The Andreas-Gryphius Prize is a prestigious literary prize in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, named after the German poet

Andreas Gryphius Andreas Gryphius (german: Andreas Greif; 2 October 161616 July 1664) was a German poet and playwright. With his eloquent sonnets, which contains "The Suffering, Frailty of Life and the World", he is considered one of the most important Baroque ...

(1616–1664). The prize is awarded to authors and translators whose work reflects German culture and history in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe and that contributes to understanding between Germany and its Eastern neighbors.Andreas Gryphius-Preis
. Kulturpreise.de. ''Handbuch der Kulturpreise'', online edition. ARCult Media. Retrieved 9 October 2019. The prize was established in Düsseldorf in 1957; since 1990 it has been sponsored by the Künstlergilde (artists' guild) in Esslingen, and awarded in the city of Glogów (German: Glogau), Gryphius's birthplace.

Winners

* 1957

Heinz Piontek Heinz Piontek (15 November 1925 – 26 October 2003) was a German writer. He was born in Upper Silesia. In 1976, he was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize by the Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung for his literary oeuvre with the words "ei ...

– star prize * 1959 August Scholtis – star prize * 1962

Karl Dedecius Karl Dedecius (20 May 1921 in Łódź – 26 February 2016) was a Polish-born German translator of Polish and Russian literature.Wolfgang Schwarz Wolfgang Schwarz (born 14 September 1947, in Vienna) is an Austrian former figure skater. He is the 1968 Olympic gold medalist (one of the youngest male figure skating Olympic champions), a two-time (1967–1968) World silver medalist, and thre ...

– honorary prize * 1965 ** Josef Mühlberger ** Peter Jokostra * 1966

Johannes Urzidil Johannes Urzidil (3 February 1896 in Prague – 2 November 1970 in Rome) was a German-Bohemian writer, poet and historian. His father was a Sudeten Germans, German Bohemian and his mother was Jews, Jewish. Life Urzidil was educated in Prague, stu ...

– star prize * 1967 ** Arnold Ulitz **

Horst Bienek Horst Bienek (May 7, 1930 in Gleiwitz – December 7, 1990 in Munich) was a German novelist and poet. Life Born in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, Germany (today Gliwice, Poland), Bienek was forced to leave there in 1945, when Germans were expelled ...

– honorary prize * 1968

Rudolf Pannwitz Rudolf Pannwitz (27 May 1881 in Crossen/Oder, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia – 23 March 1969 in Astano, Ticino, Switzerland) was a German writer, poet and philosopher. His thought combined nature philosophy, Nietzsche, an o ...

* 1969 ** Manfred Bieler **

Oskar Pastior Oskar Pastior (; 20 October 1927 – 4 October 2006) was a Romanian-born German poet and translator. He was the only German member of Oulipo. Biography Born into a Transylvanian Saxons, Transylvanian Saxon family in Sibiu (Hermannstadt), he Depor ...

– promotional award * 1970 **

Kurt Heynicke Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt means "Wolf" and i ...

Dagmar Nick Dagmar may refer to: People * Dagmar (given name), a feminine Scandinavian and German given name * Berthe Dagmar (1884–1934), French film actress * Dagmar (actress) (1921–2001), main stage name of American actress Virginia Ruth Egnor * Dagma ...

– honorary prize ** Barbara König – honorary prize * 1971

Wolfgang Koeppen Wolfgang Arthur Reinhold Koeppen (23 June 1906 – 15 March 1996) was a German novelist and one of the best known German authors of the postwar period. Life Koeppen was born out of wedlock in Greifswald, Pomerania, to Marie Köppen, a seamstress w ...

– star prize * 1972 **

Walter Kempowski Walter Kempowski (; 29 April 1929 – 5 October 2007) was a German writer. Kempowski was known for his series of novels called ''German Chronicle'' ("Deutsche Chronik") and the monumental ''Echolot'' ("Sonar"), a collage of autobiographical repo ...

– honorary prize **

Ilse Tielsch Ilse Tielsch (born Ilse Felzmann 20 March 1929 – 21 February 2023) was an Austrian writer. Life Ilse Tielsch was born on 20 March 1929 in Hustopeče, Czechoslovakia. She was the daughter of Fritz Felzmann (1895–1980), a doctor, writer and m ...

– honorary prize **

Georg Hermanowski Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker See also * George (disambiguation) George may refer to: People * George (given name) * ...

– honorary prize **

Gertrud Fussenegger Gertrud Fussenegger (8 May 1912 – 19 March 2009) was an Austrian writer and a prolific author, especially of historical novels. Many commentators felt that her reputation never entirely escaped from the shadow cast by her enthusiasm, as a youn ...

* 1973

Hans-Jürgen Heise Hans-Jürgen Heise (6 July 1930 - 13 November 2013) was a German author and poet. Biography Heise was born Hans-Jürgen Scheller in Bublitz, Pomerania, Weimar Germany (modern Bobolice, Poland). His family moved to Berlin when he was still an i ...

– honorary prize * 1974

Peter Huchel Peter Huchel (April 3, 1903 – April 30, 1981), born Hellmut Huchel, was a German poet and editor. Life Huchel was born in Lichterfelde (now part of Berlin). From 1923 to 1926, Huchel studied literature and philosophy in Berlin, Freiburg and ...

* 1975

Frank Thiess Frank Thiess (13 March 1890 – 22 December 1977) was a German writer. Biography Born in Eluisenstein (now Ogre Municipality), Kreis Riga, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire (now Latvia), Thiess grew up in Berlin. He worked as a journalist fo ...

* 1976 **

Karin Struck Karin Struck (14 May 1947, Groß Kiesow – 6 February 2006) was a German author. She won the Rauris Literature Prize and the Andreas Gryphius Prize. She had generally been seen as a writer of women's literature and to the Left. However, in 1991 an ...

– star prize;

Carl Guesmer Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of te ...

– promotional award **

Tamara Ehlert Tamara Ehlert, aka Tamara Traumann (28 December 1921 – 8 September 2008) was a German writer and lyricist. She was born in Königsberg, and trained in theatre and dance. During the Second World War she worked as a telephone and radio oper ...

* 1977 **

Reiner Kunze Reiner Kunze (born 16 August 1933 in Oelsnitz, Erzgebirge, Saxony) is a German writer and GDR dissident. He studied media and journalism at the University of Leipzig. In 1968, he left the GDR state party SED following the communist Warsaw Pact ...

– star prize **

Rose Ausländer Rose Ausländer (born Rosalie Beatrice Scherzer; May 11, 1901 – January 3, 1988) was a Jewish poet writing in German and English. Born in Czernowitz in the Bukovina, she lived through its tumultuous history of belonging to the Austro-Hungarian E ...

** Rudolf Günter Langer * 1978 ** Hanns Gottschalk **

Arno Surminski Arno Surminski (born 20 August 1934 in Jäglack, East Prussia) is a German writer, living in Hamburg, a father of three and a grandfather of 8. After growing up in East Prussia, his parents were deported to the Soviet Union, while he was expell ...

* 1979

Siegfried Lenz Siegfried Lenz (; 17 March 19267 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 bi ...

– star prize * 1980

Saul Friedländer Saul Friedländer (; born October 11, 1932) is a Czech-Jewish-born historian and a professor emeritus of history at UCLA. Biography Saul Friedländer was born in Prague to a family of German-speaking Jews. He was raised in France and lived thro ...

* 1981 ** Ernst Vasovec ** Ulrich Schacht – promotional award * 1982 Franz Tumler * 1983 **

Ulla Berkéwicz Ulla Berkéwicz (Ursula Unseld-Berkéwicz: born Ursula Schmidt) is a German actress, author and (more recently) publisher. The name "Berkéwicz", which she adopted in 1968 as a stage name, and by which she has since become generally known, is ...

– promotional award * 1984

Hans Sahl Hans Sahl (born Hans Salomon, 20 May 1902 in Dresden – 27 April 1993 in Tübingen) was a poet, critic, and novelist who began during the Weimar Republic. He came from an affluent Jewish background, but like many such German Jews he fled Germany ...

* 1985 Ernst Günther Bleisch (Philosopher

Günther Anders Günther Anders (born Günther Siegmund Stern, 12 July 1902 – 17 December 1992) was a German-Austrian Jewish émigré, philosopher, essayist and journalist. Trained in the phenomenological tradition, he developed a philosophical anthropolo ...

had rejected the prize for political reasons.) * 1986

Hans Werner Richter Hans Werner Richter (12 November 1908 – 23 March 1993) was a German writer. Born in Heringsdorf, Neu Sallenthin, Usedom, Richter is little known for his own works but found worldwide celebrity and acknowledgment as initiator, moving spirit ...

* 1987 **

Otfried Preußler Otfried Preußler (sometimes spelled as Otfried Preussler; both ; born Otfried Syrowatka; 20 October 1923 – 18 February 2013) was a German literature, German Children's literature, children's books author. More than 50 million copies of his books ...

for his complete works ** Helga Lippelt – promotional award * 1988

Martin Gregor-Dellin Martin Gregor-Dellin (real name Martin Gustav Schmidt) was a German writer noted for his scholarship on the composer Richard Wagner. He was born in 1926 in Naumburg (Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale (german: Sächsische Saale) ...

* 1989 **

– star prize for her complete works **

Michael Wieck Michael Wieck (19 July 1928 – 27 February 2021) was a German violinist and author. Wieck's memoir, ''Zeugnis vom Untergang Königsbergs'' (Witness to the fall of Königsberg), was published in 1989. In it he relates his and his partly Jewish fami ...

– honorary prize for ''Zeugnis vom Untergang Königsbergs'' ccount of the downfall of Königsberg* 1990 **

Peter Härtling Peter Härtling (; 13 November 1933 – 10 July 2017) was a German writer, poet, publisher and journalist. He received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his major contribution to German literature. Biography Härtling wa ...

– star prize ** Christian Saalberg – honorary prize * 1991 **

Ota Filip Ota Filip (9 March 1930 – 2 March 2018) was a Czech novelist and journalist. He wrote in both German and Czech. Life Filip was born in Slezská Ostrava, in present-day Czech Republic. His novels have been translated into French, Italian, Span ...

** Helga Schütz – honorary prize ** Franz Hodjak – honorary prize * 1992 **

Janosch Janosch (, born as Horst Eckert on 11 March 1931) is a German children's author and illustrator. Biography Janosch was born as Horst Eckert in what was then Hindenburg (now Zabrze, Poland) in Upper Silesia to a family of mixed German and Poli ...

(Horst Eckert) – star prize **

Paweł Huelle Paweł Marek Huelle (10 September 1957 – 27 November 2023) was a Polish prose writer. Life and career Huelle studied Polish philology at Gdańsk University and, in 1980, participated in the efforts to establish an independent student organiza ...

– promotional award * 1993

* 1994

* 1995

Andrzej Szczypiorski Andrzej Szczypiorski (; 3 February 1928 – 16 May 2000) was a Polish novelist and politician. He served as a member of the Polish legislature, and was a Solidarity activist interned during the military crackdown of 1981. He was a secret polic ...

– star prize * 1996 **

Jiří Gruša Jiří Gruša (10 November 1938, in Pardubice – 28 October 2011, in Bad Oeynhausen) was a Czech people, Czech poet, novelist, translator, diplomat and politician."Ehrungen und Auszeichnungen", in
Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung: Jahrbuch 1996
. Göttingen: Wallstein Verlag, 1997. p. 220. **

Ruth Klüger Ruth Klüger (30 October 1931 – 5 October 2020) was Professor Emerita of German Studies at the University of California, Irvine and a Holocaust survivor. She was the author of the bestseller ''weiter leben: Eine Jugend'' about her childhood in ...

– honorary prize ** Olly Komenda-Soentgerath – honorary prize * 1997

Karl Dedecius Karl Dedecius (20 May 1921 in Łódź – 26 February 2016) was a Polish-born German translator of Polish and Russian literature.Milo Dor Milo Dor (7 March 1923 – December 2005) was a Serbian Austrian writer and translator. He described himself as "an Austrian, Viennese, and European of Serbian heritage." Life Milo Dor was born in to a Serbian family in Budapest, as Milutin Do ...

* 1999

Stefan Chwin Stefan Chwin (born 11 April 1949 in Gdańsk) is a Polish novelist, literary critic, and historian of literature whose life and literary work is closely linked to his hometown. He holds a post of Literature Professor at the University of Gdansk, ...

for his complete works, especially for the novel ''Tod in Danzig'' eath in Danzig* 2009

* 2010 * 2011 * 2012 * 2013 * 2014 ,

Leonie Ossowski Jolanthe von Brandenstein (15 August 1925 – 4 February 2019), known by her pen name Leonie Ossowski, was a German writer. She also wrote under the name Jo Tiedemann. She wrote novels, including the novel for young adults ''Die große Flatter'' ...

* 2015 * 2016 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2020

References

German literary awards 1957 establishments in Germany Awards established in 1957 {{Germany-lit-award-stub