Werner Bergengruen

Werner Bergengruen studied at University of Marburg, Gymnasium Philippinum Marburg and Katharineum. The recorded working language is German. Places of work recorded in the authority are Zurich and Berlin. Works named in the authority record are A matter of conscience and Zwieselchen. Distinctions recorded are Wilhelm Raabe Prize, Schiller Memorial Prize, Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts order and Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

• Name — Werner Bergengruen • Born — 16 September 1892 • Birthplace — Riga, Livonia, Russian Empire (Now Latvia) • Died — 4 September 1964 • Place of death — Baden-Baden, West Germany • Occupation — poet, novelist. • Nationality — German • Period — 20th century • Spouse — Charlotte Hensel

• Illustration — Grave in the main cemetery of Baden-Baden Bergengruen was born in Riga, Governorate of Livonia, which at that time belonged to the Russian Empire. After growing up in Lübeck and attending the Katharineum, he started studying theology in Marburg in 1911. He later changed to studying Germanistics and art history, but failed to graduate; he then moved to Munich. He served as a lieutenant during World War I and joined the Baltische Landeswehr in 1919 to fight against the Bolsheviks. On 4 October 1919, he married Charlotte Hensel (1896–1990), a great-granddaughter of the composer Fanny Hensel, and the daughter of the mathematician Kurt Hensel. From the marriage there were four children, Olaf, Luise, Maria and Alexander. Bergengruen started writing novels and short stories in 1923 and decided to become a full-time writer in 1927. While his earlier works were of a more contemplative nature and pondered metaphysical and religious questions, the Nazis' rise to power led him to write more political works. His most successful novel, A Matter of Conscience (novel) (The Grand Tyrant and the Judgment, English title: A Matter of Conscience), published in 1935, is set in the Renaissance era, but the story of a merciless tyrant playing with the weaknesses of his underlings was often seen as a clear allegory on Germany's political situation. This interpretation is doubtful, though, as most of the novel was written before the Nazi takeover in 1933. In 1936 Bergengruen was received into the Catholic Church. The same year he moved to Munich; his new neighbour was Carl Muth, editor of the Catholic monthly Hochland. In 1937 he was expelled from the Reich Chamber of Literature for being unfit to contribute to German culture. Although Bergengruen was politically a staunch conservative, his Catholicism—as well as the fact that his wife was of partly Jewish heritage—contributed to his alienation from the Nazi regime. According to Gudrun Kuschke, "Bergengruen constitutes the zenith of clandestine poetry during the Nazi era," and his poetry "confronts the catastrophe of the Third Reich, facing the reality of inner and external destruction without evasion or adornment." His 1939 short story collection Death from Reval consists of stories relating to death in the Tallinn area. In 1942, after his house in Munich was destroyed by bombs, Bergengruen moved to Achenkirch. After World War II, he lived in Switzerland, Rome, and finally Baden-Baden, where he died in 1964. He was submitted for consideration for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Werner Bergengruen was recorded at birth as Werner Max Oskar Paul Bergengruen. His recorded language was German. His recorded confession was Catholicism. He was the child of Paul Bergengruen and Helene Bergengruen. He married Charlotte Bergengruen. 2 children are recorded: Alexander Bergengruen and Nino Luise Hackelsberger.

He belonged to German Academy for Language and Literature, Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts and Rudolstädter Senioren-Convent. He worked at Zurich and Berlin.

Werner Bergengruen is recorded as having received Wilhelm Raabe Prize, Schiller Memorial Prize and Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts order.

Werner Bergengruen is recorded as having studied at University of Marburg, Gymnasium Philippinum Marburg and Katharineum. Born in 1892 at Riga.