The German author Peter Schneider has passed away at the age of 85. His publisher announced, citing family sources, that the author succumbed to the effects of cancer. Schneider was regarded as one of the most prominent chroniclers of contemporary German history and was a central figure of the 68er-Bewegung.
His literary breakthrough came in 1973 with the short story Lenz, which became a cult book for an entire generation. Another key work in his career is the 1982 short story Der Mauerspringer, in which he intensely explored the division of Berlin and the German mentality. Schneider lived in Berlin for decades and critically and observantly followed the city's developments before and after the fall of the Wall.
Besides his work as a novelist, Peter Schneider appeared as an essayist and political thinker. He actively participated in societal debates and worked as a visiting professor at various universities in the USA. His work also includes screenplays and reports. With his death, the German literary scene loses a voice that was precisely able to capture the complexity of German identity and history.
