Walter Serner
Illustration — Walter Serner Walter Serner (15 January 1889 – August 1942) was a German-language writer and essayist. His manifesto Letzte Lockerung was an important text of Dadaism.
Also recorded as Valtr Serner · Walter Eduard Seligmann
Walter Serner

Francis Picabia, Tristan Tzara, Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, and Walter Serner · Archivo Lafuente · Public domain
- Born
- 1889. · Karlovy Vary.
- Died
- 1942. · Biķernieki Forest.
- Nationality
- Austria–Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Austria.
- Occupation
- writer, editor, opinion journalist, critic and jurist.
- Education
- University of Greifswald and University of Vienna.
- Known for
- Last Loosening, Sirius and Der Mistral.
- Languages
- German.
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Documentary summary
Illustration — Walter Serner Walter Serner (15 January 1889 – August 1942) was a German-language writer and essayist. His manifesto Letzte Lockerung was an important text of Dadaism.
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Note VALÉORINE
Walter Serner (1889–1942) was a critic, editor and jurist, among other activities, of Austrian and Austro-Hungarian nationality. The critic was born in Karlovy Vary and died in Biķernieki Forest.
Walter Serner was educated at University of Greifswald and University of Vienna. The critic worked in Berlin, Geneva and Vienna, among others and lived in Praha I.
Among the works are Der Mistral, Last Loosening and Sirius. Languages used include German.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Authority files
wikidata · Q646146 · wikipedia · Walter Serner
In this article
Life
Life
Walter Serner studied at University of Greifswald and University of Vienna. The recorded working language is German. Places of work recorded in the authority are Berlin, Zurich and Geneva. Residence is recorded at Praha I. Works named in the authority record are Last Loosening, Sirius and Der Mistral.
Walter Serner was born Walter Eduard Seligmann in Carlsbad (Karlovy Vary), Bohemia (then Austria-Hungary, now Czech Republic). In 1913 he studied law in the Austro-Hungarian capital of Vienna and completed his doctorate in the University of Greifswald. With the outbreak of World War I, he escaped to Switzerland in 1914 and participated in Dada activities in Zurich, Geneva, and Paris until 1920. During World War I he was the editor of the magazines Sirius and Zeltweg and a writer for Die Aktion. In 1921 Serner stayed in Italy with the artist Christian Schad. Beginning in 1923 he began living in various European cities, including Barcelona, Bern, Vienna, Carlsbad, and Prague. From 1925, Serner became the target of anti-Semitism. Serner had been born Jewish and had converted to Catholicism in 1913. His play Posada premiered in Berlin in 1927, but his other planned shows were forbidden. In 1933 Serner's books were banned by the government of Nazi Germany. In 1938 Serner married his partner Dorothea Herz in Prague, where he was working as a private teacher. When war broke out, they had no chance to escape from the occupied country. In 1942 he and his wife were interned in the Theresienstadt concentration camp and three weeks later were moved in the direction of "the East", where they perished in Riga. Walter Serner's most successful novel Die Tigerin (The Tigress) was made into an English-language feature film by writer/director Karin Howard and released in 1992. At that time the novel was re-published in Germany where Serner's books enjoy a cult following. The film was shot in Berlin and Carlsbad.
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
The authorities additionally record the headings Valtr Serner and Walter Eduard Seligmann. His recorded language was German. He was the child of Berthold Seligmann. He married Dorothea Herz.

Memorial plaque, Walter Serner, Augsburger Straße 21, Berlin-Charlottenburg, Deutschland
OTFW, Berlin · Self-photographed
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1889
Walter Serner born at Karlovy Vary.
1942
Walter Serner died at Biķernieki Forest.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Praha I.
Residences
Karlovy Vary.
Birth place
Biķernieki Forest.
Death place
Lifetime publications
Lifetime publications
• Letzte Lockerung. manifest dada. Hannover / Leipzig / Wien / Zürich: Steegemann, 1920 • Zum blauen Affen. Dreiunddreißig hanebüchene Geschichten. Hannover: Steegemann, 1921 • Der elfte Finger. Fünfundzwanzig Kriminalgeschichten. Hannover: Steegemann, 1923 • Der Pfiff um die Ecke. Zweiundzwanzig Spitzel- und Detektivgeschichten. Berlin: Elena Gottschalk, 1925 • Die Tigerin. Eine absonderliche Liebesgeschichte. Berlin: Gottschalk, 1925 • Die tückische Straße. Neunzehn Kriminal-Geschichten. Wien: Dezember, 1926 • Posada oder Der Große Coup im Hotel Ritz. Ein Gauner-Stück in drei Akten. Wien: Dezember, 1926
Latest publications
Latest publications
• Angst. Frühe Prosa. Erlangen: Renner, 1977 • Hirngeschwür. Texte und Materialien. Walter Serner und Dada. Erlangen: Renner, 1977 • Wong fun. Kriminalgeschichte. Augsburg: Maro, 1991
Collected editions
Collected editions
• Das gesamte Werk. Band 1-8, 3 Supplementbände. Hrsg.: Thomas Milch. Erlangen, München: Renner, 1979–1992 • Bd. 1: Über Denkmäler, Weiber und Laternen. Frühe Schriften (1981) • Bd. 2: Das Hirngeschwür. DADA (1982) • Bd. 3: Die Tigerin. Eine absonderliche Liebesgeschichte (1980) • Bd. 4: Der isabelle Hengst. Sämtliche Kriminalgeschichten I (1979) • Bd. 5: Der Pfiff um die Ecke. Sämtliche Kriminalgeschichten II (1979) • Bd. 6: Posada oder der große Coup im Hotel Ritz. Ein Gaunerstück in drei Akten (1980) • Bd. 7: Letzte Lockerung. Ein Handbrevier für Hochstapler und solche die es werden wollen (1981) • Bd. 8: Der Abreiser. Materialien zu Leben und Werk (1984) • Bd. 9 = Supplementbd. 1: Die Haftung des Schenkers wegen Mängel im Rechte und wegen Mängel der verschenkten Sache (1982) • Bd. 10 = Supplementbd. 2: Das fette Fluchen. Ein Walter Serner-Gaunerwörterbuch (1983) • Bd. 11 = Supplementbd. 3: Krachmandel auf Halbmast. Nachträge zu Leben und Werk (1992) (sehr versch. Texte, Dokumente und Abb. von und über W. S., Dada, Christian Schad u. a., mit Erl.) • Gesammelte Werke in zehn Bänden. Hrsg. von Thomas Milch. München: Goldmann, 1988 • Bd. 1: Über Denkmäler, Weiber und Laternen. Frühe Schriften (enthält den Supplementband 1 der Renner-Ausgabe) • Bd. 2: Das Hirngeschwür. DADA • Bd. 3: Zum blauen Affen. Dreiunddreißig Kriminalgeschichten • Bd. 4: Der elfte Finger. Fünfundzwanzig Kriminalgeschichten • Bd. 5: Die Tigerin. Eine absonderliche Liebesgeschichte • Bd. 6: Der Pfiff um die Ecke. Zweiundzwanzig Kriminalgeschichten • Bd. 7: Posada oder der große Coup im Hotel Ritz. Ein Gaunerstück in drei Akten • Bd. 8: Die tückische Straße. Neunzehn Kriminalgeschichten • Bd. 9: Letzte Lockerung. Ein Handbrevier für Hochstapler und solche die es werden wollen • Bd. 10: Der Abreiser. Materialien zu Leben und Werk (enthält den Supplementband 2 der Renner-Ausgabe) • Sprich deutlich. Sämtliche Gedichte und Dichtungen. Hrsg.: Klaus G. Renner. München: Renner, 1988 • Das Walter-Serner-Lesebuch. Alle 99 Kriminalgeschichten in einem Band. München: Goldmann, 1992 • Das erzählerische Werk in drei Bänden. Hrsg.: Thomas Milch. München: Goldmann/btb, 2000, • Bd. 1: Zum blauen Affen / Der elfte Finger • Bd. 2: Die Tigerin • Bd. 3: Der Pfiff um die Ecke / Die tückische Straße
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Walter Serner”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q646146: Walter Serner
Unverified · Wikidata
Literature
Literature
Serner, Walter; früher Walter Eduard Seligmann.
Serner, Walter (eigtl
Walter Eduard Seligmann), Metzler Autoren Lexikon, 1997
Serner, Walter, Kindlers Literatur Lexikon (KLL), 2020
Serner, Walter: Letzte Lockerung, Kindlers Literatur Lexikon (KLL), 2020
Walter Serner in Zeitungen (1909–1927), Hugo Ball Almanach, 2022
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Drews, Joerg. Sprich nicht zu oft zynisch, sei wie immer! Zum 100. Geburtstag Walter Serners. Süddeutsche Zeitung. 11. 14 January 1989.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedauthority record
Unverified
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
38,377 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Walter SchmieleAuthor
- Walter ScottAuthor
- Walter Scott DahlAuthor
- Walter Scott MacFarlaneAuthor
- Walter TevisAuthor
- Walter Theodore Watts-DuntonAuthor
- Walter Van Tilburg ClarkAuthor
- Walter William SkeatAuthor
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