Editing Harry Mulisch (section)

==Themes in his work==
A frequent theme in his work is the Second World War. His father had worked for the Germans during the war and went to prison for three years afterwards. As the war spanned most of Mulisch's formative phase, it had a defining influence on his life and work. In 1963, he wrote a non-fiction work about the [[Eichmann]] case: ''Criminal Case 40/61''. Major works set against the backdrop of the Second World War are ''De Aanslag'' ([[The Assault]]), ''Het stenen bruidsbed'', and ''Siegfried''.<ref>{{cite web | author=David Horspool | url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/nov/29/fiction |title=Mining the past | work=The Guardian | date=2003-11-29 |access-date=2014-10-26}}</ref>

Mulisch often incorporated ancient legends or myths in his writings, drawing on [[Greek mythology]] (e.g. in ''De Elementen''), [[Jewish mysticism]] (in ''[[The Discovery of Heaven|De ontdekking van de Hemel]]'' and ''De Procedure''), well known urban legends and politics 

Mulisch was politically left-wing, once signing a book "dedicated in admiration" to [[Fidel Castro]].<ref name="AFP">{{cite news|url=http://www.ejpress.org/article/46971|title=Dutch Jewish author Harry Mulisch dies|date=1 November 2010|agency=Agence France-Presse|access-date=1 November 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308180024/http://www.ejpress.org/article/46971|archive-date=8 March 2012}}</ref>

In 1984, he delivered the [[Huizinga Lecture]] in Leiden, the Netherlands, under the title ''Het Ene'' (''The Unifying Principle'').