Comics in the GDR

In 1955, he conceived the idea for a children's illustrated magazine and presented it to the Neues Leben publishing house. His magazine Mosaik was launched that same year. Between 1955 and 1975, the illustrator created his life's work with the Digedags comic series, comprising 223 issues.

Since 1955, the possession of comics was prohibited for young people in the GDR. They were considered trashy and filthy literature. The "Mosaik" featuring the Digedags was published anyway. The adventure stories were so popular that they sold out in a very short time. In addition to providing sophisticated entertainment, the Digedags imparted historical, geographical, and scientific and technical knowledge. The June 1975 issue was the final adventure of the three little comic book heroes Dig, Dag, and Digedag.

Hannes Hegen was born Johann Eduard Hegenbarth on May 16, 1925, in Bohemian-Kamnitz, Czechoslovakia. The Hegenbarth family had been active as glass merchants and producers in the region for four generations. After school, he initially trained as a glass painter from 1939 to 1942. He intended to further his education at the Reich Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna starting in 1942. However, he was drafted into French military service in 1943.

As German Bohemians, he and his family were expelled after the war in 1945 and settled in the southern Harz Mountains. After brief employment as a draftsman, he began studying in 1947, first at the Leipzig School of Applied Arts and then at the Leipzig Academy of Visual Arts. During this time, he worked as a cartoonist for Frischer Wind and other magazines.

In 1954, he adopted the pen name Hannes Hegen to distinguish himself from his second cousin, Josef Hegenbarth. From 1955, he developed the comic magazine Mosaik von Hannes Hegen, which was published for two decades (223 issues) until 1975.

His wife, Edith Hegenbarth, played a key role in the development of the characters. The heroes of his adventure stories, the Digedags, became the most famous comic characters in the GDR. Starting in 1976, some of the stories were published in book form. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, all issues were published in book form and as reprint folders. Hannes Hegen died in Berlin on November 8, 2014.

Opening:
The exhibition opening will take place on Monday, May 5, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. Harry Ralf Herrling, author of "Hannes Hegen and Josef Hegenbarth: Comic Legend and Master of Illustration," discusses the life and work of Hannes Hegen. This dual biography contains many new facts about the two artists. For the first time, the artists' relationship and their shared family history are reported.