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Heinrich Böll

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Heinrich Böll

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1917-12-21 （Cologne, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire）
Died
1985-07-16 （Langenbroich (Kreuzau), West Germany） age 67
Nationality
German
Languages
German
Religion
Roman Catholic
Residence History
Cologne, Germany → Eifel region, Germany → Achill Island, Ireland

Career

Occupations
writer, novelist, essayist, playwright
Active Years
1947-1985
Affiliations
Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts (member), Academy of Science and the Arts, Mainz (member), PEN International (President 1971–1973), American Academy of Arts and Sciences (member), American Philosophical Society (member)
Memberships
Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts, PEN International (served as President), American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Philosophical Society
Influenced By
Juvenal (Roman satirist), William Morris, Graham Greene, Georges Bernanos
Influenced
Postwar German writers (generally), Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (personal/creative exchange)

Education

University of Cologne
German studies and Classics / Department of German studies and Classics
Country: Germany
Apprenticed as a bookseller before studying German studies and Classics at the University of Cologne. Degree and graduation year not clearly documented in source.

Awards

Culture Prize of German Industry
1953
Organization: unspecified (source lists award)
Result: 受賞
Georg Büchner Prize
1967
Organization: German literary organizations (awarding body)
Result: 受賞
Nobel Prize in Literature
1972
Work: Overall literary oeuvre (awarded for body of work)
Organization: Swedish Academy (Nobel Committee)
Result: 受賞
Ossietzky Medal
1974
Organization: Carl von Ossietzky related organization
Result: 受賞
Charles Veillon Prize
1960
Organization: Charles Veillon Foundation (Switzerland)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Train Was on Time (Der Zug war pünktlich)

1949 novel

An early novel set in postwar Germany that addresses wartime experiences and their aftermath.

war and its aftermathtrauma

And Never Said a Word (Und sagte kein einziges Wort)

1953 novel

Depicts the lives and moral conflicts of ordinary people living in the postwar period.

everyday lifeethicspostwar society

The Bread of Those Early Years (Das Brot der frühen Jahre)

1955 novel

A shorter novel about youth, poverty, love and coming of age.

youthpovertylove

Billiards at Half-past Nine (Billard um halb zehn)

1959 novel

A long novel that uses personal narratives to trace moral and historical developments in 20th-century Germany.

memoryintergenerational conflicthistory

The Clown (Ansichten eines Clowns)

1963 novel

A major novel critical of the Catholic Church and conservative society; caused controversy on publication.

critique of religionindividual vs. institutionsalienation

Group Portrait with Lady (Gruppenbild mit Dame)

1971 novel

A major novel portraying 20th-century German society through the life of a central woman.

social historypersonal historypolitics

The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum (Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum)

1974 novel

A political novel about tabloid media and state power destroying an individual's reputation.

media criticismpower vs. individualjustice
Adaptations
  • [film] The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum (film) / Volker Schlöndorff & Margarethe von Trotta (1975)

The Safety Net (Fürsorgliche Belagerung)

1979 novel

Deals with surveillance, welfare states and tensions between freedom and control.

surveillancefreedom vs securitythe state

Irish Journal (Irisches Tagebuch)

1957 travel writing

A travelogue recording stays in Ireland and observations of the landscape and people.

natureregional observationcultural exchange

Bibliography

  • The Train Was on Time (1949)
  • And Never Said a Word (1953)
  • The Bread of Those Early Years (1955)
  • Irish Journal (1957)
  • Billiards at Half-past Nine (1959)
  • The Clown (1963)
  • Group Portrait with Lady (1971)
  • The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum (1974)
  • The Safety Net (1979)

Adaptations

  • Film adaptation of The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum (1975)

Translations by Author

  • Translations by Böll (with Annemarie Böll), e.g. works by Brian O'Nolan translated into German

Translations of Works

  • Works translated into more than 30 languages (many major works)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Trümmerliteratur (literature of the rubble)realistsatiricalmorally engaged prose
Recurring Motifs
memory and guilt of warindividual vs institutionsCatholic faith and critiquelives of ordinary people

Health

  • typhoid (contracted)
    第二次世界大戦期（1940年代）
    Contracted typhoid during wartime; affected his wartime experience and postwar life (detailed long-term medical effects not fully documented in source).
  • war injuries (wounded multiple times)
    第二次世界大戦期
    Wounded several times; these experiences influenced themes in his writing.

Legacy

One of the foremost postwar German writers and a Nobel laureate. His legacy endures through the Heinrich Böll Foundation, archives in Cologne and a writers' residency at his cottage in Ireland. He is remembered for his social and political engagement, media criticism and defence of human rights.

Museums

  • Heinrich Böll Archive (within Historical Archive of the City of Cologne) Cologne, Germany

Academic Societies

  • Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts
  • Academy of Science and the Arts, Mainz

Archives

  • Heinrich Böll Archive (Cologne)
  • Böll's cottage on Achill Island (writers' residency)

In Popular Culture

  • Film adaptation of The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum (1975)
  • International literary exchange via festivals and the Achill Island residency
  • Musical works by Eric Andersen based on Böll's books (2017)

Quotes

  • "Perhaps many Germans do not read The Gulag Archipelago to experience the suffering of those to whom this monument is dedicated, but rather to forget the horror of their own history."
    Source: Essay/statement (original source year not specified in provided material)

Trivia

  • Refused to join the Hitler Youth in the 1930s.
  • Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1972.
  • Formally left the Catholic Church in 1976, while maintaining elements of faith.
  • His cottage on Achill Island has been used as a writers' residency since 1992.
  • Wounded several times during WWII and contracted typhoid.