Erich Loest (24 February 1926 – 12 September 2013) was a German writer. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Hans Walldorf, Bernd Diksen, and Waldemar Naß. From 1965 to 1975, he wrote eleven novels and 30 short stories, some under pseudonyms. In 1979 he was ostracized from East Germany and did not return until after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990.