Born October 20, 1923, in Reichenberg, Czechoslovakia, Otfried Preussler was an author of children's books who was based in Germany after being released from a POW camp in World War II. After his harrowing war experiences, Preussler was a school teacher, but in the early '70s he shifted his focus and became the well-known author who Germans came to know and love. Many of his works were translated into English, in particular his best-known work, The Robber Hotzenplotz.