Gert Ledig

Gert Ledig (1921-1999) was born in Leipzig, and grew up in Vienna. At the age of 18 he volunteered for the army, and was wounded at the battle of Leningrad in 1942. He later reworked his experiences in The Stalin Organ (1955). Sent back home, he trained as a ship building engineer, and was caught in several air raids - an experience that never left him, and which led to the writing of Payback (1956). Its reissue in 1999 in Germany led to the author's much publicised rediscovery there.

Gert Ledig (1921-1999) was born in Leipzig, and grew up in Vienna. At the age of 18 he volunteered for the army, and was wounded at the battle of Leningrad in 1942. He later reworked his experiences in The Stalin Organ (1955). Sent back home, he trained as a ship building engineer, and was caught in several air raids - an experience that never left him, and which led to the writing of Payback (1956). Its reissue in 1999 in Germany led to the author's much publicised rediscovery there. See less