Christian Graf von Krockow
Encyclopedia
Christian Graf von Krockow, (May 26, 1927 - March 17, 2002) was a German
writer
and political scientist,
Christian Count of Krockow was the son of a historic Pomerania
n noble family. He was born in Rumbske (Rumsko)
near the city of Stolp (Słupsk). In 1945, as the Red Army
advanced into the Province of Pomerania, he became a refugee and fled to Hamburg
.
Krockow studied sociology, philosophy and law at the University of Göttingen in 1947-54, where he earned his doctoral degree, and the University of Durham, England. In 1961-69 he was a professor of political science at the universities of Göttingen, Saarbrücken
and Frankfurt. In 1970-73 he served as a founding regent of the University of Oldenburg, which in 1995 named him an honorary professor. He was named professor emeritus by the University of Göttingen in 1981. After resigning from his tenured position, he moved to Nikolausberg near Göttingen, where he made a name and a living as in independent writer and speaker. He also worked as speechwriter and political advisor to Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and the Dutch royal family. Towards the end of his life, he moved to Hamburg, where he continued to publish books and articles, albeit living in near seclusion.
Krockow received several German literary prizes. His biographies of Frederick the Great, Kaiser Wilhelm II and the resistance fighter Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg, who attempted to assassinate Hitler
on July 20, 1944, won wide readership.
His book "Stunde der Frauen" (Hour of the Women), which he wrote with his sister Libussa Fritz-Krockow, describes her ordeal fleeing Pomerania in 1945. When Germany collapsed, it was the hour of the German women, who rebuilt Germany from its ruins. The book remained a national bestseller for almost a decade and ushered in a period in which Germans began to rethink the immediate post-war time and deal with the loss of Pomerania, East Prussia, and Silesia. The book was translated into Polish, French, English, and Japanese.
Krockow died on March 13, 2002, in Hamburg, aged 74. He was buried at Ohlsdorf cemetery
in Ohlsdorf.
Of his native region, lost to Germany with the border changes of 1945 and the Expulsion of Germans after World War II
, Krockow wrote:
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...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and political scientist,
Christian Count of Krockow was the son of a historic Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
n noble family. He was born in Rumbske (Rumsko)
Rumsko
Rumsko is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Główczyce, within Słupsk County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately west of Główczyce, north-east of Słupsk, and west of the regional capital Gdańsk.Before 1648 the area was part of Duchy of Pomerania,...
near the city of Stolp (Słupsk). In 1945, as the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
advanced into the Province of Pomerania, he became a refugee and fled to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
.
Krockow studied sociology, philosophy and law at the University of Göttingen in 1947-54, where he earned his doctoral degree, and the University of Durham, England. In 1961-69 he was a professor of political science at the universities of Göttingen, Saarbrücken
Saarland University
Saarland University is a university located in Saarbrücken, the capital of the German state of Saarland, and Homburg. It was founded in 1948 in Homburg in co-operation with France and is organized in 8 faculties that cover all major fields of science...
and Frankfurt. In 1970-73 he served as a founding regent of the University of Oldenburg, which in 1995 named him an honorary professor. He was named professor emeritus by the University of Göttingen in 1981. After resigning from his tenured position, he moved to Nikolausberg near Göttingen, where he made a name and a living as in independent writer and speaker. He also worked as speechwriter and political advisor to Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and the Dutch royal family. Towards the end of his life, he moved to Hamburg, where he continued to publish books and articles, albeit living in near seclusion.
Krockow received several German literary prizes. His biographies of Frederick the Great, Kaiser Wilhelm II and the resistance fighter Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg, who attempted to assassinate Hitler
July 20 Plot
On 20 July 1944, an attempt was made to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of the Third Reich, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The plot was the culmination of the efforts of several groups in the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi-led German government...
on July 20, 1944, won wide readership.
His book "Stunde der Frauen" (Hour of the Women), which he wrote with his sister Libussa Fritz-Krockow, describes her ordeal fleeing Pomerania in 1945. When Germany collapsed, it was the hour of the German women, who rebuilt Germany from its ruins. The book remained a national bestseller for almost a decade and ushered in a period in which Germans began to rethink the immediate post-war time and deal with the loss of Pomerania, East Prussia, and Silesia. The book was translated into Polish, French, English, and Japanese.
Krockow died on March 13, 2002, in Hamburg, aged 74. He was buried at Ohlsdorf cemetery
Ohlsdorf Cemetery
-External links:* *...
in Ohlsdorf.
Of his native region, lost to Germany with the border changes of 1945 and the Expulsion of Germans after World War II
Expulsion of Germans after World War II
The later stages of World War II, and the period after the end of that war, saw the forced migration of millions of German nationals and ethnic Germans from various European states and territories, mostly into the areas which would become post-war Germany and post-war Austria...
, Krockow wrote:
- — Christian Graf von Krockow: Die Reise nach Pommern: Bericht aus einem verschwiegenen Land.
- Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich, 1985. ISBN 3-421-06251-x. Page 215.
Works of literature
- Begegnung mit Ostpreußen (Familiarity with East Prussia)
- Otto von Bismarck Biography (1997)
- Churchill Biography (1999)
- Hitler und seine Deutschen Biography & national history (2001)
- Der deutsche Niedergang. Ein Ausblick ins 21. Jahrhundert (The German Collapse: A view into the 21st Century) (1998)
- Die Elbreise (Journey on the Elbe)
- Erinnerungen (Memoirs)
- Fahrten durch die Mark Brandenburg (Travels through Brandenburg) (1991)
- Die preußischen Brüder (The Prussian Brothers)
- Die Reise nach Pommern (Journey to Pomerania) (1985)
- Die Rheinreise (Journey on the Rhine)
- Rheinsberg
- Die Stunde der Frauen (The Hour of the Women) (1988)
- Vom lohnenden Leben (On Worthwhile Life)
- Die Deutschen in ihrem Jahrhundert (The Germans in this Century) (1990)
- Über die Deutschen (On the Germans)