Anna Seghers
Anna Seghers | |
|---|---|
Anna Seghers (1966) | |
| Born | Anna (Netty) Reiling 19 November 1900 |
| Died | 1 June 1983 (aged 82) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | German Hungarian (by marriage, 1925) Mexican (by naturalization, 1946) |
| Notable works | The Seventh Cross, Transit |
| Spouse | |
Anna Reiling, known by the pen name Anna Seghers (German: [ˈana ˈzeːɡɛʁs] ⓘ, 19 November 1900 – 1 June 1983), was a German writer. She was notable for exploring and depicting the moral experience of the Second World War. Born into a Jewish family and married to a Hungarian Communist, Seghers escaped Nazi-controlled territory through wartime France. She was granted a visa and gained ship's passage to Mexico, where she lived in Mexico City (1941–47).
She returned to Europe after the war, living in West Berlin (1947–50), which was occupied by Allied forces. She eventually settled in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), where she worked on cultural and peace issues. She received numerous awards and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1959, 1967, 1968, 1969 and 1972.
Reiling’s pseudonym is believed to be based on the surname of the Dutch painter and printmaker Hercules Pieterszoon Seghers or Segers (c. 1589 – c. 1638).