Siegfried Lenz is a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 writer, who has written novels and produced several collections of short stories

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

, essay

Essay

An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...

s, and plays

Play (theatre)

A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...

 for radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 and the theatre

Theatre

Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

. He was awarded the Goethe Prize

Goethe Prize

The Goethe Prize of Frankfurt-am-Main is a German literary award of high prestige named after Johann Wolfgang Goethe. It was initially an annual award, but became triennial...

 in Frankfurt-am-Main on the 250th Anniversary of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...

's birth. Lenz and his wife, Liselotte, also exchanged over 100 letters with Paul Celan

Paul Celan

Paul Celan was a poet and translator...

 and his wife, Gisèle Lestrange

Gisèle Lestrange

Gisèle Lestrange or Gisèle de Lestrange, and after marriage, Gisèle Celan-Lestrange was a French graphic artist....

 between 1952 and 1961.

Life

Siegfried Lenz was born in Lyck (Ełk), East Prussia

East Prussia

East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...

, was a son of a customs officer. After his graduation exam in 1943, he was drafted into the navy.

According to documents released in June 2007, he may have joined the Nazi party on the 20th of April 1944. This was released with the names of several other well known German authors and persons, like Dieter Hildebrandt

Dieter Hildebrandt

Dieter Hildebrandt is a German Kabarett artist.Born in Bunzlau, Lower Silesia, Hildebrandt attended school until he became an assistant for the German Air Force in World War II...

 and Martin Walser

Martin Walser

At first the speech did not cause a great stir. Indeed, the audience present in Church of St. Paul received the speech with applause, though Walser's critic Ignatz Bubis did not applaud, as confirmed by television footage of the event...

. Shortly before the end of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, he defected to Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, but became a prisoner of war

Prisoner of war

A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

 in Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...

.

After his release, he attended the University of Hamburg

University of Hamburg

The University of Hamburg is a university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. It grew out of the previous Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen and the Kolonialinstitut as well as the Akademisches Gymnasium. There are around 38,000 students as of the start of...

, where he studied philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, and Literary history. His studies were cut off early, however, as he became an intern for the daily paper Die Welt

Die Welt

Die Welt is a German national daily newspaper published by the Axel Springer AG company.It was founded in Hamburg in 1946 by the British occupying forces, aiming to provide a "quality newspaper" modelled on The Times...

, and served as its editor from 1950 to 1951. It was there he met his future wife, Liselotte (d. 5 February 2006). They were married in 1949.

In 1951, Lenz took the money he had earned from his first novel, Habichte in der Luft, and financed a trip to Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

. During his time there, he wrote about the Mau Mau Uprising

Mau Mau Uprising

The Mau Mau Uprising was a military conflict that took place in Kenya between 1952 and 1960...

 in his history Lukas, sanftmütiger Knecht. Since 1951, Lenz worked as a freelance writer in Hamburg and was a member of the literature forum "Group 47". Together with Günter Grass, he became engaged with the Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party of Germany

The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...

 and aided the Ostpolitik

Ostpolitik

Neue Ostpolitik , or Ostpolitik for short, refers to the normalization of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and Eastern Europe, particularly the German Democratic Republic beginning in 1969...

of Willy Brandt

Willy Brandt

Willy Brandt, born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm , was a German politician, Mayor of West Berlin 1957–1966, Chancellor of West Germany 1969–1974, and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany 1964–1987....

. A champion of the movement, he was invited in 1970 to the signing of the German-Polish Treaty.

Since 2003, Lenz has been a visiting professor at the Düsseldorf Heinrich Heine University and a member of the organization for German orthography and proper speech.

Writing

Critic Gerhardt Csejka described Lenz as one of the German authors who saw it as his duty to help the German people "to pay off the enormous debts", which "the Germans together with their honoured Führer

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

had burdened themselves." Lenz saw it as his obligation to "take preventive actions against any danger of a reoccurrence."

Awards

In 1988 Lenz was awarded with the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade

Peace Prize of the German Book Trade

The Peace Prize of the German Book Trade is an international peace prize given yearly at the Frankfurt Book Fair in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt am Main, Germany...

, a prize given annually at the Frankfurt Book Fair

Frankfurt Book Fair

The Frankfurt Book Fair is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. As to the number of visitors, the Turin Book Fair attracts about as many visitors, viz. some 300,000....

. The Goethe Prize

Goethe Prize

The Goethe Prize of Frankfurt-am-Main is a German literary award of high prestige named after Johann Wolfgang Goethe. It was initially an annual award, but became triennial...

 of Frankfurt am Main (Goethepreis der Stadt Frankfurt) was given to Lenz in 2000. A year later, Lenz was honored with the highest decoration of Hamburg, the honorary citizenship. Since 2004 Lenz has been honorary citizen of Schleswig Holstein, since 18 October 2011 honorary citizen of his hometown Ełk (Lyck).
In 2010 he won International Nonino Prize from the Nonino

Nonino

Nonino is a small company that is one of the most famous Italian producers of grappa. Nonino is also the name of the family which owns and run the brand Nonino Grappa...

 family.

Novels

Title	Year	Publisher	Notes
Es waren Habichte in der Luft	1951	Hoffmann und Campe
Duell mit dem Schatten	1953	Hoffmann und Campe	ISBN 9783455042559, 1995
Der Mann im Strom	1957	Hoffmann und Campe	, 1969
Brot und Spiele	1959	Hoffmann und Campe
Stadtgespräch	1963	Hoffmann und Campe
Deutschstunde The German lesson, translated E. Kaiser and E. Wilkins	1968	Hoffmann und Campe New Directions Publishing	ISBN 9780811209823 1986. Translated to , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Das Vorbild An Exemplary Life, translated by Douglas Parmée	1973	Hoffmann und Campe Hill and Wang Hill and Wang Hill & Wang is an American book publishing company focused on American history, world history, and politics. It is a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux....	ISBN 9783455042382 ISBN 9780809043224, 1976
Heimatmuseum The heritage, translated K. Winston	1978	Hoffmann und Campe Secker & Warburg	ISBN 9783455042221 , 1981
Der Verlust	1981	Hoffmann und Campe
Exerzierplatz Training ground, translated G. Skelton	1981	Hoffmann und Campe Methuen	ISBN 9783455042139 ISBN 9780413181206, 1991
Die Klangprobe	1990	Hoffmann und Campe	ISBN 9783455042481
Die Auflehnung	1994	Hoffmann und Campe	ISBN 9783455042528
Arnes Nachlass	1999	Hoffmann und Campe	ISBN 9783455042894
Fundbüro	2003	Hoffmann und Campe	ISBN 9783455042801

Novellas and narratives

Title	Year	Publisher	Notes
So zärtlich war Suleyken Sulejki Sulejki is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Świętajno, within Olecko County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Olecko and east of the regional capital Olsztyn.... ; masurische Geschichten	1955	Hoffmann und Campe	Narratives.
Das schönste Fest der Welt	1961	Hans-Bredow-Institut	. First broadcasting of the radio drama Das schönste Fest der Welt was in 1956 by Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk was the organization responsible for public broadcasting in the German Länder of Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia from 22 September 1945 until 31 December 1955. Until 1954, it was also responsible for broadcasting in West Berlin... .
Das Kabinett der Konterbande	1956	Hoffmann und Campe
Jaeger des Spotts. Geschichten aus dieser Zeit	1979	Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag	Narratives. ISBN 9783423025300 First published 1958 by Hoffmann und Campe
Lukas, sanftmütiger Knecht	1958	Klett
Das Feuerschiff The Lightship, translated by M. Bullock	1960	Hoffmann und Campe Hill and Wang Hill and Wang Hill & Wang is an American book publishing company focused on American history, world history, and politics. It is a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux....	Narratives. , 1962
Zeit der Schuldlosen. Zeit der Schuldigen.	1961	Hans Bredow-Institut	Play.
Stimmungen der See	1962	Reclam Reclam thumb|A 1902 catalogReclam Verlag or just Reclam is a German publishing house, established in Leipzig in 1828 by Anton Philipp Reclam. It is known for its "little yellow books", in particular those of its "universal library" ....	Narratives.
Das Gesicht	1964	Hoffmann und Campe	Play.
Lehmanns Erzählungen, oder So schön war mein Markt: aus den Bekenntnissen eines Schwarzhändlers.	1964	Hoffmann und Campe
Der Spielverderber	1965	Hoffmann und Campe	Narrative. Translated to
Haussuchung	1967	Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag	Play.
Leute von Hamburg	1968	Hoffmann und Campe	Narrative.
Die Augenbinde	1970	Rowohlt Rowohlt Rowohlt Verlag is a publishing house based in Reinbek and also Hamburg and Berlin, part of the Georg von Holtzbrinck Group . The company was created in 1908 in Leipzig by Ernst Rowohlt.- Parts of the company :* Kindler Verlag...	Play.
Wie bei Gogol	1973	Reclam Reclam thumb|A 1902 catalogReclam Verlag or just Reclam is a German publishing house, established in Leipzig in 1828 by Anton Philipp Reclam. It is known for its "little yellow books", in particular those of its "universal library" ....	Narrative. Published in Erzählte Zeit : 50 deutsche Kurzgeschichten der Gegenwart ISBN 9783150099964
Der Geist der Mirabelle : Geschichten aus Bollerup	1975	Hoffmann und Campe	Narrative. ISBN 9783455042061 Translated to , , ,
Einstein überquert die Elbe bei Hamburg	1975	Hoffmann und Campe	Narratives. ISBN 9783455042276
Drei Stücke	1980	Hoffmann und Campe	Plays. ISBN 9783455042429
Ein Kriegsende	1984	Hoffmann und Campe	Narrative. ISBN 9783455042122 Translated to
Das serbische Mädchen	1987	Hoffmann und Campe	Narratives. ISBN 9783455042450 Translated to
The Selected Stories of Siegfried Lenz Translation of selections from: Die Erzählungen	1995	Northwestern University Press	ISBN 0-8101-1314-7
Ludmilla	1996	Hoffmann und Campe	Narrative. ISBN 9783455042566
Zaungast	2004	Hoffmann und Campe	Narrative. ISBN 9783455042788
Die Erzählungen	2006	Hoffmann und Campe	Short stories. ISBN 3-455-04285-6 First published Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag: Vol. 1: 1949-1958. Vol 2: 1959-1964. Vol. 3: 1965-1984.
Ein Freund der Regierung	1983	Denmarks Skoleradio	Short story.
Schweigeminute	2008	Hoffmann und Campe	Novella. ISBN 9783455042849

Essays, children's books, speeches

• 1970 Beziehungen, Essay
• 1971 Die Herrschaftssprache der CDU, Speech
• 1971 Verlorenes Land - Gewonnene Nachbarschaft, Speech
• 1971 So war das mit dem Zirkus, Children's book
• 1980 Gespraeche mit Manès Sperber und Leszek Kołakowski
• 1982 Über Phantasie: Gespraeche mit Heinrich Boell, Guenter Grass, Walter Kempowski, Pavel Kohout
• 1983 Elfenbeinturm und Barrikade. Erfahrungen am Schreibtisch, Essay
• 1986 Geschichte erzaehlen - Geschichten erzaehlen, Essay
• 1992 Über das Gedaechtnis. Reden und Aufsätze
• 1998 Über den Schmerz, Essay
• 2001 Mutmassungen über die Zukunft der Literatur, Essay
• 2006 Selbstversetzung, Über Schreiben und Leben, ISBN 3-455-04286-4

External links

• Website (in German) published by Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag. Retrieved 2009-10-04