Theo Harych (19 December 1903 – 22 February 1958) was a German writer.

Life

Born in Doruchow,

Province of Posen The Province of Posen (; ) was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1848 to 1920, occupying most of the historical Greater Poland. The province was established following the Greater Poland Uprising (1848), Poznań Uprisi ...

, Theo Harych was the son of a farmer. From 1910 to 1918, he worked as a

herder A herder is a pastoralism, pastoral worker responsible for the care and management of a herd or flock of domestic animals, usually on extensive management, open pasture. It is particularly associated with nomadic pastoralism, nomadic or transhuma ...

and

servant A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly ...

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

. He stopped attending a

Volksschule The German term ''Volksschule'' () generally refers to compulsory education, denoting an educational institution every person (i.e. the people, ''Volk'') is required to attend. In Germany and Switzerland it is equivalent to a combined primar ...

after 1916. He went to Central Germany in 1919 where he worked in a sugar factory and in a coal mine in

Mücheln Mücheln (Geiseltal) () is a town in the Saalekreis district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Geography Mücheln (Geiseltal) is situated approximately 15 km west of Merseburg and borders Lake Geiseltal to the southwest, west, and northwest. Divisi ...

. As a member of the Miner's Labor Union, he participated in the Mitteldeutschen Aufstand (Central German Rebellion) in the Gieseltal (Giesel Valley). He attended a driving and servant school in Halle (

Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale ( ) and Thuringian Saale (), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the M ...

), subsequently he was a

journeyman A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...

in Saxony on the way. He was once employed as a

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, ''valet de chambre'' was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "va ...

to an Adel but lasted just five minutes, on account of his Communist sentiments. He followed with renewed travel and spent time as a driver 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 ...

. After a period of unemployment from 1930 to 1936, Harych worked as a locksmith from 1936 to 1944. He drove deliveries with one of his own panel vans. He was drafted to the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

in 1944 but fared poorly because of ear problems. He was assigned to "Ear Company" and soon released. After

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 worked again as a valet, 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 writing talent was discovered in 1950 and enabled him an existence as a freelance writer. Harych was a member of the

Deutscher Schriftstellerverband The German Writers' Union (German language, German, "Deutscher Schriftstellerverband") was an East German association of writers. It was founded in 1950 and renamed in 1973 as Schriftstellerverband der DDR (Writers' Association of the GDR). The ...

and received the 1954

Heinrich Mann Prize The Heinrich Mann Prize () is an essay prize that has been awarded since 1953, first by the East German Academy of Arts, then by the Academy of Arts, Berlin. The prize, which comes with a €10,000 purse, is given annually on 27 March, Heinrich ...

. He committed suicide in his apartment in Berlin in 1958. In addition to a

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

, Theo Harych published three novels. ''Hinter den schwartzen Wäldern'' (Behind the Black Forests) describes Harych's poor childhood. Themes of ''In Geiseltal'' are misery and rebellion in the Central German coal mines until the insurrection of 1921. The third novel, ''Im Namen des Volkes'' (In the Name of the People), is a documentary of

miscarriage of justice A miscarriage of justice occurs when an unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Innocent ...

befalling Polish farm worker Jakubowski in the 1920s. He also wrote an unpublished manuscript of a socialist realist novel ''Stalinallee'' in 1952. The novel was commissioned by the National Building Program for Germany's Capital (). The manuscript is now held at the

Akademie der Künste The Academy of Arts () is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The academy's predecessor organization was founded in 1696 by Elector F ...

in Berlin.

Works

*''Hinter den schwarzen Wäldern'' (Behind the Black Forests), Berlin 1951 *''Bärbels und Lothars schönster Tag'' (Bärbel and Lothar's Beautiful Day), Berlin 1952 *''Im Geiseltal'' (In Geisel Valley), Berlin 1952 *''Im Namen des Volkes?'' (In the Name of the People), Berlin 1958

Literature

Serke, J.: ''Zu Hause im Exil'' (To the House in Exile). München, Zürich 1998

References

External links

Wer was wer in der DDR? Harych Theo
(Who was who in East Germany? Theo Harych) {{DEFAULTSORT:Harych, Theo 1903 births 1958 deaths People from Ostrzeszów County Writers from the Province of Posen Writers from East Berlin Heinrich Mann Prize winners German male writers 1958 suicides Suicides in East Germany