Rudolf Kinau facts for kids
Rudolf Kinau, also known as Rudi Kinau, was a German writer who lived from 1887 to 1975. He was famous for writing in Low German, which is a special kind of German language spoken in northern Germany.
His Early Life
Rudolf Kinau was born on March 23, 1887. His hometown was Finkenwerder, a part of Hamburg in northern Germany. His parents were Heinrich Wilhelm Kinau and Metta Kinau. Rudolf had two brothers, Johann and Jakob. Johann was also a well-known writer, and he used the pen name Gorch Fock.
His Writing Career
Rudolf Kinau started writing his first book in 1916. This was after his brother, Gorch Fock, sadly passed away during World War I in the Battle of Jutland.
Rudolf became very popular on the radio. He had a show called Hör mal'n beten to (which means "Listen a bit") for a media company called Norddeutscher Rundfunk. His radio talks were so liked that they were even turned into books, like Kamerad und Kameradin.
Rudolf Kinau wrote more than 33 books in total! He also wrote plays for the radio and for the theater. He even recorded his voice for national series like Wort und Stimme and Niederdeutsche Stimmen, sharing stories in Low German.
Awards and Recognition
Rudolf Kinau received many awards for his writing. One important award was the Fritz Reuter Prize in 1962. He was also given the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, which is a high honor in Germany.
To remember him, several streets are named after Rudolf Kinau in Germany. You can find streets named "Rudolf-Kinau" in his hometown of Finkenwerder, and in other places like Ahrensburg, Ostrhauderfehn, and Tostedt.
His childhood home in Finkenwerder, called the Gorch Fock house, is now a museum. It celebrates the works of Rudolf Kinau and his two brothers. Rudolf Kinau passed away on November 19, 1975, when he was 88 years old.
His Books
Rudolf Kinau wrote many books, often filled with stories and poems in Low German. Here are a few of his well-known works:
- Sünn in de Seils (1933)
- Sünnschien un goden Wind - Fofftig mol wat to'n Frein (1950)
- Scheune Bries (1954)
- Bi uns an'n Diek (1957)
- Mien Wihnachtsbook (1959)
