigger dead than alive. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 2008, ISBN 978-3-280-06113-8 . (Biography of a counterfeiter)
  • Crime in the big city. Child murderer, impostor, drug dealer - a crime story in the city of Zurich. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 2009, ISBN 978-3-280-06118-3 .
  • Gypsy chief. From the child of the country road to the spokesman for travelers - the fate of Robert Huber . Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 2010, ISBN 978-3-280-06121-3 . (History of the Yenish President of the Bicycle Cooperative)
  • Zurich moves. A city history in pictures. (Photo and text book) Elster-Verlag, Zurich 2011, ISBN 978-3-907668-86-3 and ISBN 978-3-907668-87-0 .
  • Lady Shiva. Departure on high heels. Elster-Verlag, Zurich 2013, ISBN 978-3-906065-05-2 . (Portrait of a legendary prostitute from the 1970s)
  • Lydia Welti-Escher. A woman in the Belle Epoque. Elster-Verlag, Zurich 2014, ISBN 978-3-906065-22-9 .
  • Lülü. (A novel, a rogue story), Bilger-Verlag, Zurich 2015, ISBN 978-3-03762-049-6 .
  • Can really spin once. The artist masked ball in Zurich. (Picture and text book), Elster-Verlag, Zurich 2015, ISBN 978-3-906065-35-9 .
  • Because they believed in it. (Novel about the aging sixty-eight), Bilger-Verlag, Zurich 2017, ISBN 978-3-03762-065-6 .
  • Gray spots in family stories. (Subtitle: Two studies on Jenic milieus in the early modern period), Chalamala-Verlag, Zurich 2018, ISBN 978-3-033-06675-5 .
  • An Iroquois on Lake Geneva. (Subtitle: A true story), Bilger-Verlag, Zurich 2018, ISBN 978-3-03762-073-1 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Little World Stories - 100 Obituaries. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 2006, ISBN 3-280-06071-0
  2. ^ Felix E. Müller, in: NZZ am Sonntag , October 27, 2013
  3. ↑ GMS Newsletter, No. 26, August 2017
  4. ↑ Radgenossenschaft website. Accessed March 23, 2015
  5. ^ Willi Wottreng: Gray spots in family stories . Two studies on Jenic milieus in the early modern period. In it: «European history from below and from the edge. A family saga leads to Hungary and Lorraine », pp. 47–110. “Milieu of the German Gypsies” deals with p. 87. Zurich 2018, ISBN 978-3-033-06675-5
  6. ↑ http://www.pen-dschweiz.ch/de/Über+uns#open_W
  7. ↑ cobrafilm.ch ( Memento of the original from March 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cobrafilm.ch
  8. ↑ http://www.sikart.ch/kuenstlerinnen.aspx?id=11982980
  9. ↑ [1] Deskaheh on the homepage of the Bilger Verlag, accessed on July 29, 2018
  10. ↑ See: Zurich City Councilor Monika Stocker : Foreword. in: Thomas Huonker: Diagnosis: "Morally defective". Castration, sterilization and racial hygiene in the service of Swiss social policy and psychiatry, 1890–1970. Orell-Füssli-Verlag, Zurich 2003, ISBN 3-280-06003-6 .
  11. ↑ See: Gesellschaft zu Fraumünster : New Year's Gazette for 2009, Third Piece, "Lydia Welti-Escher", Zurich 2008.
  12. ↑ Lukas Hartmann, "Ein Bild von Lydia", Roman, Diogenes-Verlag, Zurich 2018, p. 355, ISBN 978-3-257-07012-5
  13. ^ The post robbery ( memento of 23 August 2010 in the Internet Archive ) on tab.ch. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  14. ↑ Tages-Anzeiger interview [2]
  15. ↑ Landschaftstheater-ballenberg.ch ; jungfrauzeitung.ch. Retrieved on June 23, 2010. tagesanzeiger.ch . Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  16. ↑ Homepage speech products Archived copy ( memento of the original from October 15, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sprechprodukte.ch
  17. ↑ See the entry at Swissfilms: http://www.swissfilms.ch/de/film_search/filmdetails/-/id_film/2146671483 , "based on the novel ... of Willi Wottreng"
  18. ↑ https://www.glow.film .
  19. ↑ Radgenossenschaft website. Retrieved October 6, 2016
personal data
SURNAME Wottreng, Willi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss journalist and author
DATE OF BIRTH October 27, 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH Kreuzlingen