13 Facts About Arnold Zweig

Arnold Zweig volunteered for the German army in World War I and served as a private in France, Hungary and Serbia.

Arnold Zweig was stationed in the Western Front at the time when Judenzahlung was administered in the German army.

In 1917, Arnold Zweig was assigned to the Press department of the German Army Headquarters in Kaunas, Lithuania where he was introduced to the East European Jewish organizations.

In 1927 Arnold Zweig published the anti-war novel The Case of Sergeant Grischa, which made him an international literary figure, with the English version selected in the USA as a Book of the Month title.

Arnold Zweig told his wife that the man was a Charlie Chaplin without the talent.

In 1933, Arnold Zweig witnessed the destruction of his books in the Nazi book burning.

In Palestine, Arnold Zweig became close to a group of German-speaking immigrants who felt distant from Zionism and viewed themselves as refugees or exiles from Europe, where they planned to return.

In 1948, after a formal invitation from the East German authorities, Arnold Zweig decided to return to the Soviet occupation zone in Germany.

Arnold Zweig was a member of parliament, delegate to the World Peace Council Congresses and the cultural advisory board of the communist party.

Arnold Zweig was President of the DDR Academy of Arts, Berlin from 1950 to 1953.

Arnold Zweig was rewarded with many prizes and medals by the regime.

Arnold Zweig was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times.

Arnold Zweig died in East Berlin on 26 November 1968, aged 81.