About
Ilya Ehrenburg (1891-1967) was a Soviet writer and journalist of Jewish origin. Arrested at 17 for Bolshevik activities, he went into exile in Paris, where he frequented Picasso and Modigliani. War correspondent during World War I, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II, he is known for his articles in Red Star. A member of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, he co-edited with Vasily Grossman the Black Book on the Holocaust. His novel The Thaw (1954) gave its name to the period of liberalization under Khrushchev. His memoirs, People, Years, Life, mentioned figures banned under Stalin, such as Marina Tsvetaeva, which led to censorship in 1963.
* 1891-01-14 — † 1967-08-28
Major works
- La Chute de Paris (1941)novel
- La Tempête (1948)novel
- Le Dégel (1954)novel
- Les Années, les Hommes, la Vie (1960-1965)memoirs
- Le Livre noir (1946)documentary
Key milestones
- 1908Arrested for clandestine Bolshevik activities, imprisoned for five months, then exiled to Paris.
- 1942Awarded the Stalin Prize for his novel The Fall of Paris.
- 1956Organized the first major Picasso exhibition in the USSR.
Themes
WarHolocaustPolitical liberalizationMemory and historyArt and culture
Sources: britannica.com · portal.ehri-project.eu