author
Leo Matthias
1893–1970
A sharp-eyed German journalist and travel writer, he spent much of his life on the move, turning exile and long stays abroad into books about politics, society, and the wider world. Writing as L. L. Matthias, he became especially known for lively, skeptical portraits of countries he knew firsthand.
1 Audiobook
Der jüngste Tag: Ein groteskes Spiel
by Leo Matthias
About the author
Born in Berlin in 1893, he studied law, sociology, and economics in cities including Munich, Geneva, Paris, and Berlin before becoming involved in the literary life of early 20th-century Germany. He published under the names Leo Matthias and L. L. Matthias, and built a career as a journalist and travel writer.
After leaving Germany in 1933, he lived in several countries in Latin America, later spent about a decade in the United States, and from 1950 lived in Switzerland. That long experience of displacement and travel shaped much of his writing, which often looked closely at political systems, public life, and everyday culture.
He died in Ascona in 1970. Today he is remembered mainly for his nonfiction and reportage, including books that tried to show readers the less obvious sides of major countries and ideologies.