Strittmatter was born the son of a baker and
foods wholesaler. Between 1924 and 1930 he attended the
secondary school in Spremberg which has subsequently been named after him. His left his school early due to shortage of money, and at the age of 17 he started an apprenticeship as a baker. Later Strittmatter worked as baker, waiter, chauffeur, zookeeper and unskilled laborer. In October 1939 he volunteered to the
Schutzpolizei, in March 1941 he was drafted into the
Ordnungspolizei, He served in the
Order Police Battalion Nr. 325, since summer 1942 III.Batl. of the Polizei-Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 18 Strittmatter completed courses in anti-
partisan warfare and was deployed in Slovenia, Finland und Greece. Strittmatter deserted in March 1945 and lived (without documentation) in
Wallern/Volary (south-west
Bohemia) for a few months. In 1955 he was awarded the
National Prize of the
GDR for his novel
Tinko, in 1961 he received the
Lessing award of the GDR. He was a
Stasi informer from 1958 to 1964. His 1963 novel
Ole Bienkopp was the first widely read work of literature in East Germany to break the constraints of Socialist Realism and offer a tragic hero who criticized representatives of the ruling Socialist Unity Party in the course of the novel. On 31 January 1994, Strittmatter died after a long illness. ==References==