Carel Jan Schneider (alias F. Springer), born in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 1932. Served as a government official in the former Dutch New Guinea (now Papua, Indonesia) and as Ambassador of the Netherlands (1985-1989) to the former GDR. Published several books (novels, story collections) under the pseudonym F. Springer, some of which have been translated into French, German, Japanese, Danish and Bulgarian. († 2011)
Distinguished Visiting Scholar (1 February 2002 – 30 June 2002)
I came to NIAS with the intention to start working on a new novel, situated in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) during the last years of the ‘Honecker era’. I was indeed able to make a promising beginning. As in my previous books I am trying to create a mixture of facts and fiction, based upon my personal experiences in 1985-1989 when I served as ambassador in East Berlin.
Having passed the initial phase of the novel during my stay in NIAS I shall now be able to proceed further.