Karl Otten

Born on July 29, 1889, in Oberkrüchten, Karl Otten became a German Expressionist writer and broadcaster. Reliable reference sources describe him not only as a novelist and poet, but also as a journalist, dramatist, editor, and publicist.

During the First World War he was active in anti-militarist circles, and later remained closely involved with democratic and socially engaged literary culture. After the Nazi rise to power, he went into exile; archival and biographical records connect his later years with a long period of displacement and continued literary work.

In 1944 he lost his eyesight, yet he continued researching and writing with support from his wife, Ellen. He spent his final years in Switzerland and died on March 20, 1963, near Locarno, leaving behind a body of work shaped by conviction, resilience, and the upheavals of his century.