Wera Blanke (née Paintner) is a German actress and Esperantist. Born in 1933 to a pair of actors, she acted both on stage and for television throughout her career. Blanke began activity in the Esperanto community in 1976, writing several books about Esperanto-language terminology.

Wera Blanke
Blanke in 2010
Born
Wera Paintner

(1933-03-02) March 2, 1933 (age 91)
NationalityGerman
Occupation(s)Actress, Esperantist
Spouse(s)Wolfgang Dehler (married 1960-1969); Detlev Blanke (married 1986)

Early life edit

Blanke was born in Leipzig on 2 March 1933, to actors Martin Flörchinger [de] and Ruth Trumpp.[1] She made her theatre-debut at the age of six, as a child actor at a theatre in Bochum. She often moved cities through her childhood according to where her parents were acting: she would often appear on stage with her parents, for example in theatres in Königsberg and Munich.[2]

Career edit

After graduating in 1951 in Schondorf, Bavaria, Blanke worked as a technician at Bavaria Film[1] and Aktiengesellschaft für Filmfabrikation [de], before applying to study theatre at the Staatlichen Schauspielschule Berlin (known today as the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts) in Berlin. In 1956, she moved from Munich to Leipzig in East Germany, where her father was acting.[3] During her studies, she worked as an actress at the Volksbühne theatre in Berlin, and from 1958 the Young World Theatre [de] in Leipzig, the Landestheater Altenburg, and the Nationaltheater Weimar.[1] Blanke also worked as an actress in productions by Deutscher Fernsehfunk, such as Maria Diehl's Daring (Das Wagnis der Maria Diehl), several episodes of the detective series Polizeiruf 110, and Der Staatsanwalt hat das Wort.

Around 1967, after acting in Bitterfelder Weges [de], Blanke went to the East German agricultural cooperative Landwirtschaftliche Produktionsgenossenschaft, where she worked as a chicken keeper; she kept a journal during this time, which appeared as a manuscript under the title Of Chickens and Humans (Von Hühnern und Menschen).[4] From 1967 to 1971, Paintner worked as a lecturer at the Staatlichen Schauspielschule Berlin (where she had previously studied), from 1972 to 1982 and worked as an occupational and expressive therapist[1] at the Wilhelm Griesinger Hospital [de]. Blanke continued acting roles during her time as a teacher; she played roles in televised films, radio dramas, and dubbed foreign media into German. Blanke also presented a program about literature, in which she presented some of her own fables and poems[3]

Blanke married fellow actor Wolfgang Dehler [de] in 1960, having three children with him during a nine-year marriage; their son Thomas Dehler [de], is also an actor. In 1986, she married the interlinguist and Esperantist Detlev Blanke (died 2016), who was a lecturer at the Humboldt University of Berlin.

Esperanto edit

Blanke began working with the International auxiliary language Esperanto in 1976, becoming convinced of its potential after visiting the 1978 World Esperanto Congress in Varna, Bulgaria.[5] Starting work on issues of terminology in Esperanto in the early 1980s,[6] in 1985, Blanke (then under the name of Wera Dehler)[3] proposed an Esperanto terminological centre, together with Humphrey Tonkin,[3] in a report entitled Terminologia Esperanto-Centro: Spertoj, Problemoj, Perspektivoj (Esperanto Terminological Centre: Experiences, Problems, Perspectives), leading to the Terminologia Esperanto-Centro being established and funded by the Universal Esperanto Association in 1987.

Together with her second husband, Detlev Blanke, Blanke has published several books and articles in and about Esperanto, and given lectured about Esperantists in the field of terminology, such as Eugen Wüster, Ernest Drezen, and Alfred Werner. In 2006, Blanke was awarded the Eugen-Wüster-Sonderpreis by Infoterm, and was made an honorary member of the German Esperanto Association [eo] in 2018.[citation needed]

Bibliography edit

Books edit

  • Blanke, Wera; Blanke, Detlev (2013). Pri terminologia laboro en Esperanto: elektitaj publikaĵoj. Nov-Jorko [New York]: Mondial. ISBN 978-1-59569-257-3.
  • Blanke, Wera (2008). Esperanto: Terminologie und Terminologiearbeit. New York: Mondial. ISBN 978-1-59569-077-7.
  • Blanke, Wera (1989-01-31), Schubert, Klaus (ed.), "Terminological standardization – its roots and fruits in planned languages", Interlinguistics, Berlin, New York: DE GRUYTER MOUTON, doi:10.1515/9783110886115.277, ISBN 978-3-11-088611-5, retrieved 2023-08-21

Articles edit

Filmography edit

Filmography of Wera Blanke (often appearing as Wera Paintner)
Year Title Role Notes
1957 Das Wagnis der Maria Diehl
1962 Aufruhr in der Scymore-Street
1964 Das Doppelzimmer
1967 Das Mädchen an der Orga Privat
1968 Der Kristallspiegel
1968 Das Vertrauen
1969 Hans Beimler, Kamerad
1970-1990 Der Staatsanwalt hat das Wort Six episodes
1970 Ich – Axel Cäsar Springer
1971 Salut Germain
1972 Täter unbekannt
1972 Meine Schwester Tilli
1972 Weimarer Pitaval: Um den Tod eines Justizobersekretärs
1972 Die Bilder des Zeugen Schattman
1973 Aller Liebe Anfang
1973 Zement
1974 Spätsaison
1976 Requiem für Hans Grundig
1984 Mit 40 hat man noch Träume
1984-1988 Polizeiruf 110 Five episodes
1986 Rund um die Uhr Two episodes
1987 Kiezgeschichten
1988 Der Vogel
1988 Zahn um Zahn
1988 Ein besserer Herr
1988 Fallada – Letztes Kapitel
1990 Silberdistel
1990 Alter Schwede
1991 Feuerwache 09
1991 Mit Herz und Robe
1991 Agentur Herz
1993 Fraktur

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ a b c d Kosch & Bigler-Marschall 2016, p. 367.
  2. ^ Blanke 2013, p. 4.
  3. ^ a b c d Blanke 2013, p. 5.
  4. ^ "Bücher gegen das Vergessen". www.erinnerungsbibliothek-ddr.de. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
  5. ^ Blanke 2013, p. 6.
  6. ^ Fiedler 2008, p. 8.

Sources edit

  • Habel, Frank-Burkhard; Wachter, Volker; Kretzschmar, Harald (2002). Das grosse Lexikon der DDR-Stars: Schauspieler aus Film und Fernsehen (Überarb. und erw. Neuausg ed.). Berlin: Schwarzkopf und Schwarzkopf. ISBN 978-3-89602-391-9.
  • Kosch, Wilhelm; Bigler-Marschall, Ingrid (2016). Deutsches Theater-Lexikon: biographisches und bibliographisches Handbuch (in German). Berlin: De Gruyter. p. 367. ISBN 978-3-11-036175-9.
  • Blanke, Detlev (2013). "La biografio" [The biography]. Pri terminologia laboro en Esperanto: elektitaj publikaĵoj (in Esperanto). Nov-Jorko [New York]: Mondial. pp. 4–6. ISBN 978-1-59569-257-3.
  • Fiedler, Sabine (2008). "Vorwort" [Forword]. Esperanto: Terminologie und Terminologiearbeit (in German). New York: Mondial. pp. 7–9. ISBN 978-1-59569-077-7.

External links edit

  • Blanke's report outlining the need for a terminological centre for Esperanto.