Erwin Strittmatter (14 August 1912 – 31 January 1994) was a German writer. Strittmatter was one of the most famous writers in the

GDR East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

Biography

Strittmatter was born the son of a baker and foods wholesaler. Between 1924 and 1930 he attended the

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

in Spremberg which has subsequently been named after him. His left his school early due to shortage of money, and at the age of 17 he started an apprenticeship as a baker. Later Strittmatter worked as baker, waiter, chauffeur, zookeeper and unskilled laborer. In 1940 he volunteered to the Waffen-SS but was rejected.Tagesspiegel.de Erwin Strittmatter: Das unbefragte Schweigen
/ref> Instead, in March 1941 he was drafted into the Ordnungspolizei in the ''SS-Polizei-Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 18'', which operated under the control of the Waffen-SS and which was involved in the deportation of Jews from Athens. In October till December 1941 his unit was stationed at Cracow, probably as guards of the Krakau Ghetto. Later Strittmatter completed courses in anti-

partisan Partisan may refer to: Military * Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line Films * ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film * ''Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also know ...

warfare and was deployed in Slovenia, Finland und Greece. Bundesarchiv Bild 183-63679-0006, 1

Strittmatter deserted in March 1945Biography on German publisher's website.
and lived (without documentation) in Wallern/Volary (south-west

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

) for a few months. He was interrogated by the

US Military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

in May 1945, but they released him, thinking him a civilian. By June 1945 he was back in what remained of Germany, working for a fruit and vegetable wholesaler in

Saalfeld Saalfeld (german: Saalfeld/Saale) is a town in Germany, capital of the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district of Thuringia. It is best known internationally as the ancestral seat of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha branch of the Saxon House of Wettin. Geography ...

and also for his father as a baker while also working as a correspondent and later as an editor for a newspaper. In 1947, he became head official of seven municipalities. In 1954 Strittmatter began working as a freelance writer. Strittmatter married

Eva Strittmatter Eva Strittmatter (née Braun; 8 February 1930 – 3 January 2011) was a German writer of poetry, prose, and children's literature. Her books of poems sold millions of copies, reportedly making her the most successful German poet of the second ha ...

, who went on to become one of the most successful poets of East Germany, in 1956.Christian Eger, Tischgespräche in Schulzenhof
article on website of German newspaper ''Mitteldeutsche Zeitung''. In 1955 he was awarded the National Prize of the

for his novel ''Tinko'', in 1961 he received the

Lessing Lessing is a German surname of Slavic origin, originally ''Lesnik'' meaning "woodman". Lessing may refer to: A German family of writers, artists, musicians and politicians who can be traced back to a Michil Lessigk mentioned in 1518 as being a lin ...

award of the GDR. He was a

Stasi The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maintaining state author ...

informer from 1958 to 1964. His 1963 novel "Ole Bienkopp" was the first widely read work of literature in East Germany to break the constraints of Socialist Realism and offer a tragic hero who criticized representatives of the ruling Socialist Unity Party in the course of the novel.Gregory D. Hanners, Erwin Strittmatter's 'Ole Bienkopp" and the Original of Political Criticism in GDR Literature
scholarly article on Strittmatter's work. On 31 January 1994, Strittmatter died after a long illness.
obituary on website of German newspaper ''Berliner Zeitung''.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strittmatter, Erwin 1912 births 1994 deaths People from Spremberg People from the Province of Brandenburg East German writers Writers from Brandenburg German male writers Gebirgsjäger of World War II German police officers Waffen-SS personnel Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Recipients of the Banner of Labor People of the Stasi