Lenka Reinerová
Encyclopedia
Lenka Reinerová (ˈlɛŋka ˈrajnɛrovaː) (May 17, 1916 – June 27, 2008) was an author from the Czech Republic
who wrote exclusively in German
. She was born in Prague
.
) and her father an ironware dealer from Prague. Prior to World War II
, she worked as a translator, an interpreter and an editor for the Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung. She fled to Paris
in 1938 and later travelled to Morocco
. She was visiting Mexico with the journalist and writer Egon Erwin Kisch
in March 1939 and was the only member of her family to survive the Holocaust. She returned to what was then Czechoslovakia
after 1948. In the 1950s, she was jailed by Czechoslovakia's Stalinist authorities and spent 15 months in prison; she recorded this experience in one of her novels, Alle Farben der Sonne und der Nacht. After her release she published sporadically. Beginning in 1968, she was not allowed to publish at all until the fall of communism
. Her works are mostly published at Aufbau Verlagsgruppe, Berlin
.
On January 25, 2008, a speech Reinerová wrote but could not longer deliver personally due to ill health was read in German parliament
in the course of an hour of remembrance for the victims of the Nazi regime
.
In 1999, she was awarded the Schiller Prize. In 2003, she won the prestigious Goethe Medal
.
Reinerova had been largely a recluse ever since a spell in hospital in 2007, with the cause of her death not immediately known. Lucie Cernhousova, head of Literaturhaus, the Prague publisher of German-language writers, disclosed her death.
Reinerova, the oldest living German-language writer in Prague, died June 27, 2008, in Prague, in her apartment, at 92.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
who wrote exclusively in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. She was born in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
.
Life
Reinerová grew up in a German-speaking Jewish family, her mother a German-Bohemian from Saaz (ŽatecŽatec
Žatec is an old town in the Czech Republic, in Louny District, Ústí nad Labem Region. It has a population of 19,813 .The earliest historical reference to Sacz is in the Latin chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg of 1004. During the 11th century it belonged to the Vršovci - a powerful Czech...
) and her father an ironware dealer from Prague. Prior to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, she worked as a translator, an interpreter and an editor for the Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung. She fled to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1938 and later travelled to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. She was visiting Mexico with the journalist and writer Egon Erwin Kisch
Egon Erwin Kisch
Egon Erwin Kisch was a Czechoslovak writer and journalist, who wrote in German. Known as the The raging reporter from Prague, Kisch was noted for his development of literary reportage and his opposition to Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime.- Biography :Kisch was born into a wealthy, German-speaking...
in March 1939 and was the only member of her family to survive the Holocaust. She returned to what was then 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...
after 1948. In the 1950s, she was jailed by Czechoslovakia's Stalinist authorities and spent 15 months in prison; she recorded this experience in one of her novels, Alle Farben der Sonne und der Nacht. After her release she published sporadically. Beginning in 1968, she was not allowed to publish at all until the fall of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. Her works are mostly published at Aufbau Verlagsgruppe, Berlin
Berlin
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...
.
On January 25, 2008, a speech Reinerová wrote but could not longer deliver personally due to ill health was read in German parliament
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
in the course of an hour of remembrance for the victims of the Nazi regime
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
In 1999, she was awarded the Schiller Prize. In 2003, she won the prestigious Goethe Medal
Goethe Medal
The Goethe Medal, also known as the Goethe-Medaille, is a yearly prize given by the Goethe Institute honoring non-Germans for meritorious contributions in the spirit of the Institute. It is an official decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany....
.
Reinerova had been largely a recluse ever since a spell in hospital in 2007, with the cause of her death not immediately known. Lucie Cernhousova, head of Literaturhaus, the Prague publisher of German-language writers, disclosed her death.
Reinerova, the oldest living German-language writer in Prague, died June 27, 2008, in Prague, in her apartment, at 92.