Bundesarchiv Bild 183-37039-0004, Verleihung des Heinrich-Mann-Preis an Franz Fühmann

Wolfgang Schreyer (20 November 1927 – 14 November 2017) was a German writer of fiction, historic adventures mixed with documentary, science fiction for TV shows and movies and is best known as the author of over 20 adventure stories.

Life

Wolfgang Schreyer was born the son of a

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

. On leaving secondary school he was conscripted as a

Flakhelfer A ''Luftwaffenhelfer'', also commonly known as a ''Flakhelfer'', was any member of the auxiliary staff of the German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. Such terms often implied students conscripted as child soldiers. Establishment ''Luftwaff ...

before, in April 1944, he joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

and served in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

. He became a

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

and was released by the Americans in 1946. From 1947 until 1949 he was a chemists' apprentice, working in that profession until 1950. From 1950 to 1952, he was the manager of a pharmaceutical company in the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. Since the publication of his first crime novel, ''Großgarage Südwest'', he worked as a freelance author. He travelled several times to the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

and to the United States. Since 1958, the GDR's Staatssicherheitsdienst (Stasi) kept him under special surveillance. Until 1972 Schreyer lived in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

; since then he lived in

Ahrenshoop Ahrenshoop is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany on the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula of the Baltic Sea. It used to be a small fishing village, but is today known for its tourism and as a holid ...

on the coast of the Baltic Sea. Schreyer was the author of numerous novels, which are mainly considered entertainment, containing some criticism of society. Most successful were the stories set in Central America and the Caribbean, in which he skillfully mixed fiction and documentary. Other works are crime stories, a science-fiction story, film scripts, TV and radio drama. Having sold more than five million copies, Schreyer is considered one of the most successful East German authors. In 1956, Schreyer was awarded the

Heinrich-Mann-Preis The Heinrich Mann Prize () is an essay prize that has been awarded since 1953, first by the East German Academy of Arts, then by the Academy of Arts, Berlin. The prize, which comes with a €10,000 purse, is given annually on 27 March, Heinrich Ma ...

. Since 1952,he was a member of the East German authors guild, since 1974 a member of

P.E.N. PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internatio ...

; and since

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

in 1990 he was a member of the German authors guild. Schreyer died on 14 November 2017 at the age of 89.DDR-Autor Wolfgang Schreyer gestorben

Work

* ''Großgarage Südwest'', Berlin 1952 * ''Mit Kräuterschnaps und Gottvertrauen'', Berlin 1953 * ''Unternehmen "Thunderstorm"'', Berlin 1954 * ''Die Banknote'', Berlin 1955 * ''Schüsse über der Ostsee'', Berlin 1956 * ''Der Traum des Hauptmann Loy'', Berlin 1956 * ''Das Attentat'', Berlin 1957 * ''Der Spion von Akrotiri'', Berlin 1957 * ''Alaskafüchse'', Berlin 1959 * ''Das grüne Ungeheuer'', Berlin 1959 * ''Entscheidung an der Weichsel'', Berlin 1960 * ''Tempel des Satans'', Berlin 1960 * ''Die Piratenchronik'', Berlin 1961 (republished in 1967 as ''Augen am Himmel: Eine Piratenchronik'' (Eyes in the sky)) * ''Vampire, Tyrannen, Rebellen'', Berlin 1963 (together with Günter Schumacher) * ''Preludio 11'', Berlin 1964 * ''Fremder im Paradies'', Halle (Saale) 1966 (republished 1971 within ''Welt der Abenteuer'') * ''Aufstand des Sisyphos'', Berlin 1969 (together with Jürgen Hell) * ''Der gelbe Hai'', Berlin 1969 * ''Bananengangster'', Berlin 1970 * ''Der Adjutant'', Halle (S.) 1971 * ''Der Resident'', Halle (Saale) 1973 * ''Tod des Chefs oder Die Liebe zur Opposition'', Berlin 1975 * ''Schwarzer Dezember'', Halle (Saale) 1977 * ''Die Entführung'', Halle .a.1979 * ''Der Reporter'', Halle .a.1980 * ''Die Suche oder Die Abenteuer des Uwe Reuss'', Berlin 1981 * ''Eiskalt im Paradies'', Halle .a.1982 * ''Die fünf Leben des Dr. Gundlach'', Berlin 1982 * ''Der Fund oder Die Abenteuer des Uwe Reuss'', Berlin 1987 * ''Der Mann auf den Klippen'', Berlin 1987 * ''Der sechste Sinn'', Halle .a.1987 * ''Unabwendbar'', Berlin 1988 * ''Die Beute'', Rostock 1989 * ''Endzeit der Sieger'', Halle .a.1989 * ''Alpträume'', Oschersleben 1991 * ''Nebel'', Berlin 1991 * ''Das Quartett'', Berlin 1994 * ''Der zweite Mann'', Berlin 2000 * ''Der Verlust oder Die Abenteuer des Uwe Reuss'', Rostock 2001 * ''Das Kurhaus'', Rostock 2002 * ''Die Legende'', Berlin 2006 (together with Paul Schreyer)

References

External links

*
Profile
at

Stiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur The Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship (german: Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur, alternatively translated as "(Federal) Foundation for the Study of Communist Dictatorship in East Germany") is a governmen ...

Profile at mvweb.de
* http://www.dielegende.info/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20120213134430/http://www.ila-bonn.de/buchbesprechungen/buecher249.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Schreyer, Wolfgang 1927 births 2017 deaths Writers from Magdeburg People from the Province of Saxony Nazi Party members East German writers German male novelists 20th-century German male writers 20th-century German novelists 21st-century German novelists 21st-century German male writers German military personnel of World War II German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States Heinrich Mann Prize winners