Wolfgang Harich
| Wolfgang Harich | |
|---|---|
Wolfgang Harich in his Apartment (1947)
|
|
| Born | Wolfgang Harich 3 December 1923 Königsberg |
| Died | 15 March 1995 (aged 71) Berlin |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | German |
| Citizenship | German |
| Period | 1950s–1990s |
| Notable awards |
Heinrich Mann Prize 1953 |
Wolfgang Harich (3 December 1923 – 15 March 1995) was a philosopher and journalist in East Germany.
A deserter from the German army in World War II and a member of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, Harich became a professor of philosophy at Humboldt University in 1949. He was arrested in 1956 and sentenced to ten years in prison for the "establishment of a conspiratorial counterrevolutionary group." He was released in 1964, after eight years, and rehabilitated in 1990. In 1994 he joined the Party of Democratic Socialism.
His grave is preserved in the Protestant Friedhof III der Jerusalems- und Neuen Kirchengemeinde (Cemetery No. III of the congregations of Jerusalem's Church and New Church) in Berlin-Kreuzberg, south of Hallesches Tor.
Wolfgang Harich was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, on 9 December 1923, into an upper-class literary educated family. His father was a writer Walter Harich and his mother was Anne-Lise Wyneken, the daughter of Alexander Wyneken, editor in chief of the Königsberger Allgemeine Zeitung.
Harich became known as one of the stronger voices in post war debates at a very young age in Germany. He firmly believed in uniting war torn Germany. He studied philosophy at the Humboldt University of Berlin and, upon graduation, became professor of philosophy and taught at the same university. His strong voice eventually led him to be sentenced to imprisonment for ten years for conspiracy. Although he only served eight years, Harich was kept in solitary confinement for more than seven of those eight years, which took a large toll on his mental health, giving him severe depression and dizziness. He emigrated to Austria in 1979, moved to West Germany in 1980, and returned to the Besseres Deutschland or "Better Germany" in 1981. Although he had a heart attack in July 1960, he fought through it and recovered, surviving until 15 March 1995, when he died at the age of 71.
...
Wikipedia