14 Facts About Stefan Heym

Stefan Heym lived in the United States and trained at Camp Ritchie in 1943, making him one of the Ritchie Boys of World War II.

Stefan Heym published works in English and German at home and abroad, and despite longstanding criticism of the GDR remained a committed socialist.

Stefan Heym was awarded the 1953 Heinrich Mann Prize, the 1959 National Prize of East Germany, and the 1993 Jerusalem Prize.

Stefan Heym completed school in Berlin, and began a degree in media studies there.

From 1943, Stefan Heym, contributed to the World War II war effort.

Stefan Heym was a member of the Ritchie Boys, a unit for psychological warfare under the command of emigre Hans Habe.

Stefan Heym's work consisted of composing texts designed to influence Wehrmacht soldiers, to be disseminated by leaflet, radio and loudspeaker.

Stefan Heym lived with his wife in a state-provided villa in Berlin-Grunau.

In 1969, Stefan Heym was convicted of breaching the exchange control regulations after publishing his novel Lassalle in West Germany.

Stefan Heym was nonetheless able to leave the GDR on foreign trips, such as his two-month visit to the US in 1978, and his books has appeared, albeit in lower print runs, in the GDR.

In 1976, Stefan Heym was among those GDR authors who signed the petition protesting against the exile of Wolf Biermann.

Stefan Heym expressed support for German reunification as early as 1982, and during the 1980s supported the civil rights movement in the GDR, contributing a number of speeches to the East Berlin demonstrations in autumn 1989.

Stefan Heym died suddenly of heart failure in Ein Bokek in Israel whilst attending a Heinrich Heine Conference.

Stefan Heym was honoured with honorary doctorates from the University of Bern and University of Cambridge, and honorary citizenship of Chemnitz, his birthplace.