Gotthilf August von Maltitz

Who was Gotthilf August von Maltitz?

Gotthilf August Freiherr von Maltitz was a German writer.

Von Maltitz was born in Königsberg. He studied forestry in Tharandt, and became a forest overseer in Prussia in 1821. However he left the position the next year because a satirical work of his offended his superiors.

He moved to Berlin, where he wrote satires and plays and became well known in high-society circles. His humorous works were probably most popular, including Ränzel und Wanderstab and Gelasius. He also wrote some well-received dramas, including Schwur und Rache and Hans Kohlhaas. Another 1828 play, however, Der alte Student, made him unwelcome in Berlin due to its sympathies for Poland.

In 1828, he moved to Hamburg, where he became editor of the journal Norddeutscher Courrier. He went to Paris in 1830 following the July Revolution, but was soon disappointed and returned to Germany, where he lived in Dresden until his death there in 1837. He published a collection of political poems as Pfefferkörner in four booklets from 1831 to 1834, and a collection of his satirical writings was published as Humoristische Raupen in 1839.