World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Alfred Andersch

アルフレート・アンデルシュ

Arufurēto Andershu

Aliases: Alfred Hellmuth Andersch

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1914-02-04 （Munich）
Died
1980-02-21 （Berzona, Ticino） age 66
Nationality
German
Languages
German
Religion
Unknown
Residence History
Munich → Berzona (Switzerland)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Publisher, Radio editor
Active Years
1930-1980
Affiliations
Group 47
Influenced By
Erich Kästner, James Joyce, John Dos Passos
Influenced
Martin Andersch

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Cherries of Freedom

1952 Autobiography

Autobiographical report on his wartime desertion interpreted as a turning point to freedom.

Freedom of willDesertionInternal emigration
Translations
  • Michael Hulse (2004)

Flight to Afar

1957 Novel

Significant novel exploring themes of freedom.

FreedomExistentialismDesertion
Adaptations
  • [Film] Sansibar / Rainer Wolffhardt (1961)
  • [Film] Sansibar oder der letzte Grund / Bernhard Wicki (1987)
Translations
  • Michael Bullock (1961)

Bibliography

  • Gesammelte Werke in 10 Bänden

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Assemblage techniquesDocumentary styleInner monologues
Recurring Motifs
Individual freedom of willDesertion and choiceMoral turning points in post-war Germany

Health

  • Depression
    1933年頃
    Total introversion phase, engagement in arts

Legacy

Considered a critical post-war German author focusing on individual freedom of will.

Archives

  • German Literature Archive Marbach

Trivia

  • Brother Martin Andersch was also a writer.
  • Schoolmaster was Joseph Gebhard Himmler, father of Heinrich Himmler.
  • Survivor of Dachau concentration camp.