BERLIN: German-Australian author Walter Kaufmann, who survived the Nazi persecution of Jews and later played a prominent role in the literary scene of Communist East Germany, has died at the age of 97.

Kaufmann’s death was confirmed on Friday by Dirk Szuszies, a Berlin filmmaker who made a documentary about the author’s life.

Born Jizchak Schmeidler to a young Polish Jew in Berlin in 1924, he was adopted at the age of three by a wealthy family the Kaufmanns from western Germany.

At the age of 15, with World War II imminent, he was among the last to make it onto one of the Kindertransport trains taking German-Jewish children to England. After being interned there for two years, Kaufmann was deported to Australia. His adoptive parents were killed in Auschwitz.

Kaufmann joined the Australian army during the war, later working various jobs while trying to establish himself as a writer. His first novel, “Voices in the Storm,” about a resistance group in Nazi Germany, was published in 1953.

Enamoured with Socialism, Kaufmann travelled to the Soviet Union and other countries in Eastern Europe during the 1950s before settling in Eastern Germany, where he became general secretary of the writers’ group PEN and received several awards, including the Heinrich-Mann-Prize in 1967.

Aside from his works of fiction, Kaufmann also wrote numerous travelogues and reported on the trial of American civil rights activist and Communist Party member Angela Davis, who was indicted and later acquitted of providing firearms in a 1970 attack on the Marin County courthouse.

Szuszies, the documentary-maker, said Kaufmann died peacefully in Berlin on Thursday. He is survived by his third wife, Lissy Kreuter, and two daughters from a previous marriage photographer Rebekka and actress Deborah Kaufmann.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2021

Opinion

Editorial

Rebuilding trust
Updated 15 May, 2025

Rebuilding trust

Both countries will have to restart the dialogue process. One major step India can take would be to honour the IWT.
Political off-ramp
15 May, 2025

Political off-ramp

IN the midst of every crisis, there lies great opportunity. With the nation basking in the afterglow of Pakistan’s...
Awami League ban
15 May, 2025

Awami League ban

BANGLADESH stands at a key crossroads. While the ouster of Sheikh Hasina Wajed’s government and the formation of ...
Crisis averted
Updated 14 May, 2025

Crisis averted

As nuclear nations, both countries must wield their powers with utmost responsibility and immense restraint.
US-Israel ties
14 May, 2025

US-Israel ties

AS Donald Trump landed in Riyadh on Tuesday to a regal reception, questions were swirling whether the American...
PSL resumption
14 May, 2025

PSL resumption

THE Pakistan Super League is back on. Postponed last week following escalating Pakistan-India tensions, the ...