Günter Kunert

Günter Kunert (ˈɡʏn.tɐ ˈkʊ.nɐt; 6 March 1929 – 21 September 2019) was a German writer. Based in East Berlin, he published poetry from 1947, supported by Bertold Brecht. After he had signed a petition against the deprivation of the citizenship of Wolf Biermann in 1976, he lost his SED membership, and moved to the West two years later. He is regarded as a versatile German writer who wrote short stories, essays, autobiographical works, film scripts and novels. He received international honorary doctorates and awards. Kunert was born in Berlin. After attending a Volksschule, it was not possible for Kunert—due to the National Socialist race laws—to continue his high school education because his mother was Jewish. After World War II, Kunert studied graphics at East Berlin's Academy of Applied Arts from 1946–49, but then abandoned his studies. His first poem appeared in 1947. Supported by Bertold Brecht, he published in the satirical paper Ulenspiegel. In 1950, his first poetry collection appeared. He joined the main political party of East Germany, the Socialist Unity Party (SED) in 1949. In 1976, he signed a petition against the deprivation of the citizenship of his fellow writer, Wolf Biermann, and subsequently lost his SED membership. Kunert was able to leave the GDR in 1979 with a visa. He, his wife Marianne, and their granddaughter, Judith, established themselves in near Itzehoe in northern Germany. Kunert was regarded as one of the most versatile and important contemporary German writers. Besides lyric poetry, he also wrote short stories, essays, autobiographical works, aphorisms, satires, fairy tales, science fiction, radio plays, speeches, travel writing, film scripts, a novel, and a drama. Kunert was also a painter and a graphic artist. He published in numerous literary magazines, such as Muschelhaufen. In his works, he took a critical attitude towards Nazism, and the belief in progress. Kunert was a primary opponent of the German spelling reform of 1996, and served as a member in the Association for German Orthography and Language Care.