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Peter Huchel (April 3, 1903 – April 30, 1981), bornHellmut Huchel, was a Germanpoet andeditor.
Huchel was born inLichterfelde (now part ofBerlin). From 1923 to 1926, Huchel studied literature and philosophy in Berlin,Freiburg andVienna. Between 1927 and 1930, he travelled toFrance,Romania,Hungary andTurkey. In 1930, he changed his first name to Peter and befriendedErnst Bloch,Alfred Kantorowicz andFritz Sternberg. His early poems, published from 1931 to 1936, are strongly marked by the atmosphere and landscape ofBrandenburg.
In 1934, Huchel married Dora Lassel. The couple would divorce in 1946 and Huchel would marry Monica Rosental in 1953. Between 1934 and 1940, Huchel wrote plays for German radio. During the Second World War, he served as a soldier until he was taken prisoner by the Russians in 1945. After his release, he began working for East German radio and in 1949, he became editor of the influential poetry magazineSinn und Form ("Sense and Form"). After the building of theBerlin Wall in 1961, Huchel came under attack from the East German authorities and the following year he was forced to resign from his position atSinn und Form. From 1962 to 1971, he lived in isolation underStasi surveillance in his house in Wilhelmshorst near Berlin. In 1971, he was finally permitted to leave theGerman Democratic Republic and move, first toRome, then toStaufen im Breisgau, where he later died. The poem and song "Ermutigung", written by his friendWolf Biermann in 1968, was dedicated to Huchel.
