Brigitte Birnbaum (29 May 1938 - 23 February 2024) was a German author of books, mainly for children and young people.

Life

Brigitte Birnbaum (also Birnbaum-Fiedler) was born in Elbing (as it was known at that time), a manufacturing town and administrative centre in

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

, positioned near the coast between Danzig and

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

broke out shortly after her first birthday. In 1945 her family was caught up in the "ethnic cleansing" of the time, ending up in

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

, the northern part of what had now become the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet occupation zone in Germany ( or , ; ) was an area of Germany that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a communist area, established as a result of the Potsdam Agreement on 2 August 1945. On 7 October 1949 the German Democratic Republ ...

(after October 1949 the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

). She passed her school leaving exams (''Abitur''), a necessary hurdle along the way to a university level education, and embarked on an apprenticeship as an assistant pharmacist. She next spent three years studying literature at the

German Institute for Literature The German Institute for Literature (German: ''Deutsches Literaturinstitut Leipzig'', DLL) is a part of Leipzig University and offers university education for writers. It was founded in 1955 under the name Johannes R. Becher-Institut, at that time ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. Armed with her degree, she became an antique books dealer. Her books for children began to appear in the early 1960s. She lived in

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch dialect, Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch Low German: ''Swerin''; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Zwierzyn''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germ ...

between 1960 and 2003, supporting herself as a freelance author, formally, from 1968. She lived in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

for ten years from 2003, after which she relocated back to Schwerin.

Awards and honours

* 1985 Arts Prize of the Society for German–Soviet Friendship

Publications

For children and young people

* ''Bert, der Einzelgänger.'' Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1962 * ''Reise in den August.'' Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1967 (illustrations by Kurt Klamann) * ''Winter ohne Vater.'' Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1977 * ''Ab morgen werd ich Künstler. A tale from the life of

Heinrich Zille Heinrich Rudolf Zille (10 January 1858 – 9 August 1929) was a German lithographer, illustrator, caricaturist, painter, and photographer. Celebrated as a keen observer of urban life, Zille became best known for his empathetic yet satirical dep ...

s.'' Kinderbuchverlag Berlin 1977 (Edition for West Germany and West Berlin published as: ''Der Pinselheinrich. Eine Zille-Geschichte für Kinder'', Elefanten Press 1986, ) * ''Das Siebentagebuch.'' Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1981 * ''Der Hund mit dem Zeugnis.'' Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1971 (illustrations by Maria Radoslavova-Finger) * ''Löwen an der Ufertreppe.'' Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1981 (illustrations by Konrad Golz) * ''Tintarolo. Ein Buch für Kinder über Käthe Kollwitz mit Zeichnungen von Käthe Kollwitz.'' Elefanten Press, Berlin (West) 1981. * ''Alexander in Zarskoje'', Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1982 (a tale about chnildhood by Alexander Puschkin) * ''Kathusch.'' Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1986 (on the childhood and youth of

Käthe Kollwitz Käthe Kollwitz ( born Schmidt; 8 July 186722 April 1945) was a German artist who worked with painting, printmaking (including etching, lithography and woodcuts) and sculpture. Her most famous art cycles, including ''The Weavers'' and ''The Peasa ...

) * ''Fragen Sie doch Melanie!'' Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1987. * ''Von einem, der auszog, neue Eltern zu suchen und andere Erzählungen.'' Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1989. * ''Die Maler aus der Ostbahnstraße. From the lives of Hans and Lea Grundig.'' Kinderbuchverlag, Berlin 1990. * ''Wider die kleinen Mörder.'' Kiro-Verlag, Schwedt 1994. * ''Noch lange kein Sommer.'' Verlag Reinhard Thon, Schwerin 1998

Other

* ''

Ernst Barlach Ernst Heinrich Barlach (2 January 1870 – 24 October 1938) was a German Expressionism, expressionist sculptor, medallist, printmaker and writer. Although he was a supporter of the war in the years leading to World War I, his participation in th ...

. Annäherungen.'' Demmler Verlag, Schwerin 1996. * ''

Fontane Fontane is a surname of Italian origin, meaning ''fountain''. The name may refer to: *Char Fontane (1952–2007), American actress *The Fontane Sisters (active 1941–1961), American singing trio *Theodor Fontane (1819–1898), German novelist and ...

in Mecklenburg.'' Demmler Verlag, Schwerin 1994. * ''Spaziergänge durch

Güstrow Güstrow (; ) is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany. It is capital of the Rostock (district), Rostock district; Rostock itself is a district-free city and regiopolis. It has a population of 28,999 (2020) and is the sevent ...

. Ein Stadtführer.'' Thon, Schwerin 1992. (Photos by Peter Reinhard)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birnbaum, Brigitte 1938 births 2024 deaths German children's writers German women children's writers 20th-century German women writers 21st-century German women writers 20th-century German novelists People from Elbląg Writers from East Prussia East German writers East German women