Axel Eggebrecht

Axel Eggebrecht was born on January 10, 1899 in Leipzig, Germany as Axel Constantin August Eggebrecht.

Eggebrecht grew up in bourgeois surroundings in Leipzig until 1917 when he volunteered to serve in the First World War where he received a serious wound, the effects of which he would continue to feel for his entire life.

Member of Germany's communist party KDP from 1920 to 1925 and contributor of articles to the left-wing publication "Rote Fahne". Member of the film distribution company "Meshrabpom", aimed at popularising Soviet films in Germany. Left the party in 1925, disillusioned with Bolshevism after visits to Moscow for the 5th World Congress.

He fought his way through the life with temporary help for film productions. In 1921 he took part in the middle German revolt and thereafter he had to run away. He arrived at Berlin where he worked for the Malik publishing house and wrote smaller feature pages for the "Rote Fahne".

Eggebrecht was propaganda leader of the German-American film union between 1922 and 1923 and spoke up for a popularization of the Russian movies in Germany. After his participation in the 5th world congress of the 3rd International in Moscow in 1924 he returned political disillusioned, in 1925 he left the KPD.

Eggebrecht wrote the novel "Leben einer Prinzessin" in 1928 and wrote his first script for the movie "Die Republik der Backfische" in the same year.

From 1930 Eggebrecht got involved against the National Socialism what led to his arrest in 1933 and several months at the concentration camp Hainewalde. When he was arrested a second time in the same year he wasn't able to go about his work. The only possibility he had in order to earn his living as a writer was to write apolitical movies.

Author, journalist and pioneer of radio documentaries. Entered films as a title writer, later graduating to screenplays. Imprisoned 1933-1935 for his political views, subsequently wrote under pseudonyms and as ghost writer for others.

Co-founder of the Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (Northwest German Broadcasting) in September 1945.

He was a writer and actor, known for Der Verlorene (1951), The Paris Adventure (1936) and A Love Story (1954). He was married to Inge Stolten.

In 1965 he became a member of the International PEN association, in 1972 becoming Vice President of the German branch.

In 1983 he was awarded the Gerrit-Engelke-Preis, the literature prize of the city of Hanover.

In 1989, he received the Bürgermeister-Stolten-Medaille, the highest honor awarded by the city of Hamburg, where he later died.

In Eggebrecht's memory, the Media Foundation of the City of Leipzig endowed the Axel Eggebrecht Prize to be awarded for radio documentaries. Since 2008, it is awarded every two years, alternating with the Günter Eich Prize for radio dramas. Both prizes award 10,000 Euros.