Introduction
pp. 1-36
in: Ofelia Ferran, Gina Herrmann (eds), A critical companion to Jorge Semprún, Berlin, Springer, 2014Abstract
A Critical Companion to Jorge Semprún: Buchenwald, Before and After is the first English-language collection of essays on the life and work of Spanish Buchenwald survivor, author, and communist leader turned apostate, Jorge Semprún (Madrid, 1923-Paris, 2011). Semprún led an extraordinary and risky life; he suffered and actively fought against Stalinism, Nazism, and Francoism (Figure 0.1). His oeuvre transcends national borders, speaks to different cultural and linguistic traditions, and grapples with the difficult responsibility that surviving and deciphering paradigm-shattering historical events entails. He is considered a major European public intellectual, one who criticized the totalitarian regimes that ravaged Europe throughout the twentieth century and called for a united, multicultural Europe respectful of difference.
