Klaus Wittmann

Klaus Wittmann, born in 1937 in Krefeld, studied Law in Saarbrücken, Heidelberg and Bonn. From 1963 until 1999 he was employed at Inter Nationes. Together with his wife Mirjana Wittmann he has translated numerous novels, plays, radio plays, essays and stories from Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian, including works by: Bora Ćosić, Borislav Pekić, David Albahari, Biljana Srbljanović, Dubravka Ugrešić, Miloš Crnjanski, Radmila Lazić, Dragan Aleksić, Jara Ribnikar, Milena Marković, Tena Štivičić, Maja Pelević, Filip Šovagović, Nedjo Osman and Kaća Čelan. In 2006 he received for Mutterland ) [Mother Country], jointly with his wife, and the author David Albahari, the Brücke Berlin Prize for the outstanding translation of an important contemporary work from the literature of Central and Eastern Europe. In 2011 he was likewise, jointly with his wife, awarded the Paul Celan Prize of the German Literature Fund for all their translation work, especially for the translation of the novel Die Ohrfeige (original title: Pijavice) [A Slap in the Face] by David Albahari. Klaus Wittmann lives and works in Bonn.