Moriz Seeler (1 March 1896 – 18 August 1942) was a German poet, writer, film producer, and man of the theatre.
Early life
Moritz Seeler was born in the small, provincial town of
Greifenberg in
Pomerania
Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...
, Germany (now Gryfice in northwestern Poland), to a Jewish family. He moved to Berlin at the age of 15. His first verses are said to have been published as early as 1917–1918; the first collection of poems, ''Dem Hirtenknaben'', was issued in
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 ...
in 1919; another one, entitled ''Die Flut'', was published in Vienna in 1937.
[Moriz Seeler, ''Die Flut: Gedichte'' (Vienna, Buchhandlung Richard Lányi, 1937).] At some point, Seeler began using "Moriz," rather than his birth name of Moritz.
Biography
He is perhaps best known as the founding father of the Junge Bühne (‘Young Stage’), an avant‑garde matinee-theatre which came into being in Berlin in the spring of 1922. In 1927 he co‑authored the ''libretto'' to
Friedrich Hollaender
Friedrich Hollaender (in exile also Frederick Hollander; 18 October 189618 January 1976) was a German film composer and author.
Life and career
He was born in London to a Jewish family, where his father, operetta composer Victor Hollaend ...
’s cabaret ''Bei uns um die Gedächtniskirche rum''. In June 1929 he co‑founded (together with
Robert Siodmak
Robert Siodmak (; 8 August 1900 – 10 March 1973) was a German Jewish film director. His career spanned some 40 years, working extensively in the United States and France, as well as in his native country. Though he worked in many genres, he was ...
and
Edgar G. Ulmer) Filmstudio 1929, a Berlin production house. In 1929–1930 he co‑produced, together with
Heinrich Nebenzahl
Heinrich Nebenzahl (1870–1938) was an Austrian-born film producer.Prawer p.7 In 1925 he founded the German production company Nero Film which prospered under the management of his son Seymour Nebenzahl. In 1933 the Jewish Nebenzahls were force ...
, the silent ''quasi''-documentary film ''Menschen am Sonntag'', directed by Robert Siodmak (1900–1973) and starring Brigitte Borchert and Erwin Splettstößer, which shows a candid picture of life in Weimar-era Germany.
In 1998 a small book written about him by Günther Elbin, ''Am Sonntag in die Matinee'', appeared in Germany.
[Günther Elbin, ''Am Sonntag in die Matinee: Moriz Seeler und die Junge Bühne: Eine Spurensuche'' (Mannheim, Persona-Verlag, 1998).] Following this development, in November 2000, a memorial plaque was erected on the façade of the tenement at the Brandenburgische Straße 36 in what is now the Berlin borough of
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf () is the fourth borough of Berlin, formed in an administrative reform with effect from 1 January 2001, by merging the former boroughs of Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf.
Overview
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf covers the ...
, identifying the house as the locale where Moriz Seeler lived from 1916 to the mid‑1920s. In September 2002 a street, previously known as Franz‑Ehrlich-Straße, in another of the Berlin boroughs (that of
Treptow-Köpenick
Treptow-Köpenick () is the ninth Boroughs of Berlin, borough of Berlin, Germany, formed in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform by merging the former boroughs of Treptow and Köpenick.
The borough was formerly part of East Berlin. Overview
Among ...
), was renamed Moriz‑Seeler‑Straße in his honour. The capital of Austria has had a street named Moritz‑Seeler‑Gasse since 1969.
Deportation and death
Seeler was deported from Berlin to Riga, Latvia on 15 August 1942. Seeler arrived in Riga on 18 August 1942, along with the other 1,003 men, women, and children who were deported along with him from Berlin.
Shortly after arrival, all passengers, including Seeler, were executed in the Rumbula and Bikernieki forests.
See also
*
Cinema of Germany
The film industry in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema made major technical and artistic contributions to early film, broadcasting and television technology. Babelsberg Studio, Babelsberg became a household synon ...
*
Erich Heller
Erich Heller (27 March 1911 – 5 November 1990) was a British essayist, known particularly for his critical studies in German-language philosophy and literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Biography
Heller was born at Chomuto ...
(''s.v.'' Life in letters)
*
Marieluise Fleißer
Marieluise Fleißer (; 23 November 1901, in Ingolstadt – 2 February 1974, in Ingolstadt) was a German writer and playwright, most commonly associated with the aesthetic movement and style of ''Neue Sachlichkeit,'' or New Objectivity.
Biogra ...
*
List of German language poets
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seeler, Moriz
1896 births
1940s missing person cases
German male poets
German-language poets
German theatre directors
German theatre managers and producers
Jewish poets
Year of death unknown
People from the Province of Pomerania
German people who died in the Theresienstadt Ghetto
People who died in the Riga Ghetto
20th-century German male writers
People from Gryfice