Arendt, Erich |
| POET, TRANSLATOR (GERMANY) |
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BORN 15 Apr 1903, Neuruppin, Brandenburg - DIED 25 Sep 1985, Wilhelmshorst, Brandenburg BIRTH NAME Arendt, Erich Otto Reinhold CAUSE OF DEATH stroke GRAVE LOCATION Berlin: Dorotheenstädtischen Friedhof, Chausseestrasse (CUAK-1-2) |
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Eirch Arendt was the son of a school janitor and a washerwoman. He was educated as a teacher in Neuruppin. He worked as a theatre painter, an assistant journalist and had further jobs. He also travelled in Germany, Switzerland and Spain. In 1925 his first poetry was published in "Der Sturm". He was a communist and he had married Katja Hayek, a woman with Jewish blood. In 1933 he fled to Switzerland for the nazis and from 1934 to 1936 he and Katja lived on Mallorca. After Franco came to power in 1936 he joined the international brigades to fight him. In 1939 he moved to France where he was interned in several camps. After fleeing from a camp in Bordeaux he and his wife fled to Columbia, where he wrote his first book. In 1950 he settled in the DDR where he worked as an independent author. He wasn't allowed to join the SED and from 1957 onwards he was under surveillance. The building of the Berlin Wall was a traumatic experiene for him. In 1963 the authorities refused him to visit Brazil. After his retirement he frequently visited West Germany and in 1976 he signed the protest against the expellation of Wolf Biermann. In 1985 he died in Wilhelmshorst near Potsdam. |
| Images |
 The grave of Erich Arendt at the Dorotheenstädtischen Friedhof, Berlin. Picture by Androom (07 Aug 2019) |
Sources • Erich Arendt - Wikipedia (DE) |
