Heinrich Böll significantly shaped the image of his homeland - a country burdened with moral guilt after World War II - as it was perceived by the new generation both within and outside Germany. He was a popular writer whose simple and concise language connected with people, and he was read and heard both in his homeland and beyond. This communication with people was the most important thing for him.

However, what he had to say was not popular. His sharp irony and moral integrity distinguished him from many others. He was classified in the so-called "zero hour literature," although he did not conform to what he believed. He spoke and wrote precisely that there was no zero hour. The liberation from the Nazi dictatorship, in his eyes, did not signify a new beginning for German society. On the contrary. Böll saw too many continuities in old mentalities. By reminding people of the crime and guilt, he opposed oblivion, under whose shadow authoritarianism, inhumanity, and the conservatism of the young democracy continued to live. From his experience of war and the crimes of the Nazis, he concluded, "Never again, never again." Thus, the writer Heinrich Böll was always a political activist as well. Herein lies his rare moral integrity as an artist, as a demonstrator, as an intellectual in public life.