Johannes Bobrowski

Johannes Bobrowski (b. 9 April 1917 in Tilsit, Germany, d. 2 September 1965 in Berlin) was an important German lyricist, narrative writer, adaptor and essayist.

Life

In 1925, Bobrowski moved first to Rastenburg, then in 1928 on to Königsberg (Kaliningrad), where he attended the humanist Gymnasium (a type of German school). One of his teachers was Ernst Wiechert. In 1937, he started a degree in art history in Berlin. As a member of the Confessional Church , Bobrowski had contact to the Christian resistance against National Socialism. He was a lance corporal for the entire Second World War in Poland, France and the Soviet Union. In 1943 he married Johanna Buddrus.

From 1945 – 1949 Bobrowski was imprisoned by the Soviet Union, where he spent time working in a coal mine. On his release, he worked as an editor in Berlin, first for the Altberliner Verlag, a children’s publisher run by Lucie Grosner, and then from 1959 for the Union Verlag publishing house. His work was influenced by his knowledge of Eastern European landscapes and of the German and Slavic cultures and languages, combined with ancient myths. In 1964, Bobrowski became a member of the PEN Club.

On 2 September 1965, Brobowski died as a result of a perforated appendix. Since 1992, the Foundation for Prussian Maritime Trade (Stiftung Preußische Seehandlung) has donated funds towards the Johannes Brobowski Medal.

Literary works

• “Sarmatische Zeit” (The Land of Sarmatia), poems, 1961
• “Schattenland Ströme” (Shadowland), poems, 1962
• “Levins Mühle, 34 Sätze über meinen Großvater“ (Levin’s Mill,34 Stories About My Grandfather ) novel, 1964
• “ Boehlendorff und Mäusefest" Short stories, 1965
• “Litauische Claviere “(Lithuanian Pianos), novel, 1966
• “Wetterzeichen” (Weathersigns), poems, 1967
• “Der Mahner” (The Admonisher), short stories, 1967 translated with “Boehlendorff und Mausefest as “I Taste Bitterness” in 1970
• “Im Windgesträuch” (In the windy wilderness), poems from Bobrowski’s literary executor, 1970

Films

• “Levins Mühle “ (Levin’s Mill), filmed in 1980 by Horst Seemann for DEFA film studios, with Erwin Geschonnek, Christian Grashof and Katja Paryla.
• “Grüsse aus Sarmatien für den Dichter Johannes Bobrowski “ (Greetings from Sarmatia for the Poet Johannes Bobrowski),1973 – Short film by Volker Koepp

Opera

• “Levins Mühle” (Levin’s Mill) by Udo Zimmermann, premiere in 1973, produced by Harry Kupfer

Prizes

• Alma Johanna Koenig Prize, 1962
• “Group of 47” prize, 1962
• Heinrich Mann Prize in 1965 for "Levins Mühle“ (Levin’s Mill)
• International Charles Veillon Prize, 1965
• F. C. Weiskopf Prize, 1967