Günther Krupkat
Encyclopedia
Günther Krupkat was a German
fiction writer, known as one of the leading science fiction
writers of East Germany.
in 1905, Krupkat studied engineering before dropping out for lack of means to support himself. He wrote his first novel, Od, at age 19, having been inspired by Soviet
writer Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy
's 1923 novel Aelita
. Its publication in pre-war Germany was rejected due to the leftist ideas propounded by Krupkat.
Active in the Communist Resistance
against the Third Reich, Krupkat fled to Czechoslovakia
at the close of the Second World War. He settled in the German Democratic Republic
(East Germany) after the Nazis' defeat, writing science fiction
stories, screenplays, and novels, first fully devoting himself to a writer's career in the mid-1950s, following a decade of working as an editor.
Krupkat became chairman of the East German Writers Union's Science Fiction Working Group upon its formation in 1972. He was succeeded by Heiner Rank in 1978.
Stories
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
fiction writer, known as one of the leading science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
writers of East Germany.
Biography
Born in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1905, Krupkat studied engineering before dropping out for lack of means to support himself. He wrote his first novel, Od, at age 19, having been inspired by Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
writer Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy
Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy
Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy , nicknamed the Comrade Count, was a Russian and Soviet writer who wrote in many genres but specialized in science fiction and historical novels...
's 1923 novel Aelita
Aelita (novel)
Aelita also known as Aelita or, The Decline of Mars is a 1923 science fiction novel by Russian author Alexei Tolstoy.-Plot summary:...
. Its publication in pre-war Germany was rejected due to the leftist ideas propounded by Krupkat.
Active in the Communist Resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
against the Third Reich, Krupkat fled to Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
at the close of the Second World War. He settled in the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
(East Germany) after the Nazis' defeat, writing science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
stories, screenplays, and novels, first fully devoting himself to a writer's career in the mid-1950s, following a decade of working as an editor.
Krupkat became chairman of the East German Writers Union's Science Fiction Working Group upon its formation in 1972. He was succeeded by Heiner Rank in 1978.
Works
Novels- 1957: Das Schiff der Verlorenen
- 1958: Das Gesicht
- 1960: Die große Grenze
- 1963: Als die Götter starbenAls die Götter starbenAls die Götter starben is a 1963 science fiction novel by German author Günther Krupkat about contact between humans and an alien race from the distant planet "Meju." After the discovery of alien diaries on the Martian moon Phobos in the 21st century, a frame narrative tells the interconnected...
- 1968: NabouNabouNabou is a 1968 science fiction novel by German author Günther Krupkat. Written as a sequel to his 1963 novel Als die Götter starben, Nabou narrates an expedition into the interior of the Earth. A member of a research team investigating Earth's crust is revealed to be a cyborg, or "Biomat," left by...
Stories
- 1956: Gefangene des ewigen Kreises
- 1956: Die Unsichtbaren
- 1957: Kobalt 60
- 1957: Nordlicht über Palmen
- 1969: Insel der Angst
- 1974: Das Duell
- 1975: Bazillus phantastikus
- 1975: Der Mann vom Anti