Born in the town of Lyck, East Prussia, Mr. Lenz would today be considered as being born in Poland.
After graduation in 1943, Mr. Lenz was drafted into the Kriegsmarine, the Nave of Nazi Germany.
Before the end of World War II, Mr. Lenz fled to Denmark and was briefly held as a prisoner of war.
He worked as a translator for the British army.
Liselottte, the future wife of the author,
Mr. Lenz saw it as his obligation to “pay off the enormous debts” of the German people as well as “take preventive actions against any danger of reoccurrence”.
In 1970 Mr. Lenz was made an honorary citizen of Elk, now part of Poland.
In 2000, Mr. Lenz received the Goethe Prize. The day was also the 250th anniversary of the birth of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
The first recipient of the Siegfried Lenz award was Israeli author Amos Oz. Mr. Oz won the prize a few short weeks after Mr. Lenz passed away.
Mr. Oz and Mr. Lenz were friends for over 30 years.
Zohar – Man of la Book
*Amazon links point to an affiliate account
Man of la Book
A father, husband, avid reader, blogger, software engineer & wood worker who is known the world over as a man of many interests and to his wife as “an idiot”.