Nelly Sachs, Shared 1966 Nobel Prize for Literature with S.y. Agnon, Dies at 78

Nelly Sachs, 78, the Berlin-born Swedish poet who shared the 1966 Nobel Prize for Literature, died yesterday in Stockholm. The co-winner of the award was S.Y. Agnon, who died earlier this year. Miss Sachs, who said her theme was “the tragedy of the Jewish people,” escaped from Berlin in 1940 with her mother to avoid detention by the Nazis. Anguished over Nazi advances in Europe, Miss Sachs turned to writing “to free myself.” The West German city of Dortmund established the Nelly Sachs Foundation for young writers in 1961, marking her 70th birthday.