Portrait of Günter Kunert

Günter Kunert

German writer

Lived
1929–2019
Country
German Democratic Republic

Updated September 2026

About Günter Kunert

Günter Kunert was a German writer. Based in East Berlin, he published poetry from 1947, supported by Bertolt Brecht. After he had signed a petition against the deprivation of the citizenship of Wolf Biermann in 1976, he lost his SED membership, and moved to the West two years later. He is regarded as a versatile German writer who wrote short stories, essays, autobiographical works, film scripts and novels. He received international honorary doctorates and awards.

Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.