Born: 16 October 1927 · Died: 13 April 2015 · Age: 87
German novelist of The Tin Drum, a confronting look at the Nazi era, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature
Did you know?Late in his life, he caused a major controversy by revealing that he had been drafted into the Waffen-SS as a teenager.
Quick facts
Date of birth16 October 1927
Date of death13 April 2015
Age at death87
Cause of deathInfection
NationalityGerman
BirthplaceFree City of Danzig
Occupationlyricist, screenwriter, poet
Editor's Take:
Günter Grass was the leading German novelist of the post-war era. The Tin Drum, about a boy who refuses to grow up, made him famous in 1959. It was part of his Danzig Trilogy. His novels confronted Germany's Nazi past. He was a campaigner for the Social Democrats. In 2006 he revealed that he had served in the Waffen-SS as a teenager. He won the Nobel Prize in 1999.
Key Milestones
1959: The Tin Drum – novel
1961: Cat and Mouse – novella
1963: Dog Years – novel
1999: Nobel Prize in Literature
Günter Wilhelm Grass (German:; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland).
