Günter Grass

the Nobel Prize in Literature

The academy praised how he „portrayed the forgotten face of history in blackly comic fables“.

💡 Did you know? Grass is one of the few German-language authors to hold this honour.

The Tin Drum

The opening of the „Danzig Trilogy“: narrated from a mental asylum.

💡 Did you know? The 1979 film won both an Oscar and the Palme d’Or.

Oskar Matzerath

In protest against the adult world he stops growing at the age of three.

💡 Did you know? His voice can shatter glass with a scream.

visual art

He designed many of his books with his own drawings.

💡 Did you know? His covers and etchings remain sought-after collector’s items.

Danzig

The city of his childhood is the setting of his „Danzig Trilogy“.

💡 Did you know? After the war Danzig became Polish: Grass’s homeland was changed forever.

the Danzig Trilogy

All three books are set in Danzig before, during and after the Nazi era.

💡 Did you know? „Cat and Mouse“ is the slim novella at the centre of the trilogy.

Membership of the Waffen-SS

He revealed it in the autobiography „Peeling the Onion“: decades after admonishing others.

💡 Did you know? The late confession triggered a fierce public debate.

Willy Brandt

Grass toured the country for the SPD for years and spoke out loudly.

💡 Did you know? The political writer was as well known as the novelist.

Günter Grass