On the 50th anniversary of the death of Hermann Hesse – exclusive images at swissinfo.ch

Berne, 8 August 2012 – In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the death of Hermann Hesse, swissinfo.ch is releasing exclusive images from the life of the German-Swiss author.

A short film from swissinfo.ch – in Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic and English – includes personal images of Hermann Hesse from his years in Ticino. Hermann Karl Hesse, the German-Swiss poet, author and painter, spent more than 40 years in Montagnola, Switzerland on Lake Lugano. There, he lived in seclusion and wrote his most well-known works – among them Siddhartha, Steppenwolf and Klingsor’s Last Summer.

Using the archives of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), swissinfo.ch has created a video of the Nobel Prize-winning author’s years in Ticino – images which are being broadcast internationally for the first time. In its report, the SBC’s international service provides original insight into Hesse’s life and his passion for letter writing.

Along with Thomas Mann and Stefan Zweig, Hermann Hesse is one of the most-read 20th-century German-language writers in the world. His books have been translated into more than 60 languages and around 150 million copies have been distributed.

The articles and video can be used free of charge, as long as the proper content source is mentioned.