Otfried Preußler (; sometimes spelled Preussler; born Otfried Syrowatka; 20 October 1923 – 18 February 2013) was a German children's books author. More than 50 million copies of his books have been sold worldwide and they have been translated into 55 languages. His best-known works are '' The Robber Hotzenplotz'' and '' The Satanic Mill'' (''Krabat'').

Life and work

He was born in Liberec (Reichenberg),

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. His mother Erna Syrowatka, née Tscherwenka, and his father Josef Syrowatka were both teachers. They changed their family name from the Czech Syrowatka to the German Preußler in 1941 during the Nazi occupation of the country. After he graduated school in 1942, in the midst of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was drafted into the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

. Although he survived the military action on the Eastern Front, he was taken prisoner as a 21-year-old lieutenant in 1944. He spent the next five years in various

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

camps in the Tatar Republic. After his release in June 1949, he found his displaced relatives and his fiancée, Annelies Kind in the

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n town of

Rosenheim Rosenheim () is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is an independent city located in the centre of the Rosenheim (district), district of Rosenheim (Upper Bavaria), and is also the seat of its administration. It is located on the west bank of the Inn ...

. They married that same year. Between 1953 and 1970, he was initially a primary school teacher, then a school principal in

. There his talents as a storyteller and illustrator were put to good use, and often the stories he told the children would later be written down and published. He won the

Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis The (German Youth Literature Award) is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's and young adult literature. It is Germany's only ...

in 1972 for ''Krabat''. Preußler resided in Haidholzen, near

. Over 15.2 million copies of his books have been sold in the German language, and his works have been translated into over 55 other languages. Having essentially retired from writing stories, which had become his main occupation, he undertook the relation of his experiences as a prisoner in the

camps; those memoirs are to be published after his death.

Legacy

22 schools are named after him, e. g. A Gymnasium (grammar school) is named after him (the "Otfried Preußler Gymnasium Pullach", in

Pullach Pullach, officially Pullach i. Isartal (, ), is a municipality in the district of Munich (district), Munich in Bavaria in Germany. It lies on the Isar Valley Railway and is served by the S7 (Munich), S 7 line of the Munich S-Bahn, at the Großh ...

, Bavaria, Germany) and a Grundschule (

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

) is named Otfried Preußler Schule in

Bad Soden Bad Soden am Taunus (, ), commonly known as Bad Soden, is a town and spa in the Main-Taunus-Kreis, Hessen, Germany. It had a population of 22,563 , up from 21,412 in 2005. Information Bad Soden is a residential town for commuters working in F ...

. On 20 October 2017,

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

celebrated his 94th birthday with a

Google Doodle Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...

Known works translated into English

* '' The Robber Hotzenplotz'', * '' The Satanic Mill''/''The Curse of the Darkling Mill'' (originally: ''Krabat''), * ''The Little Witch'', * ''The Little Water Sprite'', * '' The Little Ghost'', * ''The Wise Men of Schilda'' * ''Herbie's Magical Hat'' * ''The Adventures of Strong Vanya'', * ''Further Adventures of the Robber Hotzenplotz'' * ''Thomas Scarecrow'' * ''Final Adventures of the Robber Hotzenplotz'' * ''The Green Bronze Bell'' * ''Silly Augustine'' * ''The Tale of the Unicorn'',

Filmography

*' (1974) *'' Krabat – The Sorcerer's Apprentice'' (1978) *''Neues vom Räuber Hotzenplotz'' (1979) *''Malá čarodějnice'' (1984) *''Das kleine Gespenst'' (1992) *''Der Räuber Hotzenplotz'' (2006) *'' Krabat'' (2008) *'' Das Kleine Gespenst'' (2013) *' (2018)

Documentary

* ''Otfried Preußler – Ich bin Krabat''. Director: Thomas von Steinaecker,

ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...

, Germany, 52 minutes, 2023 (,

arte Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union, European public service Television channel, channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based Europea ...

, available until 31 December 2023, German)

References

External links

Author's Official Website
*Melinda C. Shepherd
''Otfried Preussler''
at Britannica Online
www.worldcat.org: List of Preußler's books that have been translated into English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Preussler, Otfried 1923 births 2013 deaths 20th-century German writers German children's writers German fantasy writers Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German male writers Sudeten German people Naturalized citizens of Germany Writers from Liberec German Army officers of World War II German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union Deutscher Fantasy Preis winners