Kurt Held
| Kurt Held | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Kurt Kläber November 4, 1897 Jena, Germany |
| Died | December 9, 1959 (aged 62) Sorengo, Switzerland |
| Nationality | German, Swiss (since 1948) |
| Occupation | Author, writer |
| Known for | The Outsiders of Oskoken Castle |
Kurt Kläber (November 4, 1897 in Jena, Germany – December 9, 1959 in Sorengo, Switzerland) was a Jewish Communist and writer displaced from Germany during the Second World War. He has also been published under the pseudonym Kurt Held. He married writer Lisa Tetzner.
Kläber left school at the age of 14 and began training as a locksmith and later trained to be a mechanic at Zeiss. He joined the Wandervogelbewegung and traveled through many countries of Europe. World War I broke out and put an end to his travels. In 1914 he joined the German Army and fought in World War I, where he was wounded and contracted typhoid fever.
Upon returning from the war he joined the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and the Spartakusbund. He participated in armed uprisings in Halle, Hamburg and Berlin as well as in the strike against the Kapp-Putsch. He earned his living as a traveling book salesmen for the Thüringen Ministry of Culture, specializing in political literature: social critical lyrics, as well as novels depicting the hardships of the working class. He published his first volume of workers poetry “Neue Saat” (new seed) in 1919. In 1923 he traveled to the USA and spent a year touring, giving lectures and studying the situation of workers in the USA. His experiences in the USA became his first novel written in 1923, which wasn't published until 1927 “Passagiere der III. Klasse” (Third Class Passengers). Back in Germany in 1924 he married the writer and professional storyteller Lisa Tetzner. Together they traveled promoting communist literature. In addition to writing, giving lectures and editing magazines and books Kläber also worked in mines near Köln, as well as other jobs to aid his understanding of the working class laborers. He joined the Bund proletarisch-revolutionäre Schriftsteller (the Association of Proletarian-Revolutionary Authors) and was one of the publishers of the journal regularly sent to their members, Linkskurve. Kläber gained a reputation as a leading authority on Communist literature. As a known opponent of National Socialism, he was arrested the day after the Reichstag fire and incarcerated. With the help of his wife, he was soon released from prison and sent into exile over Austria to Carona in Ticino in neutral Switzerland.
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