My Mom's Cousin Horst Pillau

My Mom's Cousin Horst Turns 88 Today

My mom's cousin Horst Pillau lives with his wife Suzanne in Berlin.  They have three kids and 5 grandkids.

Horst was born in Vienna in 1932.  When he was a small boy he lived at my grandmother's apartment in Vienna.  This is Horst, two years old, wearing the hat.  My grandmother's apartment is on the left.  The others in this photo are (left to right): My uncle Peter Böhm, Horst's father Curt Pillau, Horst, Horst's mother Cia (born Colnago), and my mom Erna Böhm with braids (age 12). 

Back: Curt Pillau and his wife Cia. 
Front: Peter Bohm (9), Horst Pillau (2), Erna Bohm (12). 
Schallautzerstraße, Vienna, 1934. 
In the background left is Franz Böhm's apartment,
the Urania building, and on the right the Donaukanal.
St Johann Nepomuk church steeple is visible in the distance

I'm lucky to have some baby pictures of Horst that I got from my grandmother via Nikolaus.

Horst Pillau, age 1 1/2, Kalksburg, a suburb of Vienna, 1933

Horst On a wagon, with our neighbor Sepp Zinsler, my mom Erna,
and her brother Peter Böhm.
Kalksburg, 1933

Peter, Horst, Erna, Sepp, and their dog.
Kalksburg, 1933

Horst, Peter, Erna, and Sepp.
Kalksburg, 2933

From the left: Erna, Peter, Sepp, Horst, and Cia Pillau.
Kalksburg, 1933

From the left: Peter Böhm, Horst Pillau, Erna Böhm,  Erna Colnago, Cia Pillau (born Colnago).
Vienna, 1934

From the left: Erna Böhm, Curt Pillau, Horst Pillau,  Peter Böhm, Erich Slapa.
Vienna, 1934

Horst (center) with family at the swimming barge in the Donaukanal, Vienna.
From the left: Erich Slapa, my grandmother Bianca Böhm, Horst,
Horst's mother Cia, and my mother Erna Böhm.
Vienna, 1934

Horst with his father Curt Pillau
Kalksburg, 1934

Horst (left) and Erich Slapa at Slapa's house in Vienna, 1936.

Horst began working as  a freelance writer in Berlin in 1959 (age 27).  He has written more than 35 plays, many TV shows, screen plays, novels and books.  His latest books are 2017 Airborne, 2018 It is getting lighter, and in June, 2020 Finally a Hero!

Horst has received numerous awards.

Awards [ Wikipedia]

Horst Pillau received the Hartmannbund's Goldenes Aeskulapstab , the Dramatiker Union's Golden Needle (1985), the Berlin Theater Club's Golden Ifflander and the Federal Cross of Merit 

Filmography (selection) [ Wikipedia ]

• 1961: Your most beautiful day (screenplay with Curth Flatow)
• 1964: The Doctor (screenplay)
• 1967: Big man what now? (TV series, screenplay)
• 1969: Stewardesses (TV series, screenplay)
• 1970: A year without Sunday / A year with Sunday (13-part television series, screenplay)
• 1970: Kudamm stories (screenplay)
• 1972: Dangerous pranks (TV series, screenplay with Rolf Honold )
• 1973: Between the flights (TV series, screenplay)
• 1974: Forever and ever (TV series, screenplay)
• 1977: It doesn't always have to be caviar (TV series, screenplay)
• 1979: The Ghost Authority (screenplay)
• 1979–1981: Sun, Wine and Teasers (TV series, screenplay)
• 1986: Walks through the Mark Brandenburg (screenplay)
• 1991: Passionate Patient (screenplay)

Below is a photo of Horst with his Volkswagen in Berlin.  His brother Helmut told me the story:

"Lieber Al, der Mann im Vordergrund ist, wie Du richtig erkannt hast,
mein Bruder Horst. Der Mann im Hintergrund ist German Vogliano, der Sohn unserer damaligen Vermieter. German Vogliano ist damals mit Horst und Peter Böhm im VW Käfer von Berlin bis zum persischen Golf und zurück gefahren. Herzliche Grüße Helmut"

"Dear Al, the man in the foreground is, as you correctly recognized, my brother Horst. The man in the background is German Vogliano, the son of our landlord at the time. German Vogliano drove with Horst and Peter Böhm in the VW Beetle from Berlin to the Persian Gulf and back. Kind regards Helmut " 

From the left: German Vogliano, Horst and Cia Pillau, Berlin. Date unknown.

Horst and German drove from Berlin to the Persian Gulf and back in their Volkswagen. 
About 10,000 km round trip.

Horst Pillau Photos from Google

Happy Birthday Cousin Horst!

Here is the Wikipedia article about Horst Pullau.  https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horst_Pillau