Hans Peter Richter (28 April 1925 – 19 November 1993) was a German author. He was born in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

, Germany, and went to

Volksschule The German term ''Volksschule'' generally refers to compulsory education, denoting an educational institution every person (i.e. the people, ''Volk'') is required to attend. In Germany and Switzerland it is equivalent to a combined primary ('' ...

and Aufbauschule. He took part in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

as a soldier with the highest military rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

from 1942 to 1945. He lost his left arm because of an injury in the war.Richter studied psychology and sociology in Cologne, Bonn and Mainz from 1948 to 1952. He achieved his promotion as

Dr. rer. pol. A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-W� ...

in 1952. He focused on independent research activities for business enterprises and broadcasting corporations from 1953 to 1973. Richter wrote many books for children and young adults. Notable among them is the novel '' Friedrich'' (in German '), about the persecution of

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

in Germany during

The Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

. ''Friedrich'' (published in 1970) was the subject of an

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

1972 ALSC Batchelder Award Richter received the Selbaldus Youth Book Award (''Sebaldus-Jugendbuchpreis'') and the ''Woodward School Book Award'' for this book. Some of his most notable books are: * ''The Time of the Young Soldiers'' (German original title: ''Die Zeit der jungen Soldaten'', 1967) * ''I Was There'' (German original title: ''Wir waren dabei'', 1962) * '' Friedrich'' (German original title: ''Damals war es Friedrich'', 1961) Richter was awarded the golden paperback (''Goldenes Taschenbuch'') in 1989. Richter became Professor of

scientific methodology Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

and

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

at the

Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences The Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences (german: Hochschule Darmstadt), also known as h_da, is a University of Applied Sciences located in Darmstadt, Germany. h_da is part of the IT cluster Rhine-Main-Neckar, the "Silicon Valley of Germany ...

in 1973. He also published several books on

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

. Hans Peter Richter was married to Elfried Feldman and had four children; Ulrike, Claudia, Leonore, and Gereon. He died in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

on 19 November 1993.

References

External links

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''Author''
at

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertelsmann announced the completion of its purchase ...

1925 births 1993 deaths German children's writers Writers from Cologne People from the Rhine Province 20th-century German novelists German male novelists 20th-century German male writers {{Germany-writer-stub