Writer and traveler Heinrich Harrer: biography, activities, best books and interesting facts. A Farewell to Arms Henry Harold friend of the Dalai Lama

SIEBEN JAHRE IN TIBET:

MEIN LEBEN AM HOFE DES DALAI LAMA

of Irmgard Emma Katharina Harrer, 2016

Publishing house AZBUKA®

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Heinrich Harrer (1912–2006) – Austrian mountaineer, traveler and writer, a man of amazing destiny. WITH youth He was on the verge of death more than once, but Providence seemed to be preserving him for the main events in his life - a trip to Tibet and a meeting with the 14th Dalai Lama, whose mentor and friend he became.

Harrer was able to tell the story of the Land of Snow so vividly that his book Seven Years in Tibet (subtitled My Life at the Court of the Dalai Lama), first published in German in 1952, was translated into 53 languages and served as the basis for two films: a British documentary from 1956 and an American feature film 1997 directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud with Brad Pitt in leading role.

Harrer's book is autobiographical in nature, although the events described in it, which took place from 1939 to 1951, may seem incredible: an escape from a prison camp in British India, the journey of two exhausted strangers through Western Tibet, the most difficult trek through unfamiliar mountains that anyone would have dared to undertake. not every well-equipped expedition, and, finally, life in the “forbidden city”, the capital of Tibet, Lhasa, and close acquaintance with the Tibetan elite and the court of the Dalai Lama on the eve of fatal changes in the fate of the country.

One of the greatest and most incredible stories in all adventure literature.

The New York Times Book Review

You lived in Tibet for seven years and during this time you became one of us.

Dalai Lama to Heinrich Harrer

The most high mountains the world, the abode of Tibetan deities, will never be destroyed... The deities will win!

Heinrich Harrer

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From the publisher

Heinrich Harrer (1912–2006) - Austrian mountaineer, traveler and writer - a man of amazing destiny. Immediately after graduating from the University of Graz in 1938, as part of a German-Austrian climbing team, he climbed the North Face of the Eiger in the Swiss Alps, one of the greatest sporting achievements of the time. All participants in the ascent survived, although the risk was very great. Heinrich Harrer did not have the chance to participate in the battles of World War II; Providence seemed to be saving him for the main events in his life - a trip to Tibet and a meeting with the XIV Dalai Lama, whose unofficial mentor and friend he became.

Tibet already from the first half of the 19th century century was a separate area scientific research, it also attracted lovers of esotericism, but for the average European of the middle of the last century it was a mysterious and, in every sense of the word, distant country. Heinrich Harrer managed to tell about the Land of Snows in an accessible and vivid way. Undoubtedly part author's intention was to draw the attention of the world community to the fate of the Tibetan people. And he succeeded brilliantly - his book “Seven Years in Tibet”, first published in German in 1952 ( Sieben Jahre in Tibet. Mein Leben am Hofe des Dalai Lama. Wien: Ullstein, 1952), has been translated into 53 languages. In 1953, a British edition was published in London, with an introduction written by the famous traveler Peter Fleming. A year later, an American edition appeared. The book served as the basis for two films of the same name: a 1956 British documentary directed by American Hans Nieter, and a 1997 American feature film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud.

The book “Seven Years in Tibet” is autobiographical in nature, but it is written in the genre of travelogues and the narrative in it unfolds in direct chronological sequence, covering the period from 1939 to 1951. The events described by the author may seem incredible: the escape of Heinrich Harrer and Peter Aufschnaiter, the leader of the German expedition to Nanga Parbat, from a prisoner of war camp in British India, their journey through Western Tibet, the most difficult crossing of the Changtan plateau, which not everyone would dare to undertake. a well-equipped expedition, and, finally, life in the “forbidden city,” the capital of Tibet, Lhasa.

Through the eyes of Heinrich Harrer we see snow-capped mountain ranges, villages lost in mountain valleys, Buddhist shrines and monasteries - a world once forbidden to foreigners. In his narration, the author does not seek to idealize Tibet, but the reader is aware of his sympathy for the Tibetan people, sincere interest in Tibetan traditions and the language, which Harrer perfectly mastered over the years spent in this country. From the book “Seven Years in Tibet” you can glean information about the political and social structure of Tibet, its history, religion and culture, economy and ethnic groups. The author witnessed the events that took place on the eve of the avalanche-like changes in the fate of Tibet and the entire Central Asian region - in his book he captured the country just before the collapse of traditional society.

Finding themselves in Lhasa in 1946 after two years of wandering, Heinrich Harrer and Peter Aufschnaiter gradually gained the trust and favor of the Tibetans and received a unique opportunity to become more closely acquainted with the life of the Tibetan elite: they had to meet with officials, aristocrats, top officials of the Tibetan government and the parents of the Dalai Lama XIV. In 1948, Heinrich Harrer was accepted into official service by the Tibetan government, receiving the position of translator and photographer at the court of the Dalai Lama. According to the Tibetan administrative system, these positions corresponded to the rank of fifth-rank official. The young ruler of Tibet showed interest in the culture and technical innovations of foreign countries, and Heinrich Harrer was his unofficial mentor, teaching him English, geography and basic natural sciences. They became friends. It is worth noting one amazing coincidence: they were born on the same day - July 6th. In 2002, the 14th Dalai Lama made a special trip to Austria to congratulate his friend on his 90th birthday.

Heinrich Harrer was destined to visit Tibet again in 1982, and he dedicated the book “Return to Tibet” (1985) to this short trip. Throughout his life, he traveled a lot, wrote books and created films about his expeditions to the Himalayas, Andes, and New Guinea. Together with King Leopold III of Belgium, who was interested in anthropology and entomology, he visited little-studied areas of Africa, South America and Southeast Asia. Heinrich Harrer summed up the results of his long, eventful life in his autobiography “My Life,” published in 2002 in Munich ( Mein Leben. München: Ullstein, 2002).

Thanks to this publication, the Russian-speaking reader will for the first time become acquainted with the full text of Heinrich Harrer’s book, translated from German - the original language; The translation preserves the author's intonation and structure of the text. For the first time in Russia, author's photographs are also published, which undoubtedly makes this publication even more valuable. Although the book is intended for a general audience, we have provided the text with notes and a glossary that may be useful for readers less knowledgeable about Tibetan realities.

Many evaluate his life and books from the position of belonging to the Nazi party, concluding that driving force his sporting and scientific achievements.

Heinrich Harrer always regarded his stay in the ideological and military organizations of the fascists as forced and not fully conscious, although he tried not to advertise it. If you don’t give special significance Harrer's political views, one can only admire the tenacity and courage of this famous climber and traveler.

early years

He was born in 1912, in the small Austrian town of Obergossen, in the family of postal worker Joseph Harrer and his wife Johanna. In 1927 they moved to Graz, where Heinrich Harrer graduated from high school and entered Karl-Franz University. From 1933 to 1938 he studied geography and physical culture, while actively involved in mountaineering and skiing.

He was a candidate for the 1936 Winter Olympics in Germany. But Austria boycotted it because ski instructors were classified as professionals, which denied them access to the Olympic slopes. In 1937, Heinrich Harrer won the downhill competition that was part of the World University Games, but mountaineering became his true passion.

North Face of the Eiger

By the time he finished his university course, Harrer had several mountain climbs of the highest difficulty category. Together with his friend and fellow countryman Fritz Kasparek, Heinrich Harrer goes to conquer the legendary “Wall of Death” - the northern edge of a huge granite pyramid 3970 meters high, called Mount Eiger in the Swiss Alps.

This wall remained unclimbed for a long time, although numerous attempts were made, which claimed dozens of lives. Routes along the northern slope of the Eiger were complicated geological structure peaks and climatic conditions in the area. The surface, smoothed by numerous avalanches, is almost completely covered with ice and has an average steepness of 75 degrees, and in some areas a negative slope.

The high frequency of rockfalls and avalanches and rapid weather changes made climbing the north face of the Eiger deadly dangerous. As a result, the authorities officially closed this slope to climbers, and mountain rescuers refused to rescue those who would go out on their own on this route.

July 24, 1938

Already on the wall, the Austrians Harrer and Kasparek teamed up with two German climbers - Anderl Heckmaier and Ludwig Wörg, who had more reliable equipment for walking on the ice surface. The joint attempt to climb was a success, despite several failures, when only insurance saved us, and getting into avalanches, from which only the reliability of the equipment, patience and perseverance saved us. Heinrich Harrer, whose books usually describe his various expeditions, later spoke about this event in the documentary story “The White Spider” (1959).

The success of the Austrian-German group of climbers, which occurred just three months after Austria joined Nazi Germany, was made by Nazi propaganda a symbol of the correctness of the aggressive policy of fascism. Harrer, along with other conquerors of the Eiger, received numerous titles and awards, as well as an audience with Hitler and other Nazi leaders.

Expedition to the Himalayas

Mountaineering was one of the sports that received special attention in Nazi Germany. Hitler’s propaganda saw conquering new heights and traversing unexplored routes symbolic meaning the coming world domination of the Aryan nation. Connected with this was Hitler’s fascination with mystical teachings about Shambhala - the legendary country where superhumans live, possessing knowledge that makes them invincible and omnipotent.

According to legend, this monastery was located among the Himalayan peaks, perhaps in Tibet - a mysterious country where only a few foreigners managed to get and about which Europeans had no accurate information. Therefore, we know about several expeditions of German mountain climbers organized to study this area. It is not known whether the Himalayan expedition of 1939, which included Harrer, was aimed at searching for the mythical Shambhala, but this is what researchers often talk about, excited by the fact that the famous traveler hid his Nazi past for a long time.

Reconnaissance of the route to Nanga Parbat

The long journey, the result of which was the most famous book that Heinrich Harrer wrote - “Seven Years in Tibet”, was aimed at preparing for the conquest of one of the Himalayan peaks - the Nanga Parbat massif, located in the north-west of the Himalayas, on the territory of the then English colonies - India.

After a new path was found to the peak, which ranks third in the number of victims among those who tried to conquer it, German climbers were in Karachi by the beginning of the autumn of 1939, waiting for a ship to return to Europe. The ship was delayed. And soon after September 1 - the date of the start of the world war and after Great Britain entered it - September 3 - they found themselves in enemy territory and were arrested.

A successful escape

The energetic Austrian made attempts to escape - alone and as part of a group - from the very beginning of his arrest. After their team ended up in an internment camp located in the foothills of the Himalayas, the escape route became clear to Harrer - through the mountain passes to Tibet. Moving in the highest mountain region of the world, even for a trained athlete, is not an easy task and requires serious preparation, so this was not Harrer’s first attempt.

The regime in the camp, where the civilized British commanded, was obviously very different from the conditions that the Germans arranged for prisoners of war on the Eastern Front. Therefore, Harrer and his friends had a good opportunity to carefully prepare their escape. But even then, not everyone made it to the border of India and Tibet - many preferred to return to the camp. In Lhasa - the capital of Tibet - only Peter Aufschnaiter ended up with Harrer, who is often mentioned in which Heinrich Harrer wrote.

"7 years in Tibet"

The book that made Austrian contains a lot of information about the country, where access to foreigners was prohibited by law. There was a prediction by one of the sages, according to which Tibet would lose its independence after foreigners appeared in it. Therefore, at first, Harrer and his friend felt a hostile attitude from all Tibetans - both ordinary shepherds and noble officials.

It has changed largely due to changes in the main characters themselves - it is unlikely that the ordeals on the high mountain paths, encounters with the unusual way of life of the Tibetans, familiarity with their religion, which denies violence against any living creature, did not leave a trace in the soul of a person who, at first, even shared the arrogant Nazi ideas.

Dalai Lama Fourteenth

Tenjin Gyamtsho - the living incarnation of Buddha, the spiritual leader of Tibet, an inquisitive boy who wants to learn more about the world located thousands of kilometers from his homeland - is another hero of the book. Heinrich Harrer and the Dalai Lama, having met in 1940, maintained their acquaintance until Harrer's death in 2006, exerting a strong mutual influence on each other. It was from an Austrian, 26 years older, that the Dalai Lama learned a lot about the traditions of Europeans and the scientific and technical achievements of our time.

This led to accusations of Tibetan Buddhists by the Chinese authorities, who are sensitive to the issue of Tibetan independence, of having connections with the Nazis. On the other hand, the enormous authority of the Dalai Lama in world politics, who, despite his adherence to the most ancient religious doctrine, is a person inseparable from modern civilization, also originates in this communication between two young people who (especially judging by the 1994 film) became real friends.

Based on these events, Heinrich Harrer created his bestseller. “Seven Years in Tibet” - a book and a film based on it starring Brad Pitt - made his name famous throughout the world. Although, after returning to his homeland in 1950, he made many mountaineering and simply geographical expeditions, was engaged in diverse social activities, and published more than 20 books. Harrer often said that these were the brightest pages of his life, that since then Tibet has settled in his heart forever.

SIEBEN JAHRE IN TIBET:

MEIN LEBEN AM HOFE DES DALAI LAMA

of Irmgard Emma Katharina Harrer, 2016

Publishing house AZBUKA®

Heinrich Harrer (1912–2006) – Austrian mountaineer, traveler and writer, a man of amazing destiny. From a young age, he was on the verge of death more than once, but Providence seemed to be preserving him for the main events in his life - a trip to Tibet and a meeting with the 14th Dalai Lama, whose mentor and friend he became.

Harrer was able to tell the story of the Land of Snow so vividly that his book Seven Years in Tibet (subtitled My Life at the Court of the Dalai Lama), first published in German in 1952, was translated into 53 languages and served as the basis for two films: a 1956 British documentary and a 1997 American feature film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud and starring Brad Pitt.

One of the greatest and most incredible stories in all of adventure literature.

The New York Times Book Review

You lived in Tibet for seven years and during this time you became one of us.

Dalai Lama to Heinrich Harrer

The highest mountains in the world, the abode of Tibetan deities, will never be destroyed... The deities will win!

Heinrich Harrer

From the publisher

Tibet has already been a separate area of scientific research since the first half of the 19th century; it also attracted lovers of esotericism, but for the average European of the middle of the last century it was a mysterious and, in every sense of the word, distant country. Heinrich Harrer managed to tell about the Land of Snows in an accessible and vivid way. Undoubtedly, part of the author's intention was to attract the attention of the world community to the fate of the Tibetan people. And he succeeded brilliantly - his book “Seven Years in Tibet”, first published in German in 1952 ( Sieben Jahre in Tibet. Mein Leben am Hofe des Dalai Lama. Wien: Ullstein, 1952), has been translated into 53 languages. In 1953, a British edition was published in London, with an introduction written by the famous traveler Peter Fleming. A year later, an American edition appeared. The book served as the basis for two films of the same name: a 1956 British documentary directed by American Hans Nieter, and a 1997 American feature film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud.

Finding themselves in Lhasa in 1946 after two years of wandering, Heinrich Harrer and Peter Aufschnaiter gradually gained the trust and favor of the Tibetans and received a unique opportunity to become more closely acquainted with the life of the Tibetan elite: they had to meet with officials, aristocrats, top officials of the Tibetan government and the parents of the Dalai Lama XIV. In 1948, Heinrich Harrer was accepted into official service by the Tibetan government, receiving the position of translator and photographer at the court of the Dalai Lama. According to the Tibetan administrative system, these positions corresponded to the rank of fifth-rank official. The young ruler of Tibet showed interest in the culture and technical innovations of foreign countries, and Heinrich Harrer served as his unofficial mentor, teaching him English, geography and the basics of natural science. They became friends. It is worth noting one amazing coincidence: they were born on the same day - July 6th. In 2002, the 14th Dalai Lama made a special trip to Austria to congratulate his friend on his 90th birthday.

Preface

All dreams in life begin in youth...

The legendary mountaineer, friend and teacher of the Dalai Lama, Austrian Heinrich Harrer was considered a national hero. He remained silent about his Nazi past, and also about his work for the CIA.

This man, naturally, was nothing like Brad Pitt. During the Frankfurt Book Fair in the late 1990s, sitting at one of the tables was not a young blond man, but an old man with disheveled gray hair sticking up. He looked a lot like Master Yoda. His back was slightly bent, but his handshake remained strong, as is usually the case with climbers. But it was the real Heinrich Harrer, and he was 85 years old at the time. He had a soft smile on his face, almost like his old friend the Dalai Lama.

To be honest, I conveniently forgot most of our conversation with him. But there remained a feeling of admiration after lengthy stories about the northern wall of the Eiger, about the years spent in Tibet, about the expedition to Papua and Borneo, and at the same time he remained completely calm - he simply talked about what he had experienced. Of course, he liked the film “Seven Years in Tibet” starring Brad Pitt. At the same time, this film led to additional investigations and accusations, and as a result, step by step, the Nazi past of the famous climber was revealed.

Carina, Harrer's third wife, released a book of memoirs for his 100th birthday, in which the 90-year-old woman talks, among other things, about Brad Pitt's visit to their home in Huttenberg, Carinthia. At that time, the American movie star was 33 years old, and he was forced to spend the night in some barracks, since crowds of fans were waiting for him in front of all the hotels in the city. Pitt is right choice, Harrer said then, “only I was much more beautiful.” His widow now slyly admits that this is not true, and that he was not particularly handsome - "even in his best years."

Harrer was born 100 years ago, and in his youth he was fond of several sports - he was the Austrian golf champion, an excellent skier, and even had to take part in Olympic Games 1936. Harrer became a living legend in the summer of 1938. On July 21, he and Fritz Kasparek climbed the north face of the Eiger, something no one had ever done before. Numerous attempts to climb this route have failed and many climbers have died. This exceptionally steep 1,650 meter high wall was considered the unattainable peak of the Alps. Harrer didn’t have any “cats” at all, and Kasparek didn’t have them of the highest quality. The next day - between the second and third ice fields - they met two Germans - Anderl Heckmair and Ludwig Voerg. Helping each other, they were able to survive the avalanche together and continued the climb as a group of four.

The weather conditions were bad, and yet they reached the summit on the night of July 24th. The conquest of the northern wall caused delight and jubilation, and was also used by political propaganda. Hitler received the climbers and gave instructions to use this event as much as possible - through all possible channels. However, the ascent itself remains a brilliant achievement in the history of mountaineering.

In 1939, Harrer took part in a research expedition to the Nanga Parbat region, but was arrested in northern India and sent to one of the British prisoner of war camps.

Seven years in Tibet

Either way, this story was extremely popular in Germany and Austria. Harrer's book “Seven Years in Tibet” (Sieben Jahre in Tibet), published in 1953, was in almost every home. Harrer tried to escape from the camp several times, and in April 1944 he succeeded. After this, a completely unimaginable journey began. Harrer and Peter Aufschnaiter walked more than 2 thousand kilometers through the Himalayas - they moved mainly at night in very difficult weather conditions. They overcame 50 passes, which were located at an altitude of 5 thousand meters or even higher. Their destination was Tibet.

In mid-January 1946, both reached the city of Lhasa. They settled there and began working in the then “closed” city. Harrer began teaching English language, as well as mathematics and, in addition, quickly learned the Tibetan language. After some time, he met with the Dalai Lama, born in 1935, and in a certain sense became his teacher. He witnessed Communist China's first attack on Tibet. A long-term friendship began, which continued even after Harrer returned to Europe in 1952. Just recently, the Dalai Lama visited the Tibet Center in Hüttenberg and said that Harrer taught him democracy.

This phrase raised eyebrows among Harrer's critics. The fact is that Harrer’s democratic thinking in the 1930s and 1940s was far from all right. Already in October 1933, this climber joined the SA assault troops, which at that time were operating underground on the territory of democratic Austria. In general, right-wing beliefs and anti-Semitism were very widespread in the mountaineering unions of Austria.

SS Membership

In March 1938, the so-called “Anschluss” took place, that is, Austria joined the “Third Reich”. Even before his ascent to the Eiger, Harrer became a member of the SS and the NSDAP, and later worked as an SS sports instructor with the rank of SS-Oberscharführer. His admirers and patrons included Heinrich Himmler. The SS Central Administration Office compiled a special dossier with materials about him, which contained 80 pages.

Harrer later hid all this. There is not a word about this in his books, and in his television reports, which he did from different parts light, he never talked about it. Harrer participated in long expeditions, and this aroused universal admiration and worship.

Only in 1996, on the eve of the release of the film “Seven Years in Tibet,” new documents began to appear, and gradually, in response to numerous questions, Harrer admitted that he was a National Socialist. Writer and journalist Gerald Lehner discovered his membership cards in American archives. Harrer was outraged, spoke about youthful stupidity, about pressure, about the biggest mistake of his life. Several critical articles were published in the United States, after which Brad Pitt asked to redo the dialogue in the film “Seven Years in Tibet”, and, in addition, scenes with Harrer against the backdrop of swastika banners were inserted into the picture.

Heinrich Harrer

Harrer Heinrich - a wonderful Austrian mountaineer, explorer, traveler, writer.

WITH 1933 By 1938 I studied geography and played sports for a year at the university in Graz.

Harrer was an excellent skier. He was a candidate for the 1936 Olympics. However, the Austrian team boycotted these Games. However, he won the downhill competition during the World University Games.

Perhaps Harrer's most outstanding mountaineering achievement was the first ascent of the North Face of the Eiger in 1938 year.

IN 1938 year Harrer became a member of the National Socialist Workers' Party of Germany, and also joined the ranks of the SS. In 1997, after the release of the film “Seven Years in Tibet,” based on Harrer’s book of the same name, many questions arose about his Nazi past. Harrer admitted that his membership of the party was a "stupid mistake".

IN 1939 Harrer traveled to Pakistan as a member of a German mountaineering expedition aimed at Nanga Parbat. The climbers failed to reach the top, however, they paved the way along the Diamra wall of this mountain. At the end of the expedition, all its members were captured by the British colonial authorities, in connection with the outbreak of the Second World War, and sent to a prisoner of war camp in India.

April 29, 1944 Harrer and three other prisoners managed to escape. Having made a long journey through the Himalayas, Harrer and his friend Peter Aufschnaiter in February 1946 years came to Lhasa. Harrer was destined to stay in Tibet for seven years. He became a close friend and advisor to the young Dalai Lama. After the capture of Tibet by Chinese troops in 1950 year, Harrer returned to Austria. Here he wrote his famous book “Seven Years in Tibet”, which was translated into 53 languages.

In subsequent years, he took part in a number of ethnographic and mountaineering expeditions, and made several first ascents in Alaska, Africa and Oceania.

IN 1958 Heinrich Harrer took up golf and became the Austrian amateur champion.

Heinrich Harrer and Dalai Lama

At the age of eighty, he continued to actively engage in alpine skiing.

For his more than 600 expeditions, Harrer was repeatedly awarded various awards. 23 books came from his pen.

Heinrich Harrer and the current Dalai Lama remained close friends throughout their lives. In 2002, Harrer was recognized by the Dalai Lama for his efforts to bring the situation in Tibet to the attention of the world community.

“No matter where I live, I will always miss Tibet. It often seems to me that I can still hear screams wild geese and the cranes and the sound of their wings as they fly over Lhasa in the clear and cold moonlight. I sincerely wish that my story would bring a little understanding to people whose desire to live in peace and free has received so little sympathy in an indifferent world."- Heinrich Harrer, “Seven Years in Tibet.”

Makeup. Skin and hair care. Manicure

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From the publisher

early years

North Face of the Eiger

July 24, 1938

Expedition to the Himalayas

Reconnaissance of the route to Nanga Parbat

A successful escape

"7 years in Tibet"

Dalai Lama Fourteenth

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