Heinrich Anacker German writer and poet Date of Birth: 19.01.1901 Country: Switzerland

Biography of Heinrich Anacker

Heinrich Anacker was a German writer and poet of Swiss descent, who gained fame for his poetry that glorified Nazism and the military actions of Germany, widely spread through Nazi propaganda. He was born into a family of a lithographic factory owner from Thuringia, and his mother was of German-speaking Swiss origin. Anacker attended a gymnasium and in 1921, he published his first collection of poems, "Klinge kleines Frühlingslied" (Ring, little spring song). The commercial success of this book led him to pursue a career in writing.

Later, Anacker studied literature in Zurich and Vienna, and became a member of the cultural movement "Wandervogel" (Wandering Bird). In 1922, he established his first contacts with the Nazi movement. Starting from 1924, Anacker became a member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) and the Sturmabteilung (SA). In 1928, he settled in Germany and personally knew several leading Nazis, with Julius Streicher being his patron. Anacker received numerous Nazi awards in Germany, including the 1934 Dietrich Eckart Prize for his choral work "SA ruft ins Volk" (SA calls the people), the 1936 NSDAP Art Prize for his overall creative work, and the 1939 Honorary Ring of Frontline Poets from the Nazi War Victims Insurance Fund.

In 1939, Anacker voluntarily renounced his Swiss citizenship. During World War II, he served as a military correspondent, a regular soldier, and a medic. In 1945, he found himself in the American occupation zone and was placed in a prisoner of war camp in Ansbach. In the denazification process, he was deemed to have committed minor offenses (minderbelastet) and was sentenced to 60 days of corrective work and a fine of 500 marks. Anacker's books were banned in the Soviet occupation zone.

With the inheritance he received from his father, Anacker spent the rest of his life in the cities of Zell and Wasserburg on Lake Constance, where he continued his literary activities. Anacker earned a reputation as one of the leading poets of the Nazi regime, being considered the first to compose poems about the Nazi movement. His propagandistic poems were often published in the newspaper Völkischer Beobachter and later in collections with large print runs. He was the author of many marching songs popular in the Hitler Youth and other official organizations of the Third Reich. His romantic song "Antje, mein blondes Kind" (Antje, my blonde child) gained great popularity. Other well-known songs included "Braun ist unser Kampfgewand" (Brown is our combat gear, SA song), "Englands Stunde hat geschlagen" (England's hour has struck), "Die Fackel geht von Hand zu Hand" (The torch passes from hand to hand), "Hört ihr die Trommel schlagen?" (Do you hear the drum beat?, Hitler Youth song), "Wir sind die Soldaten der neuen Front" (We are the soldiers of the new front), and "Wir sind durch Russlands Staub und Schlamm gefahren" (We have traveled through Russia's dust and mud).