Who was Alma Rogge? This unassuming stone honors her. Alma Rogge 1894-1969 was a significant Low German writer. She grew up in Brunswarden near Rodenkirchen. Her childhood was happy. Low German was her first language. It became the main tool for her writing. She attended local schools then a boarding school in Bad Kreuznach. There she wrote her first poems. She later gained her Abitur in Delmenhorst. She studied literature art history and philosophy in Göttingen Berlin Munich and Hamburg. In Hamburg she added Low German to her studies.
After her studies Alma Rogge lived in Bremen. She built a house on the Weser River. She lived there with her life partner Hanna Thimig and Hanna’s daughter. Alma Rogge was already writing plays during school. Her play Up de Freete was first performed in Rodenkirchen. It was so successful that Richard Ohnsorg included it in his Hamburg repertoire. While working on her doctoral thesis she wrote more successful comedies. One was De Vergantschooster.
In 1924 she co-founded the authors’ association Die Kogge in Bremen. Other well-known German writers joined. Their aim was to bring more attention to Low German literature. Die Kogge had a conservative outlook with strong nationalistic leanings. It received support from the Nazi literature policy. During the Nazi era Alma Rogge associated with right-wing groups. One example was the Eutiner Dichterkreis. She even made a record in Rodenkirchen Low German for Hitler’s 48th birthday. She refused to accept criticism from Jewish writers. She also denied Jews any chance of social integration.
Despite her problematic political associations Alma Rogge received several awards. These included the Literature Prize of the Province of Hanover the Quickborn Prize and the Oldenburg Prize. She was a prolific writer. Her works include short stories plays and poems. She drew inspiration from her own experiences and her surroundings. Many of her stories have autobiographical elements. Most of her stories were humorous but she also wrote serious works. A posthumously published collection of poems Land aus dem ich geboren bin demonstrates her serious side. Her work reflects her deep knowledge love and connection to her native marshland and its inhabitants. Alma Rogge died of cancer in February 1969. She is buried in Rodenkirchen. This stone a small tribute to a complex and controversial figure reminds us of her literary achievements and her complicated legacy.