Writer Lion Feuchtwanger: biography, creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Lion Feuchtwanger is considered the founder of a new literary trend in historical romance. In his works, containing reflections on the fate of mankind at different stages of its development, there are clear parallels with the events taking place in the modern world. No less interesting is the biography of the writer, which includes military service, "book auto-da-fe", and imprisonment in a concentration camp, and much more.

Early years

Lion Feuchtwanger was born July 7, 1884 in the German city of Munich, in the family of a we althy manufacturer Sigmund Feuchtwanger and Johanna Bodenheimer, and was the eldest of nine children. His father and mother were Orthodox Jews, and from a young age the boy received a deep knowledge of the religion and culture of his people. After graduating from school, Lion Feuchtwanger entered the University of Munich, where he studied in the speci alties "literature" and "philosophy". Then he moved toBerlin to take a course in German philology and Sanskrit.

In 1907, Lion Feuchtwanger received his PhD with a thesis on Heinrich Heine's The Rabbi of Bacharach.

Career start

In 1908, Feuchtwanger founded the cultural magazine Zerkalo. This publication had a short life and after 15 issues it ceased to exist due to financial problems.

In 1912, the future famous writer married the daughter of a we althy Jewish businessman, Martha Leffler. Moreover, on the day of the wedding it was no longer possible to hide from the guests that the bride was pregnant. A few months later, Martha gave birth to a daughter who died shortly after birth.

In November 1914, Feuchtwanger was drafted into the army as a reservist. However, it soon turned out that he was not all right with his he alth, and the writer was commissioned. After the war, he met Brecht, with whom he formed a friendship that lasted until Feuchtwanger's death.

Biography before 1933

Lion Feuchtwanger was one of the first to notice the danger posed by National Socialism. Back in 1920, he already in a satirical form presented the visions of Ahasuerus, in which he described the manifestations of anti-Semitism. In addition, he gave an accurate description of "brown Munich" in the novel "Success", in which the main character Rupert Kutzner clearly traces the features of Adolf Hitler.

After some of Feuchtwanger's works began to be published outside of Germany, he became quitepopular in many European countries. As a result, many universities began to invite him to lecture.

In November 1932, he ended up in London. There he was to stay for several months, and then go to the USA, where he was also going to give lectures. Thus, at the time the Nazis came to power, Lion Feuchtwanger was outside Germany. Heeding the arguments of his friends, the writer decided to settle in the French town of Sanary-sur-Mer, where there was already a small colony of German emigrants who fled because of persecution for political or racial reasons. Since English translations of Feuchtwanger's books were published in large numbers, he led a comfortable life with his wife Martha, who was his faithful assistant in all matters.

Feuchtwanger's biography before World War II

Meanwhile, in Germany, Feuchtwanger's name was on the list of authors whose books were to be burned, he himself was deprived of citizenship, and his property was confiscated.

Hostile attitude towards National Socialism became the reason for the writer's interest in the USSR. Stalinist propaganda could not miss such a chance and invited Feuchtwanger to visit Moscow, as well as to tour the country in order to see with his own eyes what successes the world's first "State of Workers and Peasants" had achieved. As part of his visit to the USSR, the writer even interviewed the Leader of the Peoples.

Back in France, Lion Feuchtwanger, whose books in the Soviet Union immediately began to be published in millions of copies,published his conversation with Stalin. In addition, he wrote the book “Moscow. 1937”, in which he shared his vision of life in the USSR with European readers. In its pages, he constantly made comparisons between what he was shown and the state of affairs in Germany. At the same time, comparisons were mostly not in favor of the latter.

Escape

In 1940, German troops entered France. Lion Feuchtwanger, as a former German citizen, was interned by the French in a camp located in the town of Le Mille. As the Wehrmacht army progressed, it became clear that most of the prisoners were in danger of death if they ended up in occupied territory. Then some of them were transported to a camp near Nimes. There, Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife were helped by employees of the American embassy. They got them fake documents and dressed the writer in a woman's dress and took him out of the country. At the same time, Lyon and his wife had to go through many adventures, since at first they hid in Marseille for a long time, and then were forced to make their way through Spain and Portugal.

Life in the USA

In 1943, Lion Feuchtwanger, whose books were extremely popular in the United States, settled in the Aurora Villa in California. There he worked hard and created his most interesting works. In addition, thanks to the large roy alties paid by book publishers and studios that filmed his novels, Feuchtwanger has amassed a sumptuous library of more than 20,000 volumes.

If the Nazis hated the writer for racial reasons, then in the post-war United States he was suspected of sympathy for the communists. During this period, Feuchtwanger's ability as a predictor was once again manifested, since long before the start of the Witch Hunt, he wrote the play "Decidence, or the Devil in Boston", in which he spoke out against the Cold War and its methods of waging.

Last years of life

Despite the fact that the writer Lion Feuchtwanger did not intend to return to Germany, thanks to his anti-fascist views, he was very popular in the GDR. In 1953, he was even awarded the main prize of this country in the field of literature.

In 1957, the writer was diagnosed with stomach cancer. The best doctors of the time were involved in the treatment of Feuchtwanger, who performed several surgical operations on him. Attempts to cope with the disease were unsuccessful, and the writer died in 1958 from internal bleeding.

Pre-war creativity

In the early years of his writing career, Lion Feuchtwanger wrote many plays that he himself considered mediocre. Following this, he became interested in writing journalistic articles and reviews, which allowed him to take a look at his own work from the outside. During the same period, Feuchtwanger first thought about the possibility of creating a realistic historical novel, which he was inspired by the works of the Mann brothers.

At the same time, although the plots belonged to different eras, they were united by a look atmodernity through the prism of history. At the same time, the works of Lion Feuchtwanger, written after the First World War and the Bavarian Revolution, are devoid of aestheticism and close to realism. They often reflect the personal tragedy of a humanistic person in a cruel society. In particular, the first novel written by Lion Feuchtwanger, The Ugly Duchess, is devoted to this topic.

The next work of the writer was the novel "Jew Suess", which is dedicated to the events taking place in Germany in the 18th century. He brought him worldwide fame, and at the same time he was accused of both anti-Semitism and Jewish nationalism. Both of these only spurred the writer's interest in the history of his people. The result was a trilogy about Josephus, which was published in many countries.

Faithful to his desire to reflect modernity, pushing it back in time, after forced emigration to France, the writer created the novel "False Nero", in the main character of which many recognized the Fuhrer.

Creativity in the postwar years

After moving to the USA, the writer continued to work hard and actively. In particular, in 1947, the novel Foxes in the Vineyard appeared. Lion Feuchtwanger described in it the events taking place "behind the scenes" of the War of Independence. It was his first post-war work, in which many saw parallels with the Lend-Lease organization.

After 4 years, the writer wrote his most famous work - "Goya, or the Hard Way of Knowledge". Lion Feuchtwanger described in it the life andwork of the famous Spanish artist. The novel was a huge success all over the world and was filmed several times.

Even in the last year of his life, the already seriously ill Feuchtwanger continued to create. From morning to evening he dictated to the stenographer "The Spanish Ballad" about the love of King Alfonso VIII of Spain for the commoner Fermosa.