Benjamin Crémieux (1888–1944) was a French author, critic and literary historian.
Dr Benjamin Crémieux | |
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Born | 1 December 1888 |
Died | 14 April 1944 Buchenwald concentration camp, Germany |
Education | Sorbonne, PhD, 1928 |
Occupation(s) | Writer, critic and historian |
Crémieux was born to a Jewish family in Narbonne, France in 1888. [1] His family had long ties in the region, having 'settled in France as early as the 14th century'. [2]:452
He fought in World War I during his obligatory military service in the French Army and was severely wounded during battle. [1] [2]:452 After the war he focused on studying Italian literature and history. [2]:452
Crémieux contributed to a variety of literary magazines and journals, including La Gazette du Franc, [3]:270 and the influential literary journal Nouvelle Revue Française (NRF). He started writing for the NRF in 1920 and Jean Paulhan invited him to be a member of the journal's editorial committee as early as 1926. [4] [5] [6]:22
In 1928 he defended his doctoral thesis Essai Sur l'évolution littéraire de l'Italie de 1870 á nos jours at the Sorbonne, which was published later that year. [7]:41 He published one of his most important texts in 1931, Inquiétude et Reconstruction, which provided a survey of French literature since the turn of the century. [8]:139
He also served in a variety of service roles. He was 'chief of the Italian bureau of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs' [7]:41 and the permanent secretary of the French section of the PEN Club. [8]:139
In 1940, Crémieux joined the French underground and became a leader of the Maquis. [1]
In April 1943, two Gestapo agents detained Crémieux in Marseilles. [2]:458 He was arrested, imprisoned, and deported to Nazi Germany, where, in April 1944 he was executed in the Buchenwald concentration camp. [2]:458.
Crémieux introduced a number of important literary figures to the French public through his translations, including Luigi Pirandello and Italo Svevo; [8]:138 he was also an early champion of the works of Marcel Proust. [7]