Anna German


Anna Wiktoria German-Tucholska was a Polish singer, immensely popular in Poland and in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and the 1970s. She released over a dozen music albums with songs in Polish, as well as several albums with Russian repertoire. Throughout her music career, she also recorded songs in the German, Italian, Spanish, English, and Latin languages.

Family background and early life

Anna German was born in the town of Urgench in Uzbekistan.
Her mother, Irma Martens, was the child of Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites with descendants from the Netherlands who exchanged Friesland for the area around the Vistula delta and on Empress Catherine the Great's invitation came to live in the Russian Empire. Martens' mother Anna Friesen had been born in present-day Ukraine. Later, the family settled in the Kuban. Martens' native language was a Plautdietsch variant with both German and Dutch influences. In the 1996 radio programme Spoor Terug on Dutch public broadcaster VPRO, Irma Martens said that she and her family identified as Dutch despite her Polish passport. Martens studied German in Odesa, but had to leave her village due to a lack of work as a teacher and instead moved to Redkaya Dubrava in Altai Krai. Due to NKVD Order No. 00439, Martens fled to Uzbekistan, where she met Eugen Hörmann.
Her accountant father, Eugen Hörmann, was also of a German–Russian pastor family and born in a Polish city of Łódź, in Congress Poland, Eugen Hörmann's father, Anna's grandfather, Friedrich Hörmann, who had studied theology in Łódź, was in 1929 incarcerated in Gulag Plesetsk by communists for being a priest; he died there. In 1937, during the NKVD's anti-German operation, Eugen Hörmann was arrested in Urgench on false charges of spying, and executed.
Thereafter Anna, with her mother and grandmother, survived in the Kemerovo Region of Siberia, as well as in Tashkent, and later in the Kirghiz and Kazakh SSRs.
In 1946, German's mother was able to take the family to Poland to Nowa Ruda and in 1949 to Wrocław.

Career

Anna quickly learned Polish and several other languages and grew up hiding her family heritage. She graduated from the Geological Institute of the University of Wrocław. During her university years, she began her music career at the Kalambur Theater. German became known to the general public when she won the 1964 II Festival of Polish Songs in Opole with her song Tańczące Eurydyki. One year later, she won the first prize in the Sopot International Song Festival.
German performed in the Marché international de l'édition musicale in Cannes, as well as on the stages of Belgium, Germany, United States, Canada and Australia.
She also sang in Russian, English, Italian, Spanish, Latin, German and Mongolian. She recorded several albums for Polskie Nagrania Muza in Poland and Melodiya in the Soviet Union. In 2001, six of her Polish albums were reissued on CDs. In recent years, many compilation albums of her songs have also been released in both Russia and Poland.

Career in Italy

In December 1966 in Milan, German signed a contract with the CDI company to release her records, thus becoming the first performer from behind the "Iron Curtain" who recorded in Italy. In Italy, German had performed at the Sanremo Music Festival, starred in a television show, recorded a programme with the singer Domenico Modugno, performed at the festival of Neapolitan songs in Sorrento and received the "Oscar della simpatia" award.

Car accident and treatment

On 27 August 1967, while in Italy, on the road between Forlì and Milan, Anna German was involved in a severe car accident. At high speed, the car driven by the impresario of the singer crashed into a concrete fence. German was thrown from the car through the windshield. She suffered multiple fractures and other internal injuries. An investigation revealed that the driver of the car – her manager Renato Serio – fell asleep at the wheel.
After the accident, German had not regained consciousness. After the plaster was taken off, the singer still lay in a hospital bed for half a year. Then it took her a few months to relearn to sit and walk.
Later, she released the autobiographical book Wróć do Sorrento?, dedicated to the Italian period of her career. The book's circulation was 30,000 copies.

Career in the Soviet Union

In 1964, German toured the Soviet Union for the first time as part of a delegation of Polish artists, performing songs by George Gershwin, Mark Fradkin, Arno Babajanian. The editor of the "Melodiya" Anna Kachalina invited German to record some songs in Polish and Italian. Her first songs in Russian were recorded in the fall of 1964.
In the 1970s, German toured, performed and recorded in the Soviet Union, working with Aleksandra Pakhmutova, Yevgeniy Martynov, Vladimir Shainsky, David Tukhmanov, Oscar Feltsman, Yan Frenkel, Vyacheslav Dobrynin, Alexander Morozov and others. She had become an acclaimed and popular artist there. She remembers: "I loved touring the Soviet Union. <...> These tours did not bring a lot of money, it was much more profitable to fly to America or even participate in some kind of concerts in Europe. But nothing can compare with the emotional reception in Soviet cities and towns."
Her most notable songs in Russian are "Shine, Shine, My Star", "And I like him", "Hope", "No Hurry",
"Randomness", "When Gardens Bloomed", "Echo of Love".

Personal life

On 23 March 1972, married Zbigniew Tucholski. Their son, Zbigniew Tucholski, was born in 1975. In the last years of her life, composed some church songs. Before she died in 1982 of osteosarcoma, she joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church. German was buried at the Evangelical Cemetery in Warsaw.

Remembrance

  • The main street in Urgench, Uzbekistan, the birthplace of Anna German, bears her name.
  • The asteroid 2519 Y discovered in 1975 by Russian astronomer Tamara Smirnova was named in honour of Anna German.
  • The amphitheatre in Zielona Góra, Poland, has been named in Anna German's memory.
  • In 2002, the Tańczące Eurydyki Song Festival aimed at popularizing the musical legacy of Anna German and Polish popular music was launched.
  • The Anna German Musical High School in Białystok bears the name of the singer.
  • In 2012, a commemorative plaque was unveiled in Wrocław at the entrance to the house where Anna German used to live.
  • In 2012, a Russian biographical mini-series about the life of Anna German was filmed.
  • A star on the Moscow Walk of Fame honouring Anna German was unveiled.
  • Several streets in Polish cities including Warsaw and Rzeszów were named in remembrance of the singer.
  • In 2013, a star on the Walk of Fame of the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole devoted to Anna German was unveiled.

    Books about Anna German

  • 1974 Nagrabiecki Jan: Anna German. 1974
  • Aleksander Zygariov: Anna German. 1988
  • Aleksander Zygariov: Anna German. 1998
  • Mariola Pryzwan: Wspomnienia o Annie German. 1999
  • Adriana Polak: Człowieczy los. Wspomnienia o Annie German. 2000
  • Artur Hörmann: Die unbekannte Anna German. 2003
  • Mariola Pryzwan: Tańcząca Eurydyka. Wspomnienia o Annie German. 2008
  • Ivan Ilichev: Анна Герман – Гори, гори, моя звезда!. 2010
  • Jordan Naoum: Anna German. 2011
  • Mariola Pryzwan: Anna German o sobie. 2012
  • Ivan Ilichev: Мы долгое эхо. 2012
  • Mariola Pryzwan: Tańcząca Eurydyka. Anna German we wspomnieniach. 2013
  • Marzena Baranowska: German. Osobisty album Anny German. 2013
  • Ivan Ilichev: Анна Герман. Белый ангел песни. 2013
  • German. Śpiewający anioł. Super album. 2013
  • Ivan Ilichev: Эхо любви. 2013
  • Volga Yerafeyenka: Anna German. „Uśmiechaj się”. 2014
  • Irma Martens-Berner: Człowieczy los. Wspomnienia matki Anny German. 2014,
  • Ivan Ilichev: Анна Герман. Сто воспоминаний о великой певице. 2016

    Literary works

  • 1970 „Wróć do Sorrento?...”
  • Bajka o skrzydlatym szpaku. The book is written by Anna to her son
  • 1988 «Вернись в Сорренто?...» translated from Polish into Russian by R. Bello
  • 2002 „Wróć do Sorrento?...” reissue
  • 2012 „Wróć do Sorrento?...” reissue

    Discography

Albums

  • Na tamten brzeg
  • Tańczące Eurydyki
  • Recital piosenek
  • I classici della musica napoletana
  • Поёт Анна Герман
  • Człowieczy los
  • Domenico Scarlatti – Arie z opery Tetide in Sciro
  • Wiatr mieszka w dzikich topolach
  • To chyba maj
  • Anna German
  • Anna German
  • Anna German
  • Pomyśl o mnie
  • Tylko w tangu/Dookoła kipi lato
  • Śpiewa Anna German
  • Надежда
  • Последняя встреча

    Singles

  • "The Man I Love"
  • "Снежана" / "Без тебя"
  • "Не спеши" / "На тот берег"
  • "Свет звезды" / "Дай мне помечтать"
  • "Ночной разговор" / "Всё прошло"
  • "Двое" / "По грибы"
  • "Deszcz na szybie" / "Uroczysko"
  • "Chcę być kochaną" / "Cygański wóz"
  • "Cyganeria" / "Zimowe dzwony"
  • "Melodia dla synka" / "Jesteś moją miłością"
  • "Człowieczy los" / "Dziękuje ci mamo"
  • "Gałązka snów" / "Trampowski szlak"
  • "Złociste mgły" / "Za grosiki marzeń"
  • "A mama asi como" / "Quadro cartas"
  • "Поёт Анна Герман"
  • "Анна Герман"
  • "Warszawa w różach" / "Wiatr mieszka w dzikich topolach"
  • "Анна Герман"
  • "Ты, только ты"
  • "Гори, гори, моя звезда" / "Из-за острова на стрежень"
  • "Когда цвели сады"
  • "Далёк тот день"
  • "Я помню всё"
  • "Гори, гори, моя звезда"

    Later reprints and compilation albums

  • 1984: Jesteś moja miłością LP
  • 1987: Эхо любви – live '79 LP
  • 1989: Anna German LP
  • 1989: Znaki zapytania LP
  • 1990: Powracające słowa vol. 1 LP
  • 1990: Powracające słowa vol. 2 LP
  • 1991: Zakwitnę różą CD
  • 1991: Recital piosenek CD
  • 1994: Nasza ścieżka CD
  • 1994: Złote przeboje neapolitanskie MC
  • 1995: Planeta Anna part 1 MC
  • 1995: Planeta Anna part 2 MC
  • 1996: Незабытый мотив CD
  • 1996: Лучшие песни CD
  • 1998: Когда цвели сады CD
  • 1998: Wiatr mieszka w dzikich topolach CD
  • 1999: Tańczące Eurydyki CD
  • 1999: Platynowa kolekcja CD
  • 1999: Złote przeboje CD
  • 1999: Bal u Posejdona CD
  • 1999: Антология советского шлягера MC
  • 2000: Анна Герман. Российская эстрадная музыкальная энциклопедия CD
  • 2000: Последняя встреча CD
  • 2001: Quiet words of love CD
  • 2001: Ваши любимые песни CD
  • 2001: Tańczące Eurydyki CD
  • 2001: Recital piosenek CD
  • 2001: Człowieczy los CD
  • 2001: Wiatr mieszka w dzikich topolach CD
  • 2001: Domenico Scarlatti – Arie z opery "Tetida in Sciro" CD
  • 2001: To chyba maj CD
  • 2001: Pomyśl o mnie CD
  • 2001: Luchshee – Zvyozdi sovetskoy estradi CD
  • 2002: Najlepsze piosenki CD
  • 2003: Наши лучшие песни CD
  • 2003: Człowiecy los collection CD
  • 2003: Золотой век русской эстрады CD
  • 2003: Посидим, помолчим. Полное собрание песен vol.1 CD
  • 2003: Спасибо тебе мое сердце. Полное собрание песен vol.2 CD
  • 2004: Złote przeboje CD
  • 2004: Самое лучшее CD
  • 2007: MP3 collection
  • 2008: Надежда CD
  • 2013: Tańczące Eurydyki CD
  • 2019: Анна Герман. Избранное LP