Werner Lindemann (7 October 1926 – 9 February 1993) was a German writer and poet. He was the father of

Till Lindemann Till Lindemann (; born 4 January 1963) is a German singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and lyricist of Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein and solo project Lindemann (band), Lindemann. Rammstein has sold over 25 million records worldw ...

, the lead vocalist of German

industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of Heavy metal music, heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating Heavy metal guitar, metal guitar riffs, sampling (music), sampling, synthesizer or music sequencer, sequencer lines, and Distor ...

band

Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, drummer Christoph ...

Life

Werner Lindemann was born into a family of farm workers. He grew up in Alt-Jeßnitz Gutsdorf near Wolfen in

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

. In 1941, aged 15, he was apprenticed to a farmer. Between 1943 and 1945, he served in 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 ...

. After the end 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 studied

natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

s at Halle. In 1949, he began to teach agriculture-related subjects at a vocational school. Between 1955 and 1957, he studied at the Johannes R. Becher Institute of Literature at

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 ...

. There, he worked as editor of the student magazine ''Forum'', became director of the city House of Culture, and from 1959, worked as a freelance writer. He co-founded the ''Künstlerkolonie Drispeth'' ("Drispeth Artist's Colony"), where he lived for over 20 years, along with Joachim Seyppel, Joochen Laabs, and Gerhard and

Christa Wolf Christa Wolf (; Ihlenfeld; 18 March 1929 – 1 December 2011) was a German novelist and essayist. She is considered one of the most important writers to emerge from the former East Germany.Mike Oldfield Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953) is an English retired musician, songwriter and producer best known for his debut studio album ''Tubular Bells'' (1973), which became an unexpected critical and commercial success. Though primarily a gu ...

in the Rocking Chair: Notes of a Father"), Lindemann contrasted the memories of the narrator, a parent, the views and ambitions of his son; the book remarked on the differences of character among educated people in different social systems, but also showed their similarities. On many occasions, he gave talks in schools to bring poetry to children. He was a frequent visitor to the ''Grundschule Elisabethwiese'' elementary school in

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

. After his death, the school changed its name to ''Werner-Lindemann-Grundschule '' on 7 October 1994. The ceremony was attended by his widow, journalist Gitta Lindemann. In 1985, the

Academy of Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

in Berlin awarded him the '' Alex-Wedding-Preis'', for his merits in the field of socialist children's literature.

References

External links

* 1926 births 1993 deaths German-language writers 20th-century German poets German male poets 20th-century German male writers German Army personnel of World War II People from Anhalt-Bitterfeld Leipzig University alumni People from Bezirk Schwerin {{Germany-writer-stub