Anna Wiktoria German-Tucholska[1] (14 February 1936 – 26 August 1982)[2] was a Polish singer (
lirico-spinto), immensely popular in
Poland and in the
Soviet Union in the 1960s–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.
Her mother, Irma Martens (1909—2007), 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.[3] Martens' mother Anna Friesen had been born in present-day
Ukraine.[3] Later, the family settled in the
Kuban. Martens' native language was a
Plautdietsch variant with both German and Dutch influences.[3] In the 1996 radio programme Spoor Terug on Dutch public broadcaster
VPRO, Irma Martens said that she and her family always identified as Dutch despite her Polish passport.[3] 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.[3] Due to
NKVD Order No. 00439,[note 1] Martens fled to Uzbekistan, where she met Eugen Hörmann.[3]
Her accountant father, Eugen (Eugeniusz) Hörmann (in Russian, Герман), was also of a
German–Russian pastor family and born in
Łódź in
Congress Poland (part of the
Russian Empire), now in
Poland. Eugen Hörmann's father, Anna's grandfather, Friedrich Hörmann, who had studied theology at Łódź, was in 1929 incarcerated in
GulagPlesetsk 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 (officially, sentenced to ten years in prison).
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 ('Dancing
Eurydices'). One year later, she won the first prize in the
Sopot International Song Festival.
She also sang in Russian, English, Italian, Spanish, Latin, German and
Mongolian.[4] 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? ('Come Back to 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.[5] Her first songs in Russian were recorded in the fall of 1964.[6]
Her most notable songs in Russian are "
Shine, Shine, My Star", "And I like him" (
Russian: А он мне нравится,
lit. 'A on mne nravitsya'), "Hope" (
Russian: Надежда,
lit. 'Nadezhda'), "No Hurry" (
Russian: Не спеши,
lit. 'Ne speshi'),
"Randomness" (
Russian: Случайность,
lit. 'Sluchaynost''), "When Gardens Bloomed" (
Russian: Когда цвели сады,
lit. 'Kogda tsveli sady'), "Echo of Love" (
Russian: Эхо любви,
lit. 'Ekho lyubvi').[12][13]
Personal life
On 23 March 1972, German married Zbigniew Tucholski. Their son, Zbigniew Tucholski, was born in 1975. In the last years of her life, German composed some church songs. Before she died in 1982 of
osteosarcoma (at the age of 46), she joined the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.[14] German was buried at the
Evangelical Cemetery in
Warsaw.
Remembrance
The main street in
Urgench,
Uzbekistan, the birthplace of Anna German, bears her name.
Mariola Pryzwan: Tańcząca Eurydyka. Anna German we wspomnieniach. 2013
Marzena Baranowska: German. Osobisty album Anny German. 2013
Ivan Ilichev: Анна Герман. Белый ангел песни (White angel of the song). 2013
German. Śpiewający anioł. Super album. 2013
Ivan Ilichev: Эхо любви (Echoes of love). 2013
Volga Yerafeyenka: Anna German. „Uśmiechaj się”. 2014
Irma Martens-Berner: Człowieczy los. Wspomnienia matki Anny German. 2014,
ISBN978-83-7295-299-8 (Consultants books: son A. German, Dr.
Zbigniew I. Tucholsky and her husband, engineer Zbigniew A. Tucholsky)
Ivan Ilichev: Анна Герман. Сто воспоминаний о великой певице (Anna German. A hundred memories of great singer). 2016
Literary works
1970 „Wróć do Sorrento?...” (Come Back to Sorrento?...)
Bajka o skrzydlatym szpaku (The tale of the winged Starling). The book is written by Anna to her son
1988 «Вернись в Сорренто?...»
[1] translated from Polish into Russian by R. Bello
2002 „Wróć do Sorrento?...” reissue
2012 „Wróć do Sorrento?...” reissue
Discography
Albums
Na tamten brzeg (1964) [Onto that shore]
Tańczące Eurydyki (1965) [Dancing Eurydices]
Recital piosenek (1967) [A recital of songs]
I classici della musica napoletana (1967) [Classics of the
Canzone Napoletana
Поёт Анна Герман (1968) [Anna German Sings]
Człowieczy los (1970) [Fate of Man]
Domenico Scarlatti – Arie z opery
Tetide in Sciro (1971) [Domenico Scarlatti – Arias from opera Tetide in Sciro]
Wiatr mieszka w dzikich topolach (1972) [Wind lives in wild poplars]