Ferdinand Zacchi

Zacchi, Ferdinand (Wyk on the island of Föhr, 1884-1966), a writer of Heimatkunst. His output is small, but, a genuine Frisian, he is the author of novels which are rich in peculiarly Frisian dialect and characterization. Deus mare, Friso litora fecit, which he translates ‘Gott hat das Meer, der Friese das Land gemacht’, is a motif in the novel Klaar Kimming (1922, the title meaning ‘clear view’ down to sea level). This work followed Freerk Frendsens Blut (1920) and preceded Die liebe Not (1924). Freygeboren (1927), perhaps his best novel, shows the development of Elert, whose forebears were serfs in Poland: despite the legal abolition of serfdom he only feels free when he returns to his ancestral Frisian lands and marries a woman of free descent. In the depiction of social themes Zacchi resembles G. Frenssen and W. Lobsien.