Konell, George (eg. O'Connell)

writer

born: 06.06.1912 in Berlin

died: 17.05.1991 in Trostberg (Bavaria)

Konell began an apprenticeship as a bicycle and precision mechanic in Bernau near Berlin in 1926 and passed his journeyman's examination in 1929. As an occasional worker, he was then a guest student at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin and took violin lessons. He was a soldier during the Second World War and a British prisoner of war until 1946.

Konell later worked with the graphic artist Egon Plamper (1913-1982), who created illustrated books about various cities, particularly in the 1960s. Together with Konell, who wrote the texts, Plamper published a book about Heidelberg in 1965 and one about Wiesbaden in 1973.

Konell moved to Wiesbaden with his wife Ilse (1919-2012) and published in daily and weekly newspapers, wrote plays, including plays for children, as well as poetry.

Konell was buried in the Südfriedhof c emetery. After his death, his widow founded the "Orphil-Verlag" publishing house, where she published her husband's works alongside books by other writers. Since 1997, the city of Wiesabden has awarded the George Konell Prize for Literature and the George Konell Sponsorship Prize every two years. In 2012, Ilse Konell established the Orphil Prize for Poetry.