Siegfried Lenz
Currently Active
•
1926 — Present
Novelist
FN
Edited by Fenomenco Desk, Celebrity Research Team
Last Updated: Apr 11, 2026 • Fact-Checked
Personal Info
- Born
- Mar 17, 1926
- Age
- 100
- Birth Place
- Lyck, Germany (now Ełk, Poland)
LEGACY & ORIGINS
Occupation Novelist
Nationality German
Alma mater University of Hamburg
Period 1956–2014
Notable works The German Lesson
Notable awards
Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (1988)
Goethe Prize (2000)
Honorary citizen of Schleswig-Holstein (2004)
Siegfried Lenz (German: [ˈziːkfʁiːt ˈlɛnts] ⓘ; 17 March 1926 – 7 October 2014) was a German writer of novels, short stories and essays, as well as dramas for radio and the theatre. In 2000 he received the Goethe Prize on the 250th Anniversary of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's birth. He won the 2010 International Nonino Prize in Italy.
Siegfried Lenz was born in Lyck, East Prussia (now Ełk, Poland), the son of a customs officer. After graduating in 1943 he was drafted into the Kriegsmarine.
According to documents released in June 2007, he joined the Nazi Party at the age of 18 on 20 April 1944 along with several other German authors and personalities such as Dieter Hildebrandt and Martin Walser. However Lenz subsequently said he had been included in a collective ‘joining’ of the Party without his knowledge. In World War II he was a soldier in the German Kriegsmarine and served as a Fähnrich zur See (officer cadet) on the Admiral Scheer, the German auxiliary cruiser Hansa, and for a short period in Naestved in Denmark. Shortly after the German surrender at Lüneburg Heath he deserted and was held briefly as a prisoner of war in Schleswig-Holstein. He then worked as an interpreter for the British army.
Nationality German
Alma mater University of Hamburg
Period 1956–2014
Notable works The German Lesson
Notable awards
Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (1988)
Goethe Prize (2000)
Honorary citizen of Schleswig-Holstein (2004)
Siegfried Lenz (German: [ˈziːkfʁiːt ˈlɛnts] ⓘ; 17 March 1926 – 7 October 2014) was a German writer of novels, short stories and essays, as well as dramas for radio and the theatre. In 2000 he received the Goethe Prize on the 250th Anniversary of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's birth. He won the 2010 International Nonino Prize in Italy.
Siegfried Lenz was born in Lyck, East Prussia (now Ełk, Poland), the son of a customs officer. After graduating in 1943 he was drafted into the Kriegsmarine.
According to documents released in June 2007, he joined the Nazi Party at the age of 18 on 20 April 1944 along with several other German authors and personalities such as Dieter Hildebrandt and Martin Walser. However Lenz subsequently said he had been included in a collective ‘joining’ of the Party without his knowledge. In World War II he was a soldier in the German Kriegsmarine and served as a Fähnrich zur See (officer cadet) on the Admiral Scheer, the German auxiliary cruiser Hansa, and for a short period in Naestved in Denmark. Shortly after the German surrender at Lüneburg Heath he deserted and was held briefly as a prisoner of war in Schleswig-Holstein. He then worked as an interpreter for the British army.
Life & Career Details
Occupation Novelist
Nationality German
Alma mater University of Hamburg
Period 1956–2014
Notable works The German Lesson
Notable awards
Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (1988)
Goethe Prize (2000)
Honorary citizen of Schleswig-Holstein (2004)
Siegfried Lenz (German: [ˈziːkfʁiːt ˈlɛnts] ⓘ; 17 March 1926 – 7 October 2014) was a German writer of novels, short stories and essays, as well as dramas for radio and the theatre. In 2000 he received the Goethe Prize on the 250th Anniversary of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's birth. He won the 2010 International Nonino Prize in Italy.
Siegfried Lenz was born in Lyck, East Prussia (now Ełk, Poland), the son of a customs officer. After graduating in 1943 he was drafted into the Kriegsmarine.
According to documents released in June 2007, he joined the Nazi Party at the age of 18 on 20 April 1944 along with several other German authors and personalities such as Dieter Hildebrandt and Martin Walser. However Lenz subsequently said he had been included in a collective ‘joining’ of the Party without his knowledge. In World War II he was a soldier in the German Kriegsmarine and served as a Fähnrich zur See (officer cadet) on the Admiral Scheer, the German auxiliary cruiser Hansa, and for a short period in Naestved in Denmark. Shortly after the German surrender at Lüneburg Heath he deserted and was held briefly as a prisoner of war in Schleswig-Holstein. He then worked as an interpreter for the British army.
Nationality German
Alma mater University of Hamburg
Period 1956–2014
Notable works The German Lesson
Notable awards
Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (1988)
Goethe Prize (2000)
Honorary citizen of Schleswig-Holstein (2004)
Siegfried Lenz (German: [ˈziːkfʁiːt ˈlɛnts] ⓘ; 17 March 1926 – 7 October 2014) was a German writer of novels, short stories and essays, as well as dramas for radio and the theatre. In 2000 he received the Goethe Prize on the 250th Anniversary of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's birth. He won the 2010 International Nonino Prize in Italy.
Siegfried Lenz was born in Lyck, East Prussia (now Ełk, Poland), the son of a customs officer. After graduating in 1943 he was drafted into the Kriegsmarine.
According to documents released in June 2007, he joined the Nazi Party at the age of 18 on 20 April 1944 along with several other German authors and personalities such as Dieter Hildebrandt and Martin Walser. However Lenz subsequently said he had been included in a collective ‘joining’ of the Party without his knowledge. In World War II he was a soldier in the German Kriegsmarine and served as a Fähnrich zur See (officer cadet) on the Admiral Scheer, the German auxiliary cruiser Hansa, and for a short period in Naestved in Denmark. Shortly after the German surrender at Lüneburg Heath he deserted and was held briefly as a prisoner of war in Schleswig-Holstein. He then worked as an interpreter for the British army.
Works & Highlights
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Edited by Sarah Mitchell, Celebrity Research Team
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