Nobel Prize Laureate Author. He was one of Germany's most significant post-war authors. Born in what was then the German city of Danzig to a humble grocer, he saw the horrors of World War II as a member of the Hitler Youth and later joined the Waffen-SS, a Nazi special forces unit. Only decades later could he openly address these experiences. He eventually become the "moral authority" for Germany. After spending time in Paris where he wrote "The Tin Drum" which created a big uproar in the conservative society of then West Germany and became an international best seller, he went on to author a plethora of novels. The list of his works is extensive including "Cat and Mouse" and "Dog Years," along with "The Tin Drum" comprised his famous "Gdansk Trilogy;" "Local Anesthetic," "The Flounder," "The Rat," "The Call of the Toad," and "Crabwalk." His works generally dealt with political conditions and social upheaval, like the sinking of a refugee ship in the Baltic Sea in 1945, the role of intellectuals in the uprising in former East Germany in 1953, the 1968 student protests, federal election campaigns and political relations between East and West Germany. In 1999 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He died of a lung infection.
Nobel Prize Laureate Author. He was one of Germany's most significant post-war authors. Born in what was then the German city of Danzig to a humble grocer, he saw the horrors of World War II as a member of the Hitler Youth and later joined the Waffen-SS, a Nazi special forces unit. Only decades later could he openly address these experiences. He eventually become the "moral authority" for Germany. After spending time in Paris where he wrote "The Tin Drum" which created a big uproar in the conservative society of then West Germany and became an international best seller, he went on to author a plethora of novels. The list of his works is extensive including "Cat and Mouse" and "Dog Years," along with "The Tin Drum" comprised his famous "Gdansk Trilogy;" "Local Anesthetic," "The Flounder," "The Rat," "The Call of the Toad," and "Crabwalk." His works generally dealt with political conditions and social upheaval, like the sinking of a refugee ship in the Baltic Sea in 1945, the role of intellectuals in the uprising in former East Germany in 1953, the 1968 student protests, federal election campaigns and political relations between East and West Germany. In 1999 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He died of a lung infection.
Bio by: Fred Beisser
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