Stefanie Zweig, the German-Jewish writer best known for her autobiographical novel, has died.

The 81-year old author died after what’s being called a short, serious illness.

In 1938, Zweig’s family fled the Nazi persecution and moved to Kenya, where she went to a British school.

She returned to Germany nine years later and worked as a journalist for years before she began writing books.

The most successful, ”Nowhere in Africa”, published in 1995, retold the story of her family’s time in Kenya.

It won an Osca for Best Foreign Film in 2003.