Konsalik, Heinz G.

WRITER (GERMANY)
BORN 28 May 1921, Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen - DIED 2 Oct 1999, Salzburg
BIRTH NAME Günther, Heinz
CAUSE OF DEATH stroke
GRAVE LOCATION Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen: Friedhof Melaten, Aachener Strasse 204 (Flur 69 a)

Heinz Günther Konsalik came from an old noble family from Saxony. His father was a director at an insurance company. When Heinz was only tewn years old he wrote his first wild west novel. By the time he was sixteen he wrote stories for newspapers in Cologne.

He studied medicine, but switched to theatre and German studies. In 1939 he was employed by the Gestapo. During the Second World War he was a messenger in France and later he was sent to the Easten Front where he was wounded severely.

After the War he lived in Attendorn in Sauerland and he started working for a publisher and as an editor. His wife was a teacher in Attendorn. From 1951 onwards he worked as a private author and in 1956 his name was made with "Der Arzt von Stalingrad". Alltogether he wrote 160 novels, both under his own name and using pseudonyms. The critics never took his work seriously and Konsalik stated that he was a writer for the people.

Later he lived in Bad Honnef and during his last years he lived separated from his wife in Salzburg. After he had died there in 1999 there were speculations that he didn't write his novels himself, but it was never proven that he used ghostwriters.

Images

The grave of Heinz G. Konsalik at the Melatenfriedhof, Köln.
Picture by Androom (16 Nov 2001)

 

Sources
ARD/ZDF Videotext
Find-A-Grave
Heinz G. Konsalik – Wikipedia


Kopácsi-Karczag, Julie

Published: 29 Nov 2009
Last update: 02 May 2022