The radio play became a significant genre in Germany after World War II, before the theaters destroyed in the war were rebuilt. It remains popular today, even though theater productions are now flourishing and television has entered most German homes. Günter Herburger, a writer of novels, critical essays, poetry, and films, began early in his literary career to write radio plays as well. The immediacy of his dialogues and their lack of artifice encourage the listener to identify with his characters.

Herburger was born on 6 April 1932 to Grete Dethleffs Herburger and Adolf Christian Herburger in Isny im Allgäu, a town in southwestern Germany not far from the Swiss border. Herburger's mother is still living; his father, a veterinarian in civilian life, was killed in action in Poland in 1943. After the death of his father, Herburger lived for a time with his grandfather before becoming...