My full name is Adolph Gustav van der Walt, and I was born 1989 in South Africa. My mother chose this name, not because of her political preferences, as many assume. Rather, I am proud to be named after my mother's Piano professor Adolph Hallis. Moreover, Adolph Gustav was an old family name.
When people find out that I am South African, often they feel relieved, they assume South Africa is so far away from Europe that they might not have heard about Hitler before. Other times people feel that they misheard, so they ask again and again: "Sorry, was it, Rudolf?" In the end, I feel that I have to destroy this tension by saying out loud: "No, Adolph, like Eichman." Most people have not heard that name so I give in and say "Adolph, like Hitler". However, already since I was thirteen and started playing saxophone I found a more "appropriate" answer for this question: "No, Adolph like the inventor of the saxophone."
Currently, I have a wide variety of solutions: "No, Adolph, like the inventor of the contact lenses, like Adidas, like the guy after whom they named the first electric guitar," - and so on and so forth. You might ask me, how am I going to put all of these people into some kind of order.
The logic with which I link the biographies follows my travelling and experiences. Mostly when I come to a new place or try new activities, I check whether there was an Adolph involved.
Wherever I go, people are curious about my name. In this blog, I will try to clarify some issues connected with the phenomenon of naming and cultural memory. In general, though, I aim to give you a brief biography about the different Adolphs (Adolf, Adolfo, Adulf, Adolphe, Adolphus, Adolfina, Adolphine) who left a mark on history.
When people find out that I am South African, often they feel relieved, they assume South Africa is so far away from Europe that they might not have heard about Hitler before. Other times people feel that they misheard, so they ask again and again: "Sorry, was it, Rudolf?" In the end, I feel that I have to destroy this tension by saying out loud: "No, Adolph, like Eichman." Most people have not heard that name so I give in and say "Adolph, like Hitler". However, already since I was thirteen and started playing saxophone I found a more "appropriate" answer for this question: "No, Adolph like the inventor of the saxophone."
Currently, I have a wide variety of solutions: "No, Adolph, like the inventor of the contact lenses, like Adidas, like the guy after whom they named the first electric guitar," - and so on and so forth. You might ask me, how am I going to put all of these people into some kind of order.
The logic with which I link the biographies follows my travelling and experiences. Mostly when I come to a new place or try new activities, I check whether there was an Adolph involved.
Wherever I go, people are curious about my name. In this blog, I will try to clarify some issues connected with the phenomenon of naming and cultural memory. In general, though, I aim to give you a brief biography about the different Adolphs (Adolf, Adolfo, Adulf, Adolphe, Adolphus, Adolfina, Adolphine) who left a mark on history.