Jurek Becker
Jurek Becker | |
|---|---|
 Jurek Becker, 1993 | |
| Born | probably 30 September 1937 Łódź, Poland |
| Died | 14 March 1997 (aged 59) Sieseby, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany |
| Language | German |
| Nationality | German |
| Notable works | Jacob the Liar |
Jurek Becker (German:
Childhood
Jurek Becker was born, probably, in 1937. His birth date is not entirely clear because his father gave a birth date that was intended to protect the child from deportation. After the war Becker was claimed by a father, but Jurek was never sure if he was his real father,[1] and who said he no longer remembered Jurek's correct birth date. It is probable that Jurek Becker was some years younger than is generally reckoned.
He lived in the
Career
After completing his national service in the East German army in the 1950s, during which time he became firm friends with the actor
By the mid-1970s differences of opinion with the GDR authorities were becoming apparent, and Becker was one of the original twelve signatories of the petition against the expulsion of writer and singer Wolf Biermann in November 1976. In 1977 he moved from East to West Berlin, though somewhat unusually he retained his East German citizenship. He continued to publish novels and short stories, some on Jewish themes, others not.
Becker died in 1997 of
Works
In German
Becker was primarily a novelist, but he also wrote film and TV scripts. Several of his novels deal with the victims of the Holocaust: Jakob der Lügner, Der Boxer, and Bronsteins Kinder. Jakob der Lügner remains his most successful work.
- Jakob der Lügner (1969)
- Irreführung der Behörden (1973)
- Der Boxer (1976)
- Schlaflose Tage (1978)
- Nach der ersten Zukunft (1980) – short story collection
- Aller Welt Freund (1982)
- Bronsteins Kinder (1986)
- Amanda herzlos (1992)
- Warnung von dem Schiftsteller (1990) – lectures
- Liebling Kreuzberg (1986 and 1988) – TV series
In English translation
- Sleepless Days (1986)
- Jacob the Liar (1990)
- Bronstein's Children (1999)
- The Boxer (2002)
- My Father, the Germans and I (2010)
Filmography
- Jacob the Liar, directed by Frank Beyer (1975, based on the novel Jacob the Liar)
- The Boxer, directed by Karl Fruchtmann (1980, TV film, based on the novel The Boxer)
- Sleepless Days, directed by Diethard Klante (1982, TV film, based on the novel Sleepless Days)
- Shortcut to Istanbul, directed by Andreas Dresen (1991, short film, loosely based on the story Romeo)
- Bronstein's Children, directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz (1991, based on the novel Bronstein's Children)
- Sleepless Days, directed by Gabriele Denecke (1991, TV film, based on the novel Sleepless Days)
- While All Germans Sleep, directed by Frank Beyer (1995, TV film, based on the story Die Mauer)
- Jakob the Liar, directed by Peter Kassovitz (1999, based on the novel Jacob the Liar)
Screenwriter
- Ohne Pass in fremden Betten (dir. Vladimír Brebera, 1965)
- Jungfer, Sie gefällt mir (dir. Günter Reisch, 1969)
- Meine Stunde Null (dir. Joachim Hasler, 1970)
- Jacob the Liar (dir. Frank Beyer, 1975)
- Das Versteck (dir. Frank Beyer, 1977/78)
- David (dir. Peter Lilienthal, 1979)
- Liebling Kreuzberg (1986–1998, TV series)
- The Passenger – Welcome to Germany (dir. Thomas Brasch, 1988)
- Neuner (dir. Werner Masten, 1990)
- Bronstein's Children (dir. Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 1991)
- Wir sind auch nur ein Volk (1994–1995, TV series)
- While All Germans Sleep (dir. Frank Beyer, 1995, TV film)
References
- ^ Sander Gilman (2002). "A Rare Bird Sander Gilman on writing the biography of Jurek Becker". Archived from the original on May 15, 2004. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
Notes
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2013) |
Bibliography
- ISBN 0-226-29393-9.
- "Jurek Becker", The Oxford Companion to German Literature, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997, pp. 67–68.
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