Wolfgang Borchert

Wolfgang Borchert (1921–1947) was a German writer and one of the best-known representatives of postwar German “Trümmerliteratur,” or rubble literature. After training as a bookseller and actor, he was drafted into the Wehrmacht in 1941 and seriously wounded on the Eastern Front. He was imprisoned several times for criticizing the Nazi regime. After the war, despite severe health problems, he devoted himself to writing. During his most productive period, he produced numerous short stories, including “The Bread,” “The Kitchen Clock,” and “The Rats Do Sleep at Night,” as well as the homecoming drama “The Man Outside.” Borchert died in Basel in 1947 during a stay at a health resort.