Literature's loss
December 1, 2011
Christa Wolf, one of the best-known novelists from the former East Germany, died Thursday at the age of 82 in Berlin following a long illness, according to her publisher, Suhrkamp Verlag.
The critically acclaimed and award-winning author of works such as "Der geteilte Himmel" (Divided Heaven), "Kassandra" (Cassandra) and "Nachdenken über Chrisa T." (The Quest for Christa T.) courted controversy throughout her career.
Wolf was a member of the ruling Communist party in East Germany and much of her writing was about life under communism. Her books were widely read in the former Soviet bloc. In the West, her writing was admired for its style and honesty.
Born in 1929 in Landsberg an der Warthe in present-day Poland, she studied literature in Jena and Leipzig and became an editor at a publishing company.
Records found in 1993 showed she had links to the East German Stasi police in the 1960s, tarnishing her image as a courageous critical voice.
Her last novel, "Stadt der Engel oder The Overcoat of Dr. Freud" (City of Angels or The Overcoat of Dr. Freud) was published in 2010.
Wolf was married to fellow author Gerhard Wolf and leaves two children.
Author: Dagmar Breitenbach (dpa, AP)
Editor: Martin Kuebler