"The dead man in the bunker"

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Writer Martin Pollack

(Bild: APA/Georg Hochmuth)

The Austrian writer Martin Pollack died on Friday at the age of 80. He succumbed to cancer, as announced by Residenz Verlag. Pollack's well-known works include "Der Tote im Bunker" and "Die Frau ohne Grab". 

Pollack also worked as a journalist and literary translator. He was born in Bad Hall, Upper Austria, in May 1944 and studied Slavic studies and Eastern European history at various universities. Parallel to his studies, Pollack was already working as a translator and journalist.

In 1978, he began working as an editor for the German news magazine Der Spiegel, including as a foreign correspondent in Vienna and Warsaw. He has been a freelance author and translator since 1998. His books accurately document events, including 20th century crimes in Galicia.

Still working on a book
One of his best-known works is "Der Tote im Bunker" (The Dead Man in the Bunker), in which Pollack deals with the life and murder of his father, SS-Sturmbandführer Gerhard Bast. According to Residenz Verlag, he was an admonisher against forgetting and set new standards in the culture of remembrance.

The author "always spoke out critically at the right time", said Culture Minister Werner Kogler (Greens). "We will need his books more than ever if we want to understand what European diversity means," said Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen in a statement.

Here you can see the post by Werner Kogler.

Pollack's books have been translated into 14 languages. Most recently, the author, who lives in Vienna and southern Burgenland, was working on a new book entitled "Times of Shame". It brings together essays and reports from the past few years and also contains two new texts. The book is due to be published in May.