Christoph Dieckmann (writer)
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Christoph Dieckmann (born 22 January 1956) is a German journalist, commentator and author. Before
1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
he grew up and, as a young man, built his career in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany): much of his most thoughtful writing continues to relate to those times, along with the tensions and frictions that still resonate from the
division of Germany Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 to ...
between 1949 and 1990.


Biography

Christoph Dieckmann was born in
Rathenow Rathenow () is a town in the district of Havelland (district), Havelland in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany, with a population of 24,063 (2020). Overview The Protestant church of St. Marien Andreas, originally a basilica, and transformed to the Go ...
, a small town in the flat lands to the west of
Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
and
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. He was the middle child of three brothers. Hans-Joachim Dieckmann, his father, was a Lutheran pastor, a man of strong principle who never allowed himself or his family to be seduced by the party's "socialist" group-think. His mother, Annelies, was a teacher. He grew up in the Harz region, first in the little village Dingelstedt am Huy (west of
Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...
) and later in
Sangerhausen Sangerhausen () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany, capital of the district of Mansfeld-Südharz. It is situated southeast of the Harz, approx. east of Nordhausen, and west of Halle (Saale). About 26,000 people live in Sangerhausen ( ...
. His father remained networked with Lutheran pastors in and around East Berlin. As a result of these contacts, when in 1990 Christoph Dieckmann, by this time an ambitious young journalist, needed to improve his
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
fast, he was tutored by Herlind Kasner (born Herlind Jentzsch), a retired English teacher at the East Berlin Missionary House. His teacher and her husband, the pastor
Horst Kasner Horst Kasner ( né Kaźmierczak; 6 August 1926 – 2 September 2011) was a German Protestant theologian and father of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Biography Kasner was born as Horst Kaźmierczak in 1926, the son of a policeman in t ...
, are the parents of
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...
. As a teenager, he was prevented from taking his school exit exam (Abitur), which was a prerequisite for university studies. When the family had lived in the little village of Dingelstedt am Huy the fact that the pastor's son never joined the Free German Youth (''"Freie Deutsche Jugend"'' / ''Young Communists'') or the "
Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation The Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation (), consisting of the Young Pioneers and the Thälmann Pioneers, was a youth organisation of schoolchildren aged 6 to 13 in East Germany. They were named after Ernst Thälmann, the former leader of the C ...
" was not an issue. "Christoph does not belong to the socialist youth association", his teacher had written to his mother, "but he never stands aside when it's a question of working together." Things were different when the family moved to
Sangerhausen Sangerhausen () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany, capital of the district of Mansfeld-Südharz. It is situated southeast of the Harz, approx. east of Nordhausen, and west of Halle (Saale). About 26,000 people live in Sangerhausen ( ...
, which was (and is) a town, and where the party was evidently more omnipresent. The education officer at the school refused him permission to take part in the
Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
exams, despite positive recommendations and good grades. With no prospect of moving on to university, in 1972 Dieckmann embarked on a traineeship at the
Langenau Langenau () is a town in the district of Alb-Donau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is situated 14 km northeast of Ulm. History Today‘s Langenau was created in 1972 by merging the historical villages of Albeck, Göttingen and Höve ...
film academy as a cine-projectionist. In 1974, shortly before he was due to sit for final exams, he was expelled from the college on "disciplinary grounds", however. The exam was postponed by a year, but he passed it in 1975. He then moved on to study
theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
at the Theological Seminar in
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 ...
, where he remained till 1978. Between 1978 and 1981 he continued his studies at the "Sprachenkonvikt" / "Latin convictorium" in
East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...
. His room at this theological academy here gave him a good view over the
wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...
which since August 1961 had separated the "Sprachenkonvikt" from the Ecclesiastical Academy at Berlin-Zehlendorf of which it had formerly been an affiliate. His theological training concluded, Dieckmann became "
vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...
" to the Evangelical student community of
East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...
and Berlin-Buch. After that, between 1983 and 1986 he worked in the theological studies department of the East German Association of Evangelical churches. Then, until 1990, he was employed as the ecclesiastical media officer at the Ecumenical Missionary Centre and Berlin Mission Society. His first reports and essays covered topics such as
rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...
,
literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
and "life" during the final years of 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 ...
. At this point his work appeared chiefly in church newspapers and in the weekly newspaper Sonntag (''"Sunday"''). (The newspaper continued to publish his contributions after Autumn/Fall 1990 when it was sold, rebranded and relaunched as Freitag (''"Friday"'').) By this time he was primarily supporting himself as a freelance author-journalist. In
1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
, through great good fortune (according to his own assessment) Dieckmann, a 34-year-old theologian with uncertain career prospects, received a stipendium from the
World Press Institute The World Press Institute (WPI) is an American nonprofit, educational organization based in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota, that offers paid fellowships for international journalists. It is funded by a wide range of foundations, local and na ...
which enabled him to spend six months in the
United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...
. The package even included a viewing visit to the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
. He wrote about his impressions for the weekly newspaper Sonntag, and later published a book entitled "Oh! Great! Wonderful! – Anfänger in Amerika" (''...a "beginner in America"''). 1990 was Reunification Year, and Dieckmann's public profile in what had been
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
was raised by his reports from his time in the US. The
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 ...
-based national weekly newspaper offered him a contract, and he worked in the newspaper's Berlin office as its first – and for a long time only – East German contributing editor. Initially he signed off his contributions "Quoten-Ossi" (''loosely "Quota Easterner"''): he subsequently switched to the less ironical soubriquet, "Ostschreiber" (''loosely, "Writer from the East"''). By 2014 Dieckmann had published fifteen books. His thought-provoking newspaper pieces and books are wide-ranging, but he returns repeatedly to the subject of
East Germany 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 ...
and the so-called "New states" (''"neue Bundesländer"'') which replaced it. He describes how the country was and how it has changed since reunification, ranging over the places, the people and daily life. He has described his self-appointed project as one of translation and interpretation (''"Übersetzungsarbeit"''). That also includes explaining the westerners to the easterners. During the 1990s he received prestigious awards for insightful pieces, always crafted from a domestic/native perspective. Reviewers were impressed. Among intellectuals from what had been East Germany, something approaching an informal Dieckmann fan-club emerged, though the wave of enthusiasm has receded during the early 21st century. He still contributes essays and reports about life in the old East Germany, but increasingly he has been reinventing himself as a sport reporter, with a particular interest in football.
FC Carl Zeiss Jena FC Carl Zeiss Jena () is a German football club based in Jena, Thuringia. Founded in 1903, it was initially associated with the optics manufacturer Carl Zeiss. From the 1960s to the 1980s it was one of the top-ranked clubs in East Germany, won ...
appears to be his favourite team.


Published output (selection)

Most of the books by Christoph Dieckmann are published by
Ch. Links Verlag CH, Ch, cH, or ch may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Television channel (sometimes abbreviated as "ch." for television and cable stations) * ''Chaos;Head'', a video game * '' Clone Hero'', a clone game version of popular rhythm game series ' ...
, Berlin.


Awards and recognition

* 1990: Stipendium from the ''World Press Institute'' in
Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...
with a 6-month USA-exploration visit * 1992: International Joseph Roth Prize in Klagenfurt, awarded for journalism that builds mutual understanding * 1993:
Theodor Wolff Prize The Theodor Wolff Prize is a German journalism prize. It has been awarded annually since 1962 in five categories, equal prizes of €6,000, by the . In addition, at irregular intervals, journalists are awarded the Theodor Wolff Prize for their life ...
for journalism * 1994:
Egon Erwin Kisch Prize The Egon Erwin Kisch Prize (German: Egon-Erwin-Kisch-Preis) was a literary prize awarded in Germany. It was named after the author and journalist Egon Erwin Kisch. The prize was started in 1977 by Henri Nannen Henri Nannen (25 December 1913 i ...
, a literary prize awarded for journalism * 1996: Friedrich Märker Prize for essayists * 2017: Caroline-Schlegel Prize for essays and contributions to literary supplements and journals


Personal

Christoph Dieckmann's first marriage fell apart at the time of
reunification A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller politics or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal govern ...
. By his first marriage he has a daughter, born in 1983. By his second marriage his son was born in 1995.


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dieckmann, Christoph Writers from Potsdam People from Sangerhausen German male writers German essayists German opinion journalists 1956 births Living people