Lore Berger (1921–1943)

Lore Berger was born in Basel, Switzerland, to a family of teachers. In 1939, she entered the University of Basel and majored in German and Romance Studies. During World War II, she volunteered for the women's aid service of the Swiss army, where she served as a clerk. Her first novel, Der barmherzige Hügel (The Merciful Hill), was written for a literary competition and published posthumously in 1944. Berger fell from a water tower on August 14, 1943 at the age of 21, in what was considered suicide. In 1981, the novel was reprinted and translated into French and Italian. The same year, it was adapted into a film called Die Zeit ist böse by German director Beat Kuert.