Obituary of Hermann Kant – no more beautiful country than the DDR – Germany Kultur

By Matthias Eckoldt hear

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The writer Hermann Kant on 28.2.2002 at his home in Prälank in Neustrelitz (dpa / picture alliance / Stefan Sauer)

His original handling the word impressed, with “The Aula” he wrote a bestseller. Then Hermann Kant became president of the Writers Union – he behaved most loyal to the SED and its Duzfreund Honecker. After 1989, bitter years began for the yesterday deceased author.

“I still have ten years after the hall in my ID and my passport still standing electrician had and did not feel myself as a writer. And since has an imperial-royal Concierge massacred me in Vienna in such a way because in my card electrician was and it was announced a writer, and thought that was a very suspicious matter and was insulted something because an electrician he had not taken in his hotel. “

Hermann Kant hung lifetime on the idea that the working class must be the morally sublime layer due erduldeter poverty and oppression. The young Kant did not find it difficult to share the Marxist basic position. The born on June 14, 1926 gardener’s son from Hamburg were denied because of his background high school and university. And the aging Kant, with several novels poisoned in the new millennium against society of inequality,

attested the FAZ, he was an amusing capitalists eater, which was not passed even after all these years the appetite. Euphoric at the workers ‘and peasants faculty

in the GDR everything was different for Kant. Immediately after he came back in 1949 from a Polish prisoner of war, he joined the SED and could now catch up on the newly formed workers’ and peasants faculty graduated from high school. From that time also acted his debut novel “The Great Hall”:

“I have the book written in a polemical attitude, because it seemed to me, this for me and not only me is most important time not repealed in literature and everything I knew to -. there are a few attempts by Anna Seghers and Loest – that was all not right it was all hearsay So I write this from my memory out and did it with pleasure… The book I have almost written naively following the motto: now I’ll tell you something, but it was then after a fairly resounding operation “

was the workers’ and peasants faculty.. Kant the experience of initiation for the GDR socialism. The worker Kant experienced there something really new, a historical turning point. For the first time Ernst was taken with the slogan “Education for All”. Suddenly the workers were open to the universities and libraries. The euphoria of that awakening years was reflected in the furious, offensive language handling, which should be the hallmark of Hermann Kant. His skilful, original use of the word convincing. Here one went with looseness and wit to work, the unbroken optimism saw the beginning of a new time against four years after the Wall was built.

“Not only was he for our country just made, and the country it was for him. not a pretty country at this time. a computer land, a organizers country, a debit and land, a land of schemers, Logarithmenland, perspective country Tabelliererland, programmers country. “

that began with bureaucratic violence to prevail in this country an official squad of its inhabitants, the registered Hermann Kant well. He lived there with his second novel, “The Imprint”, which was three years not delivered, on his own body:

“The imprint has been so printed and was in the cellars of the publisher and. what you gave me as a reason, that was all nonsense, as the Deputy Minister of Culture, Bruno Haid, said to me. the book may not be printed Firstly, it is anti-Semitic Secondly, it is philosemitic Third, it is pornographic.. . As I said, well wait a minute, the Haid has then also said. If you refute this, we find other reasons “

Loyal, audible and filthy

It was not until the end of the Ulbricht era and the dawn of a more open society under Honecker could take Kant’s ironic campaign against rampant careerism note GDR citizens. But Kant did despite his criticism made no doubt about his belief in the better half German. He went on the offensive, was Volkskammer deputy, even rose to the Central Committee and adopted in 1978 by Anna Seghers the post of president of the Writers Union.

As such, he stepped though repeated for authors, but when push came to shove, he behaved loyal to the government and his close friend Honecker. So Kant exekutierte the association exclusion of authors like Kurt Bartsch, Adolf Endler, Stefan Heym, Klaus Schlesinger and Rolf Schneider, after they had illegally published in the Federal Republic. For authors who are no longer subject to the Association expediency after the transfer of residence to the Federal Republic, Kant was even obscene. So he commented on the departure of Reiner Kunze with the words: “Come time goes by rubbish!”

“This is one of my absolute Dämlichkeiten I did in connection with the awarding of the Büchner Prize. said at Kunze Meanwhile I have said 7000 times, would indeed be able to say. If time passes nonsense that would have been milder, but no, the vain author sees the skin powerfully on the crown and now he says the well…. Kunze has the time that has passed since then, utilized to the full to find appropriate sayings to me. to this extent the matter to Peter’s gate is closed. “

call for a tribunal against Kant

In 1989, when the wall fell, began bitter years for Hermann Kant. authors, which injustice was done during GDR times, Kant made personally responsible. Civil rights activist Friedrich Schorlemmer even called for a public tribunal against Honecker, Mielke and Hermann Kant. The accusations grew louder, he had been working for national security. Kant strained several injunctions.

The large “mirror” articles in the issue 41 of 1992, which detailed the “spy career Comrade Hermann Kant alias IM Martin”, but remained Kant unchallenged , For Kant brought hastily several novels on paper, of which he himself wanted nothing more to do later. Only in 2005 he was back with his novel “cinema” to form.

In the novel, the aging author puts in a weatherproof nylon sleeping bag in the busy Hamburger pedestrian. This issued homelessness Kant unfolded again the pun, for which he was once known and revealed still sure that capitalism was not the best of all possible worlds.

“And I beyond said of all good and evil occasional wars: villain you may surely be, but you can write quite well is enough for me “

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