Ralph Giordano facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ralph Giordano
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Giordano in 2008
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| Born | 23 March 1923 Hamburg, Germany |
| Died | 10 December 2014 (aged 91) Cologne, Germany |
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| Language | German |
| Subject | History |
| Notable works | Die Bertinis |
Ralph Giordano (born March 23, 1923 – died December 10, 2014) was an important German writer and publicist. He was known for his strong opinions and his work on German history.
Contents
Ralph Giordano's Life and Work
Early Life and Surviving the Holocaust
Ralph Giordano was born in Hamburg, Germany. His father was from Sicily, and his mother was German Jewish. From 1933 to 1940, Ralph went to the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums school.
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Jewish people were treated very badly. Because Ralph's mother was Jewish, his family faced great danger. They survived the Holocaust, a terrible time when millions of Jewish people were killed. Ralph's family hid in a friend's cellar to stay safe.
Becoming a Writer and Journalist
After World War II, Ralph Giordano became interested in Communism. This is a political idea where the government controls everything. He moved to East Germany, which was a communist country.
However, he soon became unhappy with the way things were run there. He disliked the strict rules of Stalinism, a harsh form of communism. So, he moved back to Hamburg in West Germany.
In 1957, Giordano left the German Communist Party. He wrote a book in 1961 called The Party Is Always Right!. This book explained why he no longer believed in communism. It also talked about the bad things Josef Stalin did.
From 1958, Giordano reported on trials where Nazi war criminals were judged. He worked for the Central Council of Jews in Germany. In 1964, he joined a big German TV and radio company called Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) in Cologne. He worked there as a journalist until 1988.
Famous Books and Documentaries
In 1982, Ralph Giordano published his most famous book, Die Bertinis. This novel was partly based on his own life. It told the story of a family with different backgrounds, including Jewish members. The book covered their experiences from the late 1800s through World War II. A TV show based on the book was made in 1988.
After leaving WDR, Giordano became a freelance writer. He wrote many articles about his experiences in Nazi Germany. He also warned people about the dangers of Neo-Nazism, which are new groups that support Nazi ideas.
Giordano also made the first TV documentary about the Armenian genocide in 1986. This was a terrible event where many Armenian people were killed. The film was called The Armenian Question No Longer Exists: The Tragedy of a People. It caused strong reactions from Turkey, which denies the genocide happened.
Personal Life
Ralph Giordano was married three times. His first wife, Helga, passed away in 1984. His third wife, Roswitha Everhan, died in 2002. He lived in Cologne.
Giordano was a close friend of Hans Massaquoi, a black German-American journalist. They knew each other since they were young in Hamburg during the war.
Ralph Giordano passed away on December 10, 2014, at the age of 91. He died from problems after breaking his hip. A square in Barmbek-Nord in Hamburg was named Piazzetta-Ralph-Giordano in his honor.
