Aenne Franz, (21 October 1923 in Solingen – 7 April 2023), was a German dialect writer. In 1991, she received the Baden Citizens' Foundation's Culture Prize for services to the cultivation of the Solingen dialect.

Aenne Franz
Aenne Franz (2020)
Aenne Franz (2020)
Born(1923-10-21)21 October 1923
Solingen, Germany
Died7 April 2023(2023-04-07) (aged 99)
Solingen
OccupationWriter

Life edit

Aenne Franz came from a social democratic family. Her father was in the Social Democratic Party of Germany from 1919. During the Nazi era she did her Reich labor service in Thuringia.[1] After the World War II, she took part in the reconstruction of the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Workers' Welfare Association (AWO) in Solingen from 1947 onwards.[2] In 1949, together with Karl Schröder, she was involved in organizing the AWO Reichstag in Solingen. From 1967 she was active in the dialect group “De Hangkgeschmedden”, for many years as their boss.[3] Her poems and stories have been published in the Solinger Tageblatt and in four anthologies by Verlag B. Boll. She also worked as a dialect speaker for West German Radio Westdeutscher Rundfunk.[4] In 1983 she led the group of Rhenish dialect writers Bergisches Land as a regional group in the group of Rhenish dialect writers. She left large parts of her dialect text collection, including historical ones, to the Solingen city archives.[5]

Awards edit

For her services to the cultivation of the Solingen dialect, De Hangkgeschmedden received the Baden Citizens' Foundation's Culture Prize in 1991. In 2012,[6] Aenne Franz received an honor for her 65 years of membership in the SPD,[1] followed in 2018 by another for her 70 years of membership. At the beginning of 2013, she resigned from her position as auditor of the AWO and, as a thank you, received the “Open Heart”, the symbol of the AWO, which was designed as a metal work of art by the youth welfare workshop.[7]

Death edit

From 1951 to 1980, Aenne Franz was married to the businessman Ernst Franz. Her daughter is the journalist Renate Franz. Aenne Franz died on 7 April 2023, aged 99.[8][9]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "54 SPD-Mitglieder werden für langjährige Parteimitgliedschaft ausgezeichnet". 17 February 2015. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  2. ^ "90 Jahre Arbeiterwohlfahrt am Niederrhein" (PDF) (Press release) (in German). Arbeiterwohlfahrt Bezirksverband Niederrhein. 2 November 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Willkommen beim Portal der Archive in NRW". 12 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  4. ^ Deutscher Kulturrat, Fördergesellschaft für Kulturelle Bildung (Hrsg.): Das Literaturbuch: literarisches Leben in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Nomos, 1993 (S. 563).
  5. ^ "www.solingen.de - Archivbestand - Solinger Vereine". 29 March 2012. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Städtische Musikschule Solingen". 17 February 2015. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Solingen: Das Ende einer Ära bei der Arbeiterwohlfahrt". RP ONLINE (in German). 14 January 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Solinger Morgenpost, 13. April 2023".
  9. ^ Tageblatt, Solinger (13 April 2023). "Sozialdemokratin liebte Mundart". www.solinger-tageblatt.de (in German). Retrieved 15 January 2024.