About Hanns Heinz Ewers

Hanns Heinz Ewers was born in Dusseldorf Germany on 3 November 1871. Both of his parents were artists. His father was a painter and a singer. His mother was a painter and a gifted storyteller. He, himself, was a writer, poet, playwright, filmmaker and comedian.

His film, The Student of Prague, was the first film ever to make use of a double. His most famous novel, Alraune, has been translated into twenty languages and made into a film five times. He is mostly known as a horror writer in the tradition of Edgar Allan Poe.

Why then have most people not heard of him?

The easy answer is that he was a strong supporter of German nationalism during the Second World War even though he was also a strong supporter of the Jewish cause as well. In the end Ewers books were banned in Nazi Germany and he died in 1943 persona non grata in poverty.

After the war his Nazi affiliation caused his literary works to be shunned and he has been largely forgotten.

This is the easy answer. The harder and more accurate answer is very complex because he was a very complex person. As I try translate more of his material I will try to find more answers to the life of this very interesting person as well.