Fritz von Unruh

The recorded working language is German. Places of work recorded in the authority are New York City. Distinctions recorded are Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Goethe Prize of the City of Frankfurt, Kleist Prize and Carl von Ossietzky Medal.

Unruh was born in Koblenz, Germany. A general's son, he was an officer in the German army until 1912, when he left to pursue his writing career. Two of his earliest important works, the play Offiziere ("Officers"; 1911) and the poem Vor der Entscheidung ("Before the Decision"; 1914) established his anti-war beliefs and his belief that the social order must be based not on authority, but on the integrity and responsibility of the individual towards humanity. Unruh's works were anti-militaristic and called for world peace and brotherhood. Some of his more notable works include Der Opfergang ("Way of Sacrifice"), a powerful anti-war piece written during the siege of Verdun and published in 1919, Ein Geschlecht ("A Family"; 1916) and its sequel Platz (1920), and Heinrich von Andernach (1925). Unruh was a staunch opponent of the Nazi Party and wrote several works warning of the consequences of Nazi dictatorship, including Bonaparte (1927), Berlin in Monte Carlo (1931), and Zero (1932). He left Germany for France in 1932, later immigrating to the United States. He finally returned to Germany in 1962 and died in the town of Dietz at age 85.

Source:

Jürgen Wullenweber, 1908 Offiziere, 1911 Louis Ferdinand Prinz von Preußen, 1913 Ein Geschlecht, Tragödie, 1917 Platz, 1920 (Fortsetzung von Ein Geschlecht) Stürme, Schauspiel, 1922 Rosengarten, 1923 Bonaparte, Schauspiel, 1927 Phaea, Komödie, 1930 Zero, Komödie, 1932 Gandha, 1935 Charlotte Corday, 1936 Miss Rollschuh, 1941 Der Befreiungsminister, 1948 Wilhelmus, 1953 Duell an der Havel, Schauspiel, 1954 Bismarck oder Warum steht der Soldat da?, 1955 Odysseus auf Ogygia, Schauspiel, 1968

Opfergang, 1918 Der nie verlor, 1948 Die Heilige, 1952 Fürchtet nichts, 1952 Der Sohn des Generals, 1957