Ralph Giordano was born in Hamburg in 1923. After the liberation by British troops on 4 May 1945, he worked as a journalist and publicist, documentary filmmaker for television and author. He has written numerous bestsellers, including Die Bertinis (1982), Die zweite Schuld oder Von der Last Deutscher zu sein (1987), Ostpreußen ade (1994), Deutschlandreise (1998), Sizilien, Sizilien! Eine Heimkehr (2002) and Erinnerungen eines Davongekommenen (2007). He died in Cologne on 10 December 2014.