German Literature Nobelists Hermann Hesse and Nelly Sachs are two of the most renowned authors in German literature. Hesse was a Swiss-born German poet, novelist, and painter who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946. Nelly Sachs was a German-Jewish poet and playwright who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1966. Both authors wrote extensively about the human condition, exploring themes of alienation, suffering, and redemption.