Hermann Häfker
Encyclopedia
Hermann Wilhelm Häfker was an important film theoretician
as well as an acknowledged Esperantist
and writer
.
Häfker published essential contributions to film theory. Like Sergei Eisenstein
he saw film as a comprehensive artwork. Häfker is considered the most important representatitve of the film reform movement in Germany. He recognized early the cultural potential of cinema, but also the dangers of "low taste" resulting from commercial film production. His work can be seen as part of the aesthetic movement initiated by Deutscher Werkbund
and Dürerbund
.
During his years in Dresden
he was closely connected to Ferdinand Avenarius
and his Dürerbund. He wrote popular books on history, sexual education and science. His presumably most successful book, Das Sternbilder-Buch, contributed to educating the youth to love of stars and astronomy. Häfker created it in collaboration with graphic designer Kurt Fiedler
for the Dürerbund. Häfker's Weltgeschichte in einem Band (World History in one Volume) was banned by the Nazis.
Because of his resistance against Nazi culture policy, they imposed Berufsverbot
on Häfker. He fled 1936 to Prague
, was brought to Dachau concentration camp after the German invasion and died in the Concentration Camp Mauthausen
.
Film theory
Film theory is an academic discipline that aims to explore the essence of the cinema and provides conceptual frameworks for understanding film's relationship to reality, the other arts, individual viewers, and society at large...
as well as an acknowledged Esperantist
Esperantist
An Esperantist is a person who speaks or uses Esperanto. Etymologically, an Esperantist is someone who hopes...
and 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....
.
Häfker published essential contributions to film theory. Like Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein , né Eizenshtein, was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the "Father of Montage"...
he saw film as a comprehensive artwork. Häfker is considered the most important representatitve of the film reform movement in Germany. He recognized early the cultural potential of cinema, but also the dangers of "low taste" resulting from commercial film production. His work can be seen as part of the aesthetic movement initiated by Deutscher Werkbund
Deutscher Werkbund
The Deutscher Werkbund was a German association of artists, architects, designers, and industrialists. The Werkbund was to become an important event in the development of modern architecture and industrial design, particularly in the later creation of the Bauhaus school of design...
and Dürerbund
Dürerbund
The Dürerbund was an organization of writers and artists with a strong influence on the intellectual life of the middle class in the German Reich, but also in Austria and Switzerland....
.
During his years in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
he was closely connected to Ferdinand Avenarius
Ferdinand Avenarius
Ferdinand Avenarius was a lyric poet, a leading representative of the culture reform movement of his time and the first popularizer of Sylt.-Life:...
and his Dürerbund. He wrote popular books on history, sexual education and science. His presumably most successful book, Das Sternbilder-Buch, contributed to educating the youth to love of stars and astronomy. Häfker created it in collaboration with graphic designer Kurt Fiedler
Friedrich Kurt Fiedler
Friedrich Kurt Fiedler was a German graphic designer and a representative of the Social Democratic Party. During the Weimar Republic he was acknowledged for his poster design, his book illustrations and his drawings...
for the Dürerbund. Häfker's Weltgeschichte in einem Band (World History in one Volume) was banned by the Nazis.
Because of his resistance against Nazi culture policy, they imposed Berufsverbot
Berufsverbot
Berufsverbot is an order of "professional disqualification" under German law. Berufsverbot may be called profession ban in English.A Berufsverbot disqualifies the recipient from engaging in certain professions or activities on the grounds of his or her criminal record, political convictions or...
on Häfker. He fled 1936 to 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...
, was brought to Dachau concentration camp after the German invasion and died in the Concentration Camp Mauthausen
Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Mauthausen Concentration Camp grew to become a large group of Nazi concentration camps that was built around the villages of Mauthausen and Gusen in Upper Austria, roughly east of the city of Linz.Initially a single camp at Mauthausen, it expanded over time and by the summer of 1940, the...
.
Works
- Kino und Kunst. Mönchengladbach: Volksvereins-Verlag 1913
- Kino und Erdkunde. Mönchengladbach: Volksvereins-Verlag 1914
- Die Aufgaben der Kinematographie in diesem Kriege. Munich: Callwey 1914
- Der Kino und die Gebildeten. Mönchengladbach: Volksvereins-Verlag 1915
- Gilgamesch. Eine Dichtung aus Babylon. in German by Hermann Häfker. Munich: Callwey 1924 (in the Open Library)
- Das Sternbilder-Buch. Ein Buch von Himmel und Weltanschauung. Munich: Callwey 1926
- Weltgeschichte in einem Band. Dresden: Kaden 1928
- Jarmiloj pasas. Universala historio. Verkita originale en Esperanto. Cologne: Heroldo de Esperanto 1930/31
Literature
- Richard Abel (ed.): Encyclopedia of early cinema. London and New York: Routledge 2005