Wilhelm Dichter
Encyclopedia
Wilhelm Dichter is a Polish-Jewish writer who has written three literary novels which are roman a clef
s based on his own life. He was born in 1935 in Boryslav
(in modern day Ukraine
), where he survived the war. His father had died, and he and his mother (remarried after the war) came to live in Poland
toward the end of 1944. He finished his studies at the Warsaw Polytechnic, where he earned his doctorate in mechanical engineering and worked for 13 years until 1968. The antisemitic campaign in 1968 in Poland provided the opportunity for him and his family to emigrate, through Vienna
and Rome
, eventually settling in the United States
. As an expert in ballistics, he worked at Colt's Firearms in the R&D division on Long Island, New York, and later in Hartford Connecticut. In 1978, he made a transition to the field of image processing, becoming an image processing algorithm design specialist at the Linotype-Hell company. He is currently retired from his engineering work, and lives in the Boston area.
, Poland's top literary award. The book, an autobiographical, literary novel traces the life of the author from early childhood as he miraculously survives the Holocaust. The book is written without sentimentality and from the perspective of the child that he was at the time. It is simple and concise, and its literary style has been likened to that of Ernest Hemingway
. The book soon became required reading for high school students in Poland.
Dichter's second book, School of the Godless (Szkoła Bezbożników), published in 2000, follows the author's life after the war in the newly-established Communist Poland. It is a story of the coming of age of a young man in a culture that promises a bright new future. We follow as he experiences his life in an elite, secular high school, falls in love and is conflicted with adopting a life ideology. It was also a finalist for the Nike Award.
The third book, English Lessons begins with the chaos of emigration from Poland and tells of the creation of and adjustment to a new life for him and his family in the United States. It was released in Poland to critical acclaim in the second half of 2010.
Dichter's books, particularly the first two, have been translated into Russian, French, Czech, German, and Dutch.
Roman à clef
Roman à clef or roman à clé , French for "novel with a key", is a phrase used to describe a novel about real life, overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the nonfiction and the fiction...
s based on his own life. He was born in 1935 in Boryslav
Boryslav
Boryslav is a city located on the Tysmenytsia River , in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. The city is designated as a separate raion within the oblast....
(in modern day Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
), where he survived the war. His father had died, and he and his mother (remarried after the war) came to live in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
toward the end of 1944. He finished his studies at the Warsaw Polytechnic, where he earned his doctorate in mechanical engineering and worked for 13 years until 1968. The antisemitic campaign in 1968 in Poland provided the opportunity for him and his family to emigrate, through Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, eventually settling in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As an expert in ballistics, he worked at Colt's Firearms in the R&D division on Long Island, New York, and later in Hartford Connecticut. In 1978, he made a transition to the field of image processing, becoming an image processing algorithm design specialist at the Linotype-Hell company. He is currently retired from his engineering work, and lives in the Boston area.
Works
In 1996, the author's literary debut, God's Horse was nominated for the NikeNike Award
The NIKE Literary Award is one of the most prestigious awards for Polish literature. Established in 1997 and funded by Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland's second largest daily paper, and the consulting company NICOM, it is conferred annually in October for the best book of a single living author writing in...
, Poland's top literary award. The book, an autobiographical, literary novel traces the life of the author from early childhood as he miraculously survives the Holocaust. The book is written without sentimentality and from the perspective of the child that he was at the time. It is simple and concise, and its literary style has been likened to that of Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
. The book soon became required reading for high school students in Poland.
Dichter's second book, School of the Godless (Szkoła Bezbożników), published in 2000, follows the author's life after the war in the newly-established Communist Poland. It is a story of the coming of age of a young man in a culture that promises a bright new future. We follow as he experiences his life in an elite, secular high school, falls in love and is conflicted with adopting a life ideology. It was also a finalist for the Nike Award.
The third book, English Lessons begins with the chaos of emigration from Poland and tells of the creation of and adjustment to a new life for him and his family in the United States. It was released in Poland to critical acclaim in the second half of 2010.
Dichter's books, particularly the first two, have been translated into Russian, French, Czech, German, and Dutch.
External links
- http://www.culture.pl/en/culture/artykuly/os_dichter_wilhelm
- http://www.pecina.cz/files/www.ce-review.org/00/4/books4_dichter.html