Heinrich Böll

1972

He was the first post-war German author to receive it.

💡 Did you know? As president of PEN, Böll campaigned worldwide for persecuted writers.

The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum

Subtitle: „How violence develops and where it can lead“: a reckoning with the sensationalist press.

💡 Did you know? The book grew out of Böll’s feud with the Bild tabloid.

The Clown

A broken artist rails against the church and society of the economic-miracle years.

💡 Did you know? On its publication in 1963 the novel sparked fierce debates.

Church and state

A devout Catholic, he wrestled with his church all his life.

💡 Did you know? His work is seen as a chronicle of West German everyday life from 1945 into the 1980s.

Group 47

In this loose circle the most important post-war authors shaped German literature.

💡 Did you know? In 1951 Böll won the group’s coveted prize there with a short story.

rubble literature

It told soberly of the ruined Germany and the returning soldiers.

💡 Did you know? Böll wrote the programmatic „Confession to Rubble Literature“ on the subject.

Billiards at Half-Past Nine

In a single day the story of a family unfolds across the German catastrophe.

💡 Did you know? A native of Cologne, Böll set many works in his home city.

President of PEN

In that role he helped persecuted writers worldwide, such as the Soviet dissident Solzhenitsyn.

💡 Did you know? Böll always understood literature as a moral responsibility too.

Heinrich Böll