Figure 1.-- Heinrich at the age of 9 in a Cologne park (1926). He is wearing a button-on knee pants suit with large white buttons. The suit seems to be made out of velvet. Note the white open collar, the ankle striped socks, and the strap shoes.

Heinrich Böll was the the famous postwar German writer who won the Nobel prize for literature in 1976. He was born in Cologne and deeply attached to the region, having been brought up in a liberal Catholic family. And like many proper middle-class boys wore sailor suits. He successfully resisted recruitment into the Hitler Jugend, attended the University of Cologne, but was ultimately drafted into the Wehrmacht, serving in France, Romania, Hungary, and the Soviet Union. He was wounded at the end of the War in 1945. His first novel was entitled "The Train was on Time" (1949). He wrote many additional novels and short stories--"Billiards at Half-Past Nine," "The Clown," "Group Portrait with Lady," "The Lost honor of Katharina Blum," and "The Safety Net" being perhaps the best known. His bent is anti-authoritarian and he criticizes evil forms of authority in both government and church. He disapproved of the rebuilding of Cologne Cathedral and admired the neo-medievalism of writers such as William Morris. His writings are sometimes referred to as "Trummerliteratur" (literature of the rubble), influenced of course by the bombing of Cologne during World War II.

Parents

Heinrich's father was a sculptor and cabinet-maker, Viktor Böll, and his wife, Maria, née Hermanns.

Childhood

Heinrich was born in Cologne and deeply attached to the region, having been brought up in a liberal Catholic family. We do not know a lot about his childhood, but he seems to have grown up in a loving middle-class family. Give his father was a sculptor, the family must have had an artstic bent--presumably playing a role in Heinrich interest in writing. we see Heinrich at the age of 9 in a Cologne park (1926). He is wearing a button-on knee pants suit with large white buttons. The suit seems to be made out of velvet. Note the white open collar, the ankle striped socks, and the strap shoes (figure 1). And like many proper middle-class boys wore sailor suits. We see Heinrich at the age of 12 wearing his short pants sailor suit and student peaked cap. He wears tan knee socks. We know that he also wore tan long stockings at the same period during the cooler months but there are no photographs to illustrate the long stockings.

NAZI Era

The NAZIs seized power in 1933 when Heinrich was about 16 years old. Because the HJ was not initially mandatory, he successfully resisted recruitment into the Hitler Jugend.

Education Heinrich attended elementary school in Köln Raderthal (1924-28). He then attended the state-run Kaiser-Wilhelm classical secondary school in Cologne (1928-37). I am not entirely sure why he did not immediately enroll in the Univdrsity of Cologne. It could be because he had not joined the HJ. As the NAZI regime entrenched itself, membership in the HJ was important even to enroll in secondary schools. After finishing his secondary studies, Böll began as an apprentice bookseller (publishers, retail trade, antiquarian) for the Matth. Lempertz company in Bonn (Spring 1937). He then began to try his hand at writing (Spring 1938). He earned a little money by giving private lessons and voraciously read. He was then conscripted into the Reichsarbietsdienst (National Labour Service, RAD) (Autumn 1938). After fininishing his 6-month service (Spring 1939), he began his university studies. By 1939 RAD service was a precondition for university admission. He began his studies at thev University of Cologne. He studied of Germanistics and Classical Philology (Summer 1939 Term). He did not stay long at the University because of NAZI preparations for World War II.

World War II

Böll was drafted into the Wehrmacht just before the outbreak of the War (Summer 1939). He served in France (Fall 1940). He then contracted typhus after which he was assigned to reserve units in Germany (1941-42). He was then assigned to France, serving along the Channel Coast (1941-42). Then he was moved east and he served in the Soviet Union, Romania, and Hungary (1943-44). He was wounded at the end of the War in 1945. Luckily he was moved to western Germany where he was taken prisoner by the American. He was interned in a POW camp in France. He was moved to an English POW camp in Belgium (October 1945). He was released there (November 1945) and was able to get home for Christmas. His beloved Cologne was destroyed by the Allied bombing. Pictures of the city show an absolutely flattened city reduced to rubble with only the battered and gutted Cathedral rising above the devestated city. Böll with family members found a destroyed house that they began to rebuild. He stated to write while working on the house. He also enrolled in the University because proof of occupation was necessary to obtain a food rationing card.

Literary Career

Böll was the the famous postwar German writer who won the Nobel prize for literature in 1976. He began to publish short stories after returning to Cologne (1946). His first novel was entitled The Train was on Time (1949). He wrote many additional novels and short stories--"Billiards at Half-Past Nine, The Clown" Group Portrait with Lady. The Lost honor of Katharina Blum, and The Safety Net being perhaps the best known. The bent in his books is anti-authoritarian and he criticizes evil forms of authority in both government and church. He disapproved of the rebuilding of Cologne Cathedral and admired the neo-medievalism of writers such as William Morris. His writings are sometimes referred to as " Trummerliteratur " (literature of the rubble), influenced of course by the bombing of Cologne during World War II.

Gruppe 47

Böll was invited to a meeting of "Gruppe 47" (1951). Here he met other post-War German authors wrestling to come to terms with what had happened to Germany. He formed many friendships with these authors. In his authbiography he specifically mentions Hans Werner Richter and Alfred Andersch. He writes, "Even if there occurred brief or permanent controversies during, or after, these meetings, the Gruppe 47 liberated many German authoresses and authors out of their isolation in a destroyed and fragmented postwar Germany."

Family

Böll married Annemarie Cech during the War (1942). He writes that she "has been irreplaceable, not only as my wife and companion, and not only as fellow experiencer and fellow sufferer in the fascist drama during the Nazi reign in Germany, but also for her critical awareness for language." Their first child, Christoph, died (October 1945). He writes, "Our sons Raimund, René and Vincent were born in 1947, 1948 and 1950 in the rubble of Cologne and grew up there." We note a picture of the adult Heinrich Boll (1958) in Cologne with his three sons--Vincent, Raimund, and Rene. His nephew Viktor is shown standing at the far right. The boys all wear short trousers. Vincent, the youngest boy, wears sandals with no socks. The other boys all wear ankle socks or knee socks. Typical summer clothes for boys during the 1950s.

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Created: 6:04 PM 1/3/2008
Last updated: 6:04 PM 1/3/2008