Wegner, Elster, and a Literary Memory Unearthed
In 1974, Armin T. Wegner published his last book in Wuppertal, before he died four years later. The book’s title was “Fällst du, umarme auch die Erde”. As soon as the book came out, he presented a copy to his longtime writer friend, literary critic and once the secretary of the PEN-Club Hanns Martin Elster, with a thankful greetings note on his business card. In 2007 the note was found in the same book, probably belonging to Herr Elster, in a German antiquarian bookstore.
Hanns Martin Elster was a loyal friend. During Wegner’s imprisonment in 1933, Elster’s tactical advice proved to be instrumental in Wegner’s eventual release.
Herr Elster also tried to help Franz Werfel in 1933, by naively recommending his admission to the Third Reich Association of German Writers. Not surprisingly, Werfel’s entry was rejected.