The German author Siegfried Lenz died Tuesday in Hamburg among his family at the age of 88, announced his longlife publisher, Hoffman und Campe.
Born in Lyck, East Prussia, in 1926, Lenz is one of the most significant post-war writers. He became part of the post-war writers group, Gruppe 47, among Heinrich Böll, Günter Grass and Ingeborg Bachmann.
Lenz wrote dozens of novels and short stories, and his works have been translated into more than 30 languages.
Therefore, Hoffman und Campe regarded Lenz in its obituary as “one of the most read writers in German literature.”
His best known novels are “The German Lesson” (1968) and “Heimatmuseum” (1978) explore the conflict of the German national identity after the Nazi conflict.
Daniel Kampa, Hoffmann und Campe editor said “Sigfried Lenz was one of these people you don’t find anymore — a writer who is loved beyond the community of literature aficionados.”
Kampa added that Lenz was an “artist who saw his writing as a moral duty and who engaged with world events."