Jürgen Thorwald (born Heinz Bongartz, October 28, 1915; died April 4, 2006) was a German

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, ...

, journalist and historian known for his works describing the history of

forensic medicine Forensic medicine is a broad term used to describe a group of medical specialties which deal with the examination and diagnosis of individuals who have been injured by or who have died because of external or unnatural causes such as poisoning, ass ...

and of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Thorwald was a native of Solingen, Rhenish Prussia, and attended the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

. He started his career in 1933 in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, writing for publications such as ''Die Braune Post'' ("''The Brown Mail''"), the SS journal '' Das Schwarze Korps'' ("''The Black Corps''") and the NSDAP paper ''

National-Zeitung The ''National-Zeitung'' (NZ, ''National Newspaper'') was a weekly, extreme right newspaper, published by Gerhard Frey, who also founded the far right Deutsche Volksunion (German People's Union) as an association in 1971, turning it into a politi ...

''. During the war he worked as a

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

writer, focusing on the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

and the general German war effort. After the war he used the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

''Jürgen Thorwald'' in order to be able to work under allied occupation. In 1947 he legally adopted the new name. Thorwald’s book ''The Century of the Detective'' was nominated for the

Edgar Allan Poe Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

in 1966 in Best Fact Crime category but he lost to

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

's ''

In Cold Blood ''In Cold Blood'' is a non-fiction novel by American author Truman Capote, first published in 1966. It details the 1959 murders of four members of the Clutter family in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas. Capote learned of the qu ...

''. In 1984 he was awarded the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

. Thorwald died in

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label= Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Lugano has a populat ...

Bibliography

* ''Luftmacht Deutschland. Luftwaffe, Industrie, Luftfahrt'', 1939 (preface by

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

) *''Die große Flucht'' - published originally as two books, later as one or two, English language title ''Defeat in the East: Russia Conquers-January to May 1945'', originally published as ''Flight in the Winter''. ** ''Es begann an der Weichsel'', 1948 Dawid Oels, „Dieses Buch ist kein Roman“ Jürgen Thorwalds „Die große Flucht“ zwischen Zeitgeschichte und Erinnerungspolitik
/ref> ** ''Das Ende an der Elbe'', 1950 * ''Die ungeklärten Fälle'', 1950 * ''Wen sie verderben wollen...'', 1952 * ''Der Fall Pastorius'', 1953 * ''Blut der Könige. Das Drama der Bluterkrankheit in den europäischen Fürstenhäusern'', 1954 * ''Das Jahrhundert der Chirurgen'', 1956 (''The Century of the Surgeon'') * ''Das Weltreich der Chirurgen'', 1958 (''The Triumph of Surgery'') * ''Die Entlassung. Das Ende des Chirurgen Ferdinand Sauerbruch'', 1960 (''The dismissal: The Last Days of Ferdinand Sauerbruch'') * ''Macht und Geheimnis der frühen Ärzte'', 1962 * ''Das Jahrhundert der Detektive'', 1964 (''Century of the Detective'': Volume 1 in English "The Marks of Cain" (1965), Volume 2 "Dead Men Tell Tales" (1966, )) * ''Die Stunde der Detektive. Werden und Welten der Kriminalistik'', 1966 * ''Macht und Geheimnis der frühen Ärzte'', 1967 * ''Die Traum-Oase'', 1968 * ''Die Patienten'', 1971 (''The Patients'') * ''Die Illusion. Rotarmisten in Hitlers Heeren'', 1974 (''The Illusion: Soviet Soldiers in Hitler's Armies'') * ''Das Gewürz. Die Saga der Juden in Amerika'', 1978 * ''Im zerbrechlichen Haus der Seele. Ein Jahrhundert der Gehirnchirurgen, der Gehirnforscher, der Seelensucher'', 1986 * ''Die Monteverdi-Mission Droemer Knaur'', München 1989, Neufassung: Juli 1998 * ''Der geplagte Mann. Die Prostata - Geschichte und Geschichten'', 1994

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorwald, Jurgen 1915 births 2006 deaths Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from Solingen People from the Rhine Province University of Cologne alumni German male writers German non-fiction writers Nazi propagandists