Chronology
Böll was born on December 21st, 1917, in Cologne, Germany to
a middle-class, Catholic family. His father was a carpenter specializing
in benches and cabinets for churches, whose first wife had died. Böll's
father had remarried. Attending a Catholic high school (Gymnasium), Böll
successfully resisted joining the Hitler Youth during the 1930s. He
started and broke off an apprenticeship to learn the trade of
bookseller, then matriculated into the University of Cologne. His first
literary attempts date to 1936. Drafted into compulsary work service and
then the army (Wehrmacht), he served in France, Romania, Hungary and the
Soviet Union, and was wounded four times before being captured by
Americans in April 1945.
He was in Prisoner of War camps until September.
During his six years in uniform, he wrote letters almost
daily to his wife and family, which were published after his death. His
war injuries, which he attempted to prevent healing in order to stay
longer as unfit, were a factor in his often poor health. Böll attempted
to live solely as a writer after the war, but was also supported by the
income of his wife Annemarie, who worked for several years as a middle
school teacher. Together with his wife, who had the primary involvement,
the Bölls collaborated on numerous translations of Irish, English and
American literature.
Böll's first novel was "Der Zug war pünktlich" (The
Train Was on Time), published in 1949. He won the Prize of the Gruppe
'47 (Group 47) at Bad Durkheim in 1951. In the immediate post-war
period, he adapted memories of the War and wrote of its effects on the
lives of ordinary people in his works. The novel "Billard um halbzehn"
(Billiards at Half-past Nine) portrayed three generations of a family
and showed the rise and continuity of the Nazi past in Germany. His
novel "Ansichten eines Clowns" (Opinions of a Clown) caused much debate
for its depiction of the Catholic church in Germany. In 1976, Böll and
his wife left the Catholic church in protest over church taxation.
http://www.dhm.de/lemo/objekte/pict/BiographieBoellHeinrich_photoBoellHeinrich/index.html
depicts Böll on the 2nd of December 1953 at a "Wednesday Discussion" of Cologne writers.
I. 1917-1936
1917 Heinrich Böll is born the sixth child of Viktor Böll, master
carpenter and woodcarver, and his wife Maria, in Cologne on the 21st of
December. Wartime conditions including hunger are at their worst.
1921 The family moves from the southern part of Cologne to the outlying
district of Raderberg.
1924 Böll begins elementary school in Köln-Raderthal.
1928 Böll enters the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gymnasium, a well-regarded school in
Cologne based on the classics.
1929 The Great Depression brings the collapse of a small bank for
craftsmen in which Böll's father had invested. The Bölls have to sell
their house in Raderberg and move back to the south-city district
Cologne. In the subsequent years, the family knows visits to
pawnbrokers, bailiffs knocking on the door, and the seizure of household
goods as part of everyday life.
1933 After Hitler becomes Chancellor, the Nazis spread terror in
Cologne. The Böll family discusses political events frequently and
openly. Böll participates in clandestine meetings of Catholic youth
groups held in their apartment.
1936 Dated manuscripts in Böll's papers, including novel fragments,
short stories, and poems - show that he starts writing at this time.
II. 1937-1945
1937 Böll finishes the Gymnasium and passes his Abitur examinations
(school-leaving certificate). He begins an apprenticeship with the
bookseller Math. Lemperz in Bonn, but leaves without finishing it.
Between 1939 and 1945 Böll is stationed:
- at a training camp in Osnabrück (August 39 - May 1940)
-in Poland (May and June 1940); in France (June - September 1940)
- in Germany (September 1940 - May 1942)
- in France (May 1942 - October 1943)
- in Russia, the Crimea, Odessa (October 1943 - February 1944)
- at various places on German territory from March 1944 until April
1945, when he is taken prisoner.
Böll temporarily deserts and goes into hiding with his wife in Much, not
far from Cologne, but on the other side of the Rhine. Fearing he could
be executed as a deserter, he rejoins the army at the end of February
1945.
Almost every day, he writes a letter to his family and to his fiancée
Annemarie Cech, whom he marries in 1942.
During the war at least 20,000 people die in a total of 262 air-raids on
Cologne. Almost half of its nearly 70,000 pre-war buildings are between
60% to 100% destroyed. Of its pre-war population of 770,000, only about
20,000 are still living in the city at the beginning of April 1945. On
the 8th of April 1945, Cologne is liberated by the American army.
1945 Böll is released from captivity as a POW in September. He joins his
pregnant wife in Much. His son Christoph, who was born in July, dies in
October due to the harsh conditions.
III. 1946-1953
1946 On returning to Cologne, the family moves into a half destroyed
house in the Schiller Street, located in the Bayenthal section. Böll
enrolls again at the Cologne University in order to obtain a ration
card. He works as an assistant in his father's carpentry workshop, which
is run primarily by his brother Alois. Böll's wife Annemarie works as a
school-teacher at the secondary school in Severinswall and is able to
provide for the family, soon to number five. In November, Böll begins to
write regularly, working on the posthumously published novels "Kreuz
ohne Liebe" (Cross without Love) and "Der Engel schwieg" (The Silent
Angel), as well as numerous short stories, fragments, essays, and poems.
Many of these works draw upon experiences of the Nazi period, the war,
and the immediate post-war period.
1947 In March, Böll submits his first short stories to various magazines
and newspapers. On the 3rd of May, one of them entitled "Vor der
Eskaladierwand" (Before the escalading wall) is published in an abridged
form in the "Rheinischer Merkur" under the title "Aus der Vorzeit" (From
prehistoric times). Böll's son Raimund is born.
1948 Böll's son René is born. Böll begins contact with the publisher
Friedrich Middelhauve.
1949 Böll signs his first publishing contract and has his first large
publication: "Der Zug war pünktlich" (The train was on time). The family
faces financial straits, because royalties from his publications are
insufficient. Böll seeks a staff position in radio or publishing and
often thinks of giving up writing.
1950 His son Vincent is born. Böll takes a temporary job with the city
of Cologne during the census of 1950 and is employed from June 1950 to
April 1951, counting buildings and apartments. Middelhauve publishes a
volume of his short stories: "Wanderer, kommst du nach Spa..."
(Stranger, Bear Word to the Spartans We...).
1951 Böll is invited for the first time to a meeting of Hans Werner
Richter's "Group 47," held that year at Bad Dürkheim, where he is
awarded their prize for the short satire "Die schwarzen Schafe" (Black
Sheep). The novel "Wo warst Du, Adam?" (Adam, where art thou?) is
published, the last of his works by Middelhauve.
1952 Böll leaves Middelhauve for the publishing house of Kiepenheuer &
Witsch. Böll increasingly depicts social problems in the German Federal
Republic. He writes essays expressing his views that the moral
expectations at the end of the war, which were hopefully to take hold in
the new state, are increasingly being sacrificed to economic and
political concerns.
IV. 1953-1959
1953 Böll's new publishing house Kiepenheuer & Witsch brings out the
novel "Und sagte kein einziges Wort" (Acquainted with the night). It is
Böll's first financial and literary success. Böll becomes a member of
the prestigious German Academy of Language and Literature (Mitglied der
Deutschen Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung), which had been founded in
1949.
1954 Böll publishes the novel "Haus ohne Hüter" (The unguarded house).
The Bölls move into a house of in Köln-Müngersdorf. They travel for the
first time to Irland.
1955 Publication of "Das Brot der frühen Jahre" (The bread of our early
years).
1955 Böll receives for the French language version of "Haus ohne Hüter"
the Prize of French Publishers for the best foreign novel. Böll joins
the PEN Club dof West Germany.
1956 Böll is one of 105 intellectuals and artists - including Albert
Camus, Pablo Picasso, Arthur Köstler, Jean Paul Sartre - to sign a
protest against the actions of the Soviet Union in Hungary and the
intervention of Great Britian and France in Egypt to open the Suez
Canal.
1957 "Irisches Tagebuch" (Irish Journal) appears in book form, parts of
it having been printed separately in newspapers beginning in 1954.
1958 Böll's name is first mentioned as a possible candidate for the
Nobel Prize for Literature. Böll recieves several prizes.
1959 Böll publishes the novel "Billard um halbzehn" (Billiards at half
past nine), in which he depicts characters belonging to a family of
architects named Fähmel, whose history is traced through three
generations. Böll emphasizes that the present state of the Federal
Republic is the continuation and outcome of the last fifty years of
German history. Symbolically, the ruthless and powerful "Büffel"
(buffaloes) are contrasted with the gentle and passive "Lämmer" (lambs).
Böll helps to establish the "Germania Judaica" (German Jewry) section of
the Cologne City Library dedicated to the history of the Jews in
Germany.
V. 1960-1969
Böll's concerns about the role of the Catholic Church in Germany grow in
this decade and he criticizes its close links with the ruling CDU
(Christian Democratic Union) political party, whose central figure is
the German Chancellor - a former mayor of Cologne in the pre-Nazi period
- Konrad Adenauer.
1960 Böll delivers a speech in Düsseldorf on the occasion of the 10th
anniversary of the founding of the Association of Victims of Nazi
Persecution. His father dies at the age of 90. Böll is a Coeditor of
the magazine "Labyrinth", which has as its goal the formulation of a
christian vision of society.
1961 Böll's "Irishes Tagebuch" (Irish Journal) appears in paperback as
the first volume of the new "dtv" Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag (German
Paperback Publishing House). Böll is awarded a scholarship as "Ehrengast
der Deutschen Akademie" (Honored Guest of the German Academy) to live
with his family at the Villa Massimo in Rome. The start of the building
of the Berlin Wall on August 13th begins a heated controversy over the
role of writers as the "Gewissen der Nation" (the conscience of the
nation). "Spiegel" publishes a long article in its issue of December 6th
on Böll with him on the cover. Böll's play "Ein Schluck Erde" (A
mouthful of earth) premieres in Düsseldorf to a largely negative
response from critics.
1963 Böll's novel "Ansichten eines Clowns" (The Clown) is published.
1964 At the University of Frankfurt, Böll delivers several lectures on
literature in which develops ideas on what he terms an "Ästhetik des
Humanen" (Aesthetic of the Human).
1965 Böll decries the attacks against the poet and singer Wolf Biermann
which had appeared in East German newspapers.
1966 Böll publishes "Ende einer Dienstfahrt" (The End of a Mission). At
the dedication of a new theater in Wuppertal, Böll delivers a speech
entitled "Die Freiheit der Kunst" (The Freedom of Art), discussing the
relation between art and the state.
1967 Böll receives the highest literary award of the West German
republic, the Georg Büchner Prize of the German Academy for Language and
Literature (Georg-Büchner-Preis der Deutschen Akademie für Sprache und
Dichtung). The collection "Aufsätze, Kritiken, Reden" (Essays, Reviews,
Speeches) is published. Böll is seriously ill, diagnosed with hepatitis
and diabetes.
1968 In May, Böll addresses some 70,000 demonstrators in Bonn; they
have gar-thered to oppose the passing of the "Notstandsgesetze"
(Emergency Laws). At the invitation of the Czech Authors' Association,
Böll visits Czechoslovakia in August and witnesses the invasion of the
country to end to the 'Prague Spring'. He publishes an account of these
events appears in "Spiegel". The Bölls purchase a farmhouse in
Langenbroich in the Eifel.
1969 At the founding meeting of "Verband Deutscher Schriftsteller" (The
Association of German Writers) held in Cologne, Böll delivers a speech
on "Das Ende der Bescheidenheit" (The end of modesty). The Bölls move
into an apartment in the Hülchrather Street.
VI. 1970-1976
1970 Böll speaks at the founding meeting of the German Writers'
Association in Stuttgart on the "Einigkeit der Einzelgänger" (Unity of
the loners). Böll is elected President of the PEN Club of the Federal
Republic of Germany for the period 1970-1972.
1971 Publication of "Gruppenbild mit Dame" (Group Portrait with Lady).
At the 38th meeting of the International PEN Club in Dublin, Böll is
elected to be the next President.
1972 On January 10th, 1972, the 'Spiegel' publishes an article by Böll
with a title he had not approved: "Will Ulrike Gnade oder freites
Geleit? (Does Ulrike Meinhof want mercy or a safe conduct?) He
vehemently attacks the way in which the newspaper "Bild" had reported a
bank robbery that took place at Kaiserslautern on December 23rd, 1971.
"Bild" blamed the crime on the Baader-Meinhof Group with the headline
"Baader-Meinhof mordet weiter" (Baader-Meinhof gang goes on murdering),
when in the text the police are quoted as having no evidence as to whom
was responsible. This article unleashes a harsh campaign in right-wing
publications against Böll lasting for months. At the beginning of June,
while in various police raids leading terrorists are arrested, the
police also search Böll's country house in Langenbroich. Böll learns in
October that he will receve the Nobel Prize for Literature. Böll is
active in a Social Democratic Voters' initiative and supports Brandt's
election campaign. In December, Böll is awarded the Nobel Prize for
Literature.
1973 Böll publishes of a collection of essays entitled "Neue politische
und literarische Schriften" (New political and literary writings).
1974 "Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum, oder Wie Gewalt entstehen
und wohin sie führen kann" (The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum or: How
violence can arise and where it can lead) appears.
1975 Böll publishes "Berichte zur Gesinnungslage der Nation" (Reports on
the state of mind of the nation), a satire on the German security
services. An interview entitled "Drei Tage im März" (Three Days in
March), conducted by Christian Linder, appears. "Ansichten eines Clowns"
(The Clown) is made into a film by Vojtech Jasny, in which Helmut Griem
strars. "Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum, (The Lost Honor of
Katharina Blum) is adapted by Volker Schlöndorff and Margarette von
Trotta, with Angela Winkler in the title role. Böll is invloved in
writing and approving dialogue.
1976 Böll does little literary work, concentrating on journalistic
activity. With Günter Grass and Carola Stern, he publishes the magazine
"L'76," in which the authors seek to present their conception of a
democratic and libertarian form of socialism. In January, Heinrich Böll
and his wife formally leave the Catholic Church.
VII. 1977-1985
1977 Publication of a collection of essays entitled "Einmischung
erwünscht. Schriften und Reden zur Zeit" ('A Plea for Meddling. Writings
and talks on contemporary issues'. In May, the film adaptation of
"Gruppenbils mit Dame" (Group Portrait with Lady) is released. Romy
Schneider stars in the role of Leni Gruyten, but the adaptation by
Aleksandar Petrović is generally reviewed very negatively. On the 5th of
September, the President of the "Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen
Arbeitgeberverbände" (Federal Association of Employers' Associations)
and the "Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie" (Federal Association of
German Industry) Hanns-Martin Schleyer is kidnapped. His driver and
three bodyguards are murdered. At the request of the government of
Baden-Württemberg, Heinrich Albertz, Heinrich Böll, Helmut Gollwitzer
and Kurt Scharf issue an appeal to the kidnappers, circulated by the
press agencies on the 11th of September. On September 13th, a meeting
takes place between the leader of the SPD, Willy Brandt, and Heinrich
Böll, which is meant to be a demonstration of Brandt's solidarity with
Böll. On the 27th of September 1977, the apartment of Böll's son René is
searched. A few days later, the former residence of the Bölls, from
which they moved in 1969, is also searched. On the 16th of December, the
city council of Cologne gives a reception to celebrate Böll's sixtieth
birthday.
1978 For the film "Deutschland im Herbst" (Germany in Autumn), Böll
writes a scene called "Die verschobene Antigone" (The Delayed Antigone).
Directed by Volker Schlöndorff, it satirizes the behavior of the media.
1979 The novel "Fürsorgliche Belagerung" (The Safety Net) is published.
At the opening of the Cologne Central Library on the 21st of September,
Böll presents the City with his archive as a permanent loan. The
publishing house Lamuv - managed by René Böll - brings out "Du fährst zu
oft nach Heidelberg und andere Erählungen" (Too Many Trips to Heidelberg
and Other Stories). Böll declines to receive the order of the Federal
Republic of Germany from President Scheel. During a December trip to
Ecuador, Böll sufferes a vascular condition in the right leg
necessitating an operation in that country.
1980 Upon delayed return to Germany, Böll undergoes a further operation.
Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt visits him afterward in the hospital.
1981 Böll publishes by Lamuv his only lengthy autobiographical work:
"Was soll aus dem Jungen bloß werden? Oder: Irgendwas mit Büchern"
(What's to Become of the Boy? Or: Something to do with Books) On the
10th of October, Böll addresses the first great peace demonstration in
Bonn, at which about 300,000 people take part.
1982 "Vermintes Gelände - essayistische Reden und Schriften 1977-1981"
(Minefield - essays and speeches 1977-1981) is published by Kiepenheuer
& Witsch. Lamuv brings out the hitherto unpublished early post-war
story "Das Vermächtnis" (A Soldier's Legacy). The Bölls leave
Hülchrather Street and move to Merten. Böll's son Raimund dies.
1983 Lamuv brings out a volume of hitherto unpublished short stories
written between 1946 and 1951 under the title "Die Verwundung" (The
Wound). In poor health, Böll takes part in the blockade of an American
barracks as a protest of the stationing of Pershing rockets.
1984 A collection of speeches and essays from 1981-1983 entitled "Ein-
und Zusprüche" (Protest and Encouragement) is published by Kiepenheuer &
Witsch. Böll publishes by Lamuv a book about the language of Helmut
Kohl government's official spokesman Peter Boenisch, entitled "Bild,
Bonn, Boenisch". Cologne purchases Böll's literary estate.
1985 In early July, Böll enters the hospital for an operation. On the
15 of July, he is discharged in preparation for a further operation. On
the morning of the 16th of July, however, he dies peacefully in his
house in Langenbroich, with his wife at his side. On the 19th of July,
he is buried in the cemetary in Bornheim-Merten. Colleagues such as
Günter Grass and politicians, including the President of the Federal
Republic, Richard von Weizsäcker, attend the funeral. The novel "Frauen
vor Flusslandschaft" (Women in a River Landscape) appears posthumously.
On the 27th of September, the City of Cologne organizes a ceremony to
honor Heinrich Böll, at which the square in front of the Museum Ludwig
near the Cathedral is named after him.
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