Yuri German is a famous name in the history of Soviet literature. This is a writer whose talent has rightfully earned the love of both contemporaries and descendants.
short biography
Yuri German was born in the Russian Empire, in the city of Riga, in 1910. His father is an officer in the tsarist army, his mother is a teacher of Russian literature.
The writer’s unusual surname came from the German word “man of God,” his adoptive parents gave this name to Yuri’s grandfather, because the real name remained unknown because Herman’s grandfather was a foundling.
Yuri’s father, following the example of other officers, went through the bloody First World War and the Civil War; as a result, he joined the Bolsheviks.
Young Yuri graduated from the College of Performing Arts, but devoted himself to literature. He wrote novels, short stories and novels, worked on scripts for films, and was engaged in journalism.
During the war with the German invaders, he spent all four years of battles at the front, working as a correspondent, for which he was awarded military medals.
At the end of his life, he was able to go abroad and see his relatives, who had left Bolshevik Russia in the 1920s.
Yuri German was married twice, had two sons from two marriages - Mikhail and Alexei, the latter became a famous director.
The writer died in 1967 from a serious illness and was buried in the Theological Cemetery of Leningrad.
The first literary successes
Yuri German early began to strive for the literary field. Already while studying at a technical school, he was engaged in literary activity, starting from the age of 18 he began to print in magazines.
His novel Entry, written in 1931, was liked by M. Gorky, which inspired the young writer for new works.
The writer was attracted by heroes, strong in spirit, honest and loyal to their duty, able to serve people. Those were police officers, doctors, officers, and soldiers from his many early works.
The cycle of German stories about the activities of the famous Soviet leader of the Cheka - the “Iron Man” - Felix Dzerzhinsky, gained wide popularity.
At the same time, the hero Ivan Lapshin appears on the pages of the writer’s books - a dedicated police officer who can understand both the psychology of the criminal and the motives of ordinary citizens.
Being interested in the personality of the famous Russian doctor of the 19th century - N. I. Pirogov, German devotes several of his works to him ("Friend of the People" and "Son of the People").
Late work
Many interesting works are created during these years by Yuri German, a trilogy from several of his works becomes quite famous. This included three tales. The first was called “The Work you Serve,” the second was “My Dear Man,” and the third was called “I am responsible for everything.”
These books were devoted to the feat of life of the doctor Nikolai Evgenievich, who coordinated all his activities with medical duty and ethics, selflessly loving his work and his patients. The doctor had a real prototype - a doctor at a city hospital.
Based on his impressions of the war, Herman writes several of his works, which later became famous. This is the book "Check on the Roads", the plot of which subsequently formed the basis of the movie of the same name, and the book "My Friend Ivan Lapshin", which also later became a screenplay.
German's novel "Young Russia" has become a real epic work in the writer's work. In the book, the author talks about Russia, which is created by the efforts of Peter the Great. The novel has many historical characters, many well-known and little-known facts of the beginning of the reign of Peter.
Herman as a screenwriter
A special place in the work of Yuri German is occupied by work on scripts for films. All his life, the writer confessed his love for cinema.
Many scripts were written by Yuri German, his books often formed the basis of many film works. This happened with the scripts for the films "My Dear Man", "Pirogov", "Belinsky."
German wrote scripts for films that were very popular with viewers. These are the films “Seven Brave”, “Day of Happiness”, “Believe Me, People” and many others.
Later, the writer’s youngest son, who became a director, filmed several of his father’s books, however, the fate of German Jr.’s films developed differently (for example, the work “Check on the Roads” was shown to viewers only 20 years after the shooting), but this did not detract values of the works of Yuri German.
German Yuri - writer of his generation
Today, the works of Yuri German are respected by experienced readers and young people. And this is not surprising, because the author in each of his books talks about the fates of real people who behave honestly and courageously, overcoming the life hardships that have befallen them.
Among the heroes of Herman there are many people who have devoted themselves to the service of a single business. They embody the image of real Russian soldiers, and in Russia such stories will always be popular, since the historical fate of our country indicates that the professions of a soldier and an officer in the internal troops, doctor and teacher are always in great demand.