H. G. Adler
Encyclopedia
Hans Günther Adler, who wrote as H. G. Adler (July 2, 1910, Prague
– 1988, London) was a German-language poet and novelist.
Born in Prague
to Emil and Alice Adler, Hans Adler was a Jew, though not devout.
After his graduation in 1935 from Charles University, where he studied music and literature, arts and sciences, he worked as a secretary and teacher, later in Czech radio broadcasting.
In 1941 he was sent to a Jewish workcamp where he worked until his deportation to Theresienstadt
with his family on February 8, 1942. Adler was to spend two and a half years in Theresienstadt with his family before being sent to Auschwitz. At Theresienstadt, Adler did only minor work, such as room duty and barrack building. His wife, who was a medical doctor and chemist, led the medical central bureau. On Oct 14, 1944 he arrived with his wife and her mother at Auschwitz.
Both women were put in the gas chambers that day. Adler was to lose his mother and father and sixteen members of his family to the Holocaust
.
On October 28, 1944, Adler was deported to Niederoschel, a subdivision of Buchenwald, and in 1945, to other subdivisions of Buchenwald. On April 13, 1945 he was free. From July and December of that year he was in Prague, helping Przemysl Pitter create homes for the remnant of Jews.
From October 1945 until February 1947, Adler worked in the Jewish Museum in Prague
, where he devoted himself chiefly to the building up of the archives about the times of persecution and the Theresienstad camp. At this time he was also involved in accumulating the documents from the camp, with the intention of bringing them to Palestine
. Although some material was brought to Jerusalem, for the most part this project was not completed.
Adler later went to London, where he met and married a childhood sweetheart with whom he fathered his only child Jeremy Adler
.
He went on to author 26 books on history, philosophy and poetry, including several autobiographies, nonfiction and fictional works on the Holocaust. His first fiction novel was The Journey, described as "Holocaust modernism" in a 2009 review in the New York Times.
He received the Leo Baeck Prize in 1958, the Prix Charles Veillon in 1969 for Panorama; the Buber-Rosenzweig-Medal
in 1974 and an honorary Ph.D. from the University of Berlin in 1980. Adler died in London in 1988.
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...
– 1988, London) was a German-language poet and novelist.
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...
to Emil and Alice Adler, Hans Adler was a Jew, though not devout.
After his graduation in 1935 from Charles University, where he studied music and literature, arts and sciences, he worked as a secretary and teacher, later in Czech radio broadcasting.
In 1941 he was sent to a Jewish workcamp where he worked until his deportation to Theresienstadt
Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp was a Nazi German ghetto during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison city of Terezín , located in what is now the Czech Republic.-History:The fortress of Terezín was constructed between the years 1780 and 1790 by the orders...
with his family on February 8, 1942. Adler was to spend two and a half years in Theresienstadt with his family before being sent to Auschwitz. At Theresienstadt, Adler did only minor work, such as room duty and barrack building. His wife, who was a medical doctor and chemist, led the medical central bureau. On Oct 14, 1944 he arrived with his wife and her mother at Auschwitz.
Both women were put in the gas chambers that day. Adler was to lose his mother and father and sixteen members of his family to the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
.
On October 28, 1944, Adler was deported to Niederoschel, a subdivision of Buchenwald, and in 1945, to other subdivisions of Buchenwald. On April 13, 1945 he was free. From July and December of that year he was in Prague, helping Przemysl Pitter create homes for the remnant of Jews.
From October 1945 until February 1947, Adler worked in the Jewish Museum in Prague
Jewish Museum in Prague
The Jewish Museum in Prague is a museum of Jewish heritage located in Prague, Czech Republic.The Jewish Museum in Prague was founded in 1906 by historian Dr. Hugo Lieben and Dr. Augustin Stein, who later became head of the Prague Jewish Community...
, where he devoted himself chiefly to the building up of the archives about the times of persecution and the Theresienstad camp. At this time he was also involved in accumulating the documents from the camp, with the intention of bringing them to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. Although some material was brought to Jerusalem, for the most part this project was not completed.
Adler later went to London, where he met and married a childhood sweetheart with whom he fathered his only child Jeremy Adler
Jeremy Adler
Jeremy Adler is a British poet and professor of German at King's College London.-Education:Adler completed his PhD dissertation in 1977 on the chemistry of German polymath Johann Goethe's Elective Affinities under Claus Bock....
.
He went on to author 26 books on history, philosophy and poetry, including several autobiographies, nonfiction and fictional works on the Holocaust. His first fiction novel was The Journey, described as "Holocaust modernism" in a 2009 review in the New York Times.
He received the Leo Baeck Prize in 1958, the Prix Charles Veillon in 1969 for Panorama; the Buber-Rosenzweig-Medal
Buber-Rosenzweig-Medal
The Buber-Rosenzweig-Medaille is an annual prize awarded since 1968 by the Deutscher Koordinierungsrat der Gesellschaften für Christlich-Jüdische Zusammenarbeit...
in 1974 and an honorary Ph.D. from the University of Berlin in 1980. Adler died in London in 1988.
Works
- Theresienstadt. 1941-1945. Das Antlitz einer Zwangsgemeinschaft, Geschichte Soziologie Psychologie. Tübingen: Mohr, 1955. (Theresienstadt: das Antlitz einer Zwangsgemeinschaft. Göttingen, Edition:reprint vom Wallstein Verlag, 926 Seiten. 2005. ISBN 978-3-89244-694-1)
- Die verheimlichte Wahrheit. Theresienstädter Dokumente, 1958
- Der Kampf gegen die „Endlösung der Judenfrage“, 1958
- Die Juden in Deutschland. Von der Aufklärung bis zum Nationalsozialismus, 1960
- Unser Georg und andere Erzählungen, 1961
- Der Fürst des Segens, 1964
- Die Erfahrung der Ohnmacht, 1964
- Sodoms Untergang, Bagatellen, 1965
- Kontraste und Variationen, Essays, 1969
- Ereignisse, Kleine Erzählungen und Novellen, 1969
- Der verwaltete Mensch – Studien zur Deportation der Juden aus Deutschland, Mohr-Verlag, Tübingen, 1974, ISBN 3-16-835132-6
- Fenster, Gedichte, 1974
- Viele Jahreszeiten, Gedichte, 1975
- Die Freiheit des Menschen, Essays, 1976
- Spuren und Pfeiler, Gedichte, 1978
- Transsubstantations, Gedichte, 1978
- Zeiten auf der Spur, Gedichte, 1978
- Blicke, Gedichte, 1979
- Stimme und Zuruf, Gedichte, 1980
- Panorama. Roman in 10 Bildern, Piper-Verlag, 1988, ISBN 3-492-10891-1
- Der Wahrheit verpflichtet. Interviews, Gedichte, Essays Hrsg. von Jeremy Adler, Bleicher-Verlag, Gerlingen, 1998, ISBN 3-88350-660-5
- Eine Reise, Roman, mit einem Nachwort von Jeremy Adler, Aufbau Taschenbuch Verlag, Berlin, 2002, ISBN 3-7466-1854-1
- Theresienstadt 1941–1945. Das Antlitz einer Zwangsgemeinschaft, Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen, 2005, ISBN 3-89244-694-6