Hedda Zinner, or Hedda Erpenbeck-Zinner (20 May 1904 – 1 July 1994), was a German political writer, actress, comedian, journalist and radio director.

Biography

Hedda Zinner was born in

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

(then known as Lemberg) on 20 May 1904. She attended the Acting Academy there from 1923 to 1925. Zinner began working as an actress but her interest in the workers' movement led her to move to

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 ...

and, in 1929, join the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (, ; KPD ) was a major Far-left politics, far-left political party in the Weimar Republic during the interwar period, German resistance to Nazism, underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and minor party ...

. She became a journalist for left-wing journals. When Hitler came to power, she moved to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and then

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, where she founded the cabaret Studio 34 in 1934. In 1935 she emigrated to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. After the Second World War she settled in East Berlin. In 1980, Zinner was awarded the

Order of Karl Marx The Order of Karl Marx () was the most important order in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The award of the order also included a prize of 20,000 East German marks. The order was founded on May 5, 1953 on the occasion of Karl Marx's 135th ...

. Zinner also wrote under the pseudonym Elisabeth Frank. Her granddaughter is the writer

Jenny Erpenbeck Jenny Erpenbeck (; born 12 March 1967) is a German writer and opera director. She won the 2015 ''Independent'' Foreign Fiction Prize for ''The End of Days'' and the 2024 International Booker Prize for ''Kairos''. Life Born in East Berlin, Erp ...

Works

* ''Nur eine Frau'' nly a Woman(1954). A novel about the life of

Louise Otto-Peters Louise Otto-Peters (26 March 1819, Meissen – 13 March 1895, Leipzig) was a German suffragist and women's rights movement activist who wrote novels, poetry, essays, and libretti. She wrote for ''Der Wandelstern'' he Wandering Starand ''Sächsisc ...

. * ''Ahnen und Erben'' ncestors and Inheritors(1968). Vol. 1 of her autobiography. * ''Die Schwestern'' isters(1970). Vol. 2 of her autobiography.

References

External links

* 1900s births 1994 deaths Journalists from Lviv Communist Party of Germany politicians Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Refugees from Nazi Germany in the Soviet Union Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany Jewish German writers 20th-century German women writers 20th-century German writers Jews from Austria-Hungary Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) {{Germany-writer-stub