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Edition 8 (1971) Winner
Werner Kraft
ヴェルナー・クラフト
Werner Kraft
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1896-05-04 （Braunschweig）
- Died
- 1991-06-14 （Jerusalem） age 95
- Nationality
- German, Israeli
- Languages
- German, Hebrew, English
- Religion
- Judaism
- Residence History
- Braunschweig (birth) → Hanover (childhood / youth) → Berlin (studies / early career) → Leipzig (German National Library) → Sweden (emigration / exile) → Jerusalem, Israel (final residence)
Career
- Occupations
- literary scholar, writer, librarian
- Active Years
- 1915-1991
- Affiliations
- German National Library (Leipzig), Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Library (staff)
- Memberships
- German Academy for Language and Poetry (associated)
- Influenced By
- Rudolf Borchardt, Karl Kraus, Stefan George, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Franz Kafka, Theodor Lessing, Walter Benjamin, Gershom Scholem
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leibniz School (Alte Celler Heerstraße) | — | Secondary education | — | 1906–1914 | Germany |
| University in Berlin (studied German and French philology and philosophy) | — | Philology / Philosophy | — | 1915–1916（学業期間の開始年） | Germany |
| Librarian training | — | Library science | — | 1920 | Germany |
Leibniz School (Alte Celler Heerstraße)
Secondary education
Period:
1906–1914
Year of Graduation:
1914
Country:
Germany
Primary and secondary schooling; early interest in German literature.
University in Berlin (studied German and French philology and philosophy)
Philology / Philosophy
Period:
1915–1916（学業期間の開始年）
Country:
Germany
Began studies in Berlin in 1915. Exact degree information unknown.
Librarian training
Library science
Period:
1920
Year of Graduation:
1920
Country:
Germany
Trained as a librarian to support his livelihood and writing.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Literature Prize of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts | — | — | Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts | 受賞 |
| 1971 | Sigmund Freud Prize | — | — | German Academy for Language and Poetry (Darmstadt) | 受賞 |
| 1975 | Honorary doctorate, University of Freiburg | — | — | University of Freiburg | 授与 |
| 1982 | Goethe Medal | — | — | Goethe-related cultural institutions | 受賞 |
| 1987 | Wilhelm Heinse Medal | — | — | Academy of Sciences and Literature Mainz | 受賞 |
Literature Prize of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts
1966
Organization:
Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts
Result:
受賞
Sigmund Freud Prize
1971
Organization:
German Academy for Language and Poetry (Darmstadt)
Result:
受賞
Honorary doctorate, University of Freiburg
1975
Organization:
University of Freiburg
Result:
授与
Goethe Medal
1982
Organization:
Goethe-related cultural institutions
Result:
受賞
Wilhelm Heinse Medal
1987
Organization:
Academy of Sciences and Literature Mainz
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- precise, scholarly prosedeep respect for the German language and refined critical discourse
- Recurring Motifs
- return to and preservation of German literatureJewish self-awareness and its relation to languagebibliophilia and love of books / bibliography
Legacy
Werner Kraft, as a scholar and critic of German literature, grappled with his Jewish origin and attachment to the German language; even in exile he worked to preserve and study German culture. His work as a librarian and critic influenced German literary scholarship across the pre- and postwar periods.
Academic Societies
- German Academy for Language and Poetry (associated)
Archives
- Entry at Deutsche Biographie
- Vatican Library authority file / catalog entry
Quotes
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"It was only after 1933 that I finally and forever knew that I was not a German, that I was a Jew. He was now dictated by a criminal force that the Jews belong to the German people only through language. ... I have never given up this language."
Source: Kraft's diary (excerpt) (1933)
Trivia
- Worked at the German National Library in Leipzig between 1922 and 1926.
- Dismissed in 1933 because of his Jewish origin and emigrated via Sweden to Israel.
- Influenced early on by Rudolf Borchardt, Karl Kraus and Stefan George.