Wolfgang Borchert

German poet and playwright. He was one of the so-called "Lost Generation" of Germany immediately after World War II. He was born in Hamburg as the son of a teacher. His mother was also known as a local writer of Low German. He dropped out of vocational school and became an apprentice at a bookseller while aiming to become an actor. In 1941, he joined the East Hanover Regional Theater in Lüneburg, but was sent to the Eastern Front as a soldier. He was hospitalized due to injuries and illness, and imprisoned for anti-establishment remarks and was placed on probation twice. Just after the war, he performed comedies with his friends in Hamburg and became an assistant director at a theater, but his liver disease progressed and he was forced to recuperate under his parents' care. In 1947, he was transferred to a hospital in Basel, Switzerland, under the care of a friend, but he passed away the day before the Hamburg premiere of "Outside the Door" (1947), which he had written while in bed. His best-known work, "Outside the Door," is a drama about a demobilized soldier desperately searching for a way to live in the harsh reality of the postwar period, and is a fiery expression of the suffering of the war generation. It caused a great sensation not only in Germany but also in other countries. His other short story collections include "On This Tuesday" (1947) and "Dandelion" (1947).

[Nobuoka Yoshio]

"The Complete Works of Borchert, translated by Taro Komatsu, one volume (1973, Hayakawa Publishing)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ドイツの詩人、劇作家。第二次世界大戦直後のドイツの、いわゆる「失われた世代」の一人。ハンブルクで教師の息子として生まれる。母も低地ドイツ語の郷土作家として知られる。実業学校を中退し、書店の見習いをしながら演劇の道を志し、1941年リューネブルクの「東ハノーバー地方劇団」に入ったのもつかのま、兵士として東部戦線に送られ、負傷と疾病のための入院と、反体制的言動のための入獄を繰り返し、二度にわたって保護観察処分を受ける。終戦直後のハンブルクで仲間と喜劇を上演、劇場の監督助手となるが、肝臓病が進行して両親のもとでの療養を余儀なくされる。47年、友人の世話でスイスのバーゼルの病院へ移されるが、病床で執筆した『戸口の外で』（1947）のハンブルク初演の前日に短い生涯を閉じた。代表作『戸口の外で』は、戦後の過酷な現実のなかで生きる道を絶望的に模索する復員兵のドラマで、戦争世代の苦悩を激しい口調で代弁するもの。ドイツ国内のみならず諸外国で絶大な反響をよんだ。ほかに短編集『この火曜日に』（1947）と『たんぽぽ』（1947）がある。

［信岡資生］

『小松太郎訳『ボルヒェルト全集』全一巻（1973・早川書房）』

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