Simplify the following text for a Grade 8 native English-speaking person.
Original: Heinrich Theodor BÃ ll ( December 21 , 1917 July 16 , 1985 ) was one of Germany 's foremost post-World War II writers .
Simplified: Heinrich BÃ ll ( December 21 , 1917 in Cologne â `` July 16 , 1985 in Langenbroich the Eifel , south of Bonn ) was a German writer .