Reference to the death of Vassilis Vasilikos makes both the Spiegel as well as German Radio Deutschlandfunk. “His novel ‘Z’ and the film adaptation of the political thriller made him world famous. The Greek writer and politician Vassilis Vassilikos died at the age of 89” writes Spiegel, and notes that “he is considered one of the best-known contemporary Greek writers. Vassilikos wrote the political thriller “Z”, which was published in German in 1968. The author based his novel on the assassination of a leading politician of the Greek Left. The book refers to the assassination of the politician Grigoris Lambrakis in 1963 and was banned in 1967 by the Junta that had seized power at the time. Its film adaptation by Costas Gavras with Yves Montand and Jean-Louis Trentinian made the book a world bestseller.

The Deutschlandfunk writes on his website: “The Greek writer Vassilis Vasilikos died at the age of 89. This was announced by the Union of Greek Journalists ESIEA, of which he was a member. Vassilikos wrote the political thriller Z, which was published in German in 1968 and later made into a film with Yves Montand. According to Greek television, his books have been translated into 33 languages. Vassilikos was a member of the Greek parliament and a UNESCO ambassador”.