Alfred Andersch was born in Munich, Germany on February 4, 1914. His parents were Alfred and Hedwig Andersch. Alfred Sr. was a small business owner who dabbled in many interests, including operating an antique shop, and Hedwig was a needle-maker. By Andersch’s later recollection, his father, a decorated but bitter veteran of World War I, often subjected his family to nationalistic and anti-Semitic rants. Alfred Jr. therefore spent much of his youth outdoors, riding his bicycle to neighboring towns and villages, in order to avoid his father’s diatribes. During the 1920s, Andersch attended the Wittlesbacher Gymnasium, a prestigious school where his older brother Rudolf had also been educated. Andersch was not a very good student, struggling especially with Greek, a commonly required…

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Citation: Horton, Aaron. "Alfred Andersch". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 August 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13384, accessed 19 March 2024.]

13384 Alfred Andersch 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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