Hermann Sudermann (1857 in Macikai – 1928 in Berlin ) was a German writer and playwright.
Sudermann's father was originally from the Netherlands and worked as a brewer in Šilutė . Young Herman studied at a private school in Verdainė . In 1875 he graduated from the Tilsit Gymnasium. He continued his studies at the University of Königsberg , where he studied history and philosophy . In 1877 he transferred to the University of Berlin , earning a living by teaching the children of the wealthy privately.
He wrote 20 plays and several major prose works. His work was dominated by a naturalistic style, and he was greatly influenced by the French writer Guy de Maupassant .
The drama "Honour" (Die Ehre), written in 1889 , not only brought him international recognition, but since then the writer has become known as one of the most prominent representative of German naturalism, only rivalled by Gerhart Hauptmann, who had dominated the genre until then. In his drama, he did not hesitate to elaborately criticize bourgeois society, taking as an example the experience he had gained as a student.
In 1936, a monument to H. Sudermann was erected in Šilutė. Hugo Scheu took care of the monument: he donated a plot of land and planted the path of the square with the writer's favorite trees - birches . The sculptor was Erich Šmitas Kestneris. The monument was demolished during the Soviet era, In the years of national revival, the monument was restored thanks to the efforts of the Šilutė Hermann Sudermann Literary Club.