Simon Schwartz

Simon Schwartz (born 5 October 1982) is a German illustrator, comic writer and cartoonist. His work is published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Die Zeit and other newspapers and magazines. He has written graphic novels including "drüben!" and "Packeis" and his work has been translated into French and English.

Life and work The "Kubus" at the Memorial and Education Centre Andreasstrasse, Erfurt, on which Schwartz's work "Thuringia in Autumn" is drawn.

Schwartz was born in 1982 in Erfurt, which was then in East Germany. When he was 18 months old he moved with his parents to West Germany, where the family lived in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg. undertaking a Diploma in Illustration, 2004-2009, and a Master of Arts, 2011-2014. He taught illustration at the University from 2011-2016.

Schwartz has worked as a freelance illustrator since 2006.

Graphic novels Schwartz's work is often based around historical and biographical events. His first graphic novel, "drüben!" ("Over there") was written as course work for his Diploma in Illustration and published in 2009. It tells the story of how his parents left the East Germany, with him as a small child, and the difficulties they encountered. They left legally, by applying for an "Ausreiseantrag" (permit to leave), but this was a risky course of action as many applications were turned down, and it brought applicants to the attention of the authorities as not being loyal to the state. The Schwartz's application took three years to process.

Kubus der Friedlichen Revolution

In 2012 Schwartz created the 7.5 m high and 40 m long graphic work "Thüringen im Herbst" (Thuringia in Autumn) for the Memorial and Education Centre Andreasstrasse, a museum in Erfurt which is housed in a former Stasi remand prison for political prisoners. The work is drawn on an architectural glass box, the "Kubus der Friedlichen Revolution" ("The Cube of the Peaceful Revolution") in the museum courtyard. In the style of a graphic novel, it tells the story of the Peaceful Revolution of 1989, and of the occupation of the prison and the Erfurt Stasi district headquarters on 4 December 1989, which was the first time East German citizens had taken such action against the Stasi. It is based on over 100 contemporaneous photographs of the protests.