Ulrich Plenzdorf suddenly became a household name in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1972-1973, the years during which his Die neuen Leiden des jungen W. (1973; translated as The New Sufferings of Young W., 1979) was produced on several stages and published in novel form. The virtually unknown scriptwriter from East Berlin attracted major attention for his treatment of the longings, problems, and doubts of young people in a socialist society that claimed to have eliminated the causes of individual maladjustment and unhappiness. Plenzdorf had not sought the role of spokesman for discontented youth, but his desire to probe the relationship between socialist ideals and actual conditions thrust him into the center of discussions that far exceeded the confines of a literary debate.

The few biographical facts that are known do not provide a satisfactory explanation of Plenzdorf's development as a writer of controversial works. He was born in...