Martin Walser
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Martin Walser (born 24 March 1927 in in Wasserburg am Bodensee, on Lake Constance) is a German writer.
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[edit] Life
Martin Walser's parents kept an inn in Wasserburg. He described the environment in which he grew up in his novel Ein springender Brunnen. From 1938 to 1943 he was a pupil at the secondary school in Lindau and served in an anti-aircraft unit. According to documents released in June 2007, he may have joined the Nazi party on the 30th of January 1944[1]. He ended the Second World War as a soldier in the Wehrmacht. After the end of the war he returned to his studies and completed his Abitur in 1946; he then studied literature, history and philosophy at Regensburg and Tübingen. He obtained his doctorate in 1951 for a thesis on Franz Kafka under the supervision of Friedrich Beißner.
His most important work is "Runaway Horse", which was not only very popular among readers, but also gained the recognition of literary critics.
While studying, Walser worked as a reporter for the Süddeutscher Rundfunk radio station, and wrote his first radio plays. In 1950 he married Katharina "Käthe" Neuner-Jehle. His four daughters from this marriage, Franziska Walser, Alissa Walser, Johanna Walser and Theresia Walser, are all career writers; Johanna sometimes collaborates with her father.
In October 1998, Walser caused controversy by introducing the phrase "using Auschwitz as a moral club" in his acceptance speech for the Frankfurt Book Fair’s prestigious Peace Prize. With that he accused that the Holocoust is being used to affirm demands on Germany but the pure essence of the lesson to be learned from the genocide is so somewhat abused. Ignatz Bubis, then the head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, accused him of anti-Semitism sparking a heated public debate in Germany. This was only one of many comments made by Walser which are seen as anti-Semitic by some (Judisches Museum und Museum Judengasse Frankfurt am Main). [2]
[edit] Works
Works of Walser's that have been translated into English include:
- "Halftime: A novel" (1960),
- "The Gadarene Club" (1960)
- "Oak Tree and Angora Rabbit: A Play" (1962)
- "Rabbit Race" (1963)
- "Runaway Horse: A Novel" (1978)
- "Swan Villa" (1983)
- "The Unicorn" (1983)
- "Beyond all Love" (1983)
- "The Inner Man" (1984)
- "Letter to Lord Liszt" (1985)
- "Breakers" (1988)
- "No Man's Land" (1988)
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Photograph of Martin Walser on Der Spiegel's website
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Walser, Martin |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | German writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 24th March 1927 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wasserburg am Bodensee |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
