According to Expatica, a nationwide survey by ZDF television of a quarter of a million viewers found The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein to be the favorite work of literature among Germans.
...the Tolkien novels topped the list by an overwhelming majority.

In second place as the finest published work of all time was the Bible, followed in third place by Ken Follett's "The Pillars of the Earth".

A German work of fiction ranked fourth, Patrick Suskind's "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer".

...French aviator and children's author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry came in fifth with his endearing fairy tale "The Little Prince".