The Modern Novel

Biography

Ludwig Renn was born Arnold Friedrich Vieth von Golsseneau in Dresden in 1889. His father, an aristocrat, taught mathematics. He joined the army in 1910 and fought in World War 1 on the western front. After the war, he worked as a police officer but resigned, after refusing to fire at revolutionaries during the Kapp Putsch. He then went to university, where he studied economics, art history and Russian and then worked as an art dealer. After travelling in the Far East, he wrote and published his best-known novel, Krieg (War; Warfare: The Relation Of War And Society), about his experiences in World War 1. At this time, he gave up his aristocratic name and adopted the name of the hero of his book, Ludwig Renn. He became a communist and was arrested and imprisoned by the Nazis. After his release, he went to Spain where he fought in the Spanish Civil War. After the defeat of the Republicans, he went to Mexico, where he remained till 1947, returning to East Germany, where he lived till his death in 1979. He will be remembered for his two novels on World War 1, the only two of his novels to be translated into English.

Other links

Ludwig Renn
Ludwig Renn (in German)
Ludwig Renn (in German)
Ludwig Renn (in German)
Ludwig Renn (in German)