Friedrich Wolf

Born Dec. 23, 1888, in Neuwied; died Oct. 5, 1953, in Lehnitz. German playwright. Became a Communist in 1928. Physician by training.

After 1918, Wolf took part in the revolutionary battles of the German proletariat. His early plays, including It’s You (1919), are written in the spirit of expressionism. In subsequent plays, including Poor Konrad (1924; Russian translation, 1941), Potassium Cyanide (1929), and Sailors From Cattaro (1930; Russian translation, 1932), Wolf moves to a realistic and revolutionary position. After the establishment of the fascist regime in 1933, Wolf emigrated to the USSR, where he wrote antifascist plays, including Professor Mamlock (1934; Russian translation, 1935), Floridsdorf (1935), The Trojan Horse (1937: Russian translation, 1937), and Beaumarchais, or the Birth of Figaro (1941) and the novel Two on the Border (1938; Russian translation, 1939). During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45, Wolf took part in antifascist propaganda directed at Hitler’s troops. He was awarded the Order of the Red Star. After 1945 he returned to his homeland. Wolf was the ambassador of the German Democratic Republic in Poland. Later Wolf published the plays Mayor Anna (1950) and Thomas Munzer (1953; Russian translation, 1956) and the novel Flying Saucers (1952; Russian translation, 1953). Wolf received the National Prize of the German Democratic Republic (1949, 1950).