Die blauen Schwingen

Ernst Wiechert: The Blue Wings. Novel. First edition: Regensburg, Habbel und Naumann, 1925. New edition, edited by Karl-Maria Guth, Berlin 2023. The text of this edition has been carefully adapted to the new German spelling. Cover illustration: Concierto Eterno, Carlos Alberto Fernández, License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International. Typeset in Minion Pro, 11 pt. The Hofenberg collection is published by Henricus - Edition Deutsche Klassik GmbH, Berlin. About the author: Born in 1887 in Kleinort, Masuria, as the son of a forester, Ernst Wiechert studied in Königsberg, taught there as a lecturer, and married Meta Mittelstädt in 1912. In 1914, he volunteered for military service; he was wounded multiple times and awarded the Iron Cross, 1st and 2nd Class. During the war years, he wrote his first stories. After the suicide of his wife, he moved to Berlin in 1930, remarried in 1932, and gave up his teaching career in 1933 to live as a freelance writer in Bavaria. He was persecuted by the Nazis and was eventually arrested in 1938. After protests from home and abroad, the now prominent author was released but had to adhere to strict conditions; he chose the path of inner emigration and remained in Germany. It was not until after the war that he moved to Switzerland. Ernst Wiechert, one of the most-read authors of his time, passed away on August 24, 1950.