Robert Antelme (5 January 1917,

Sartène Sartène (; co, Sartè ; it, Sartena or ) is a commune in the department of Corse-du-Sud on the island of Corsica, France. Its history dates back to medieval times and granite buildings from the early 16th century still line some of the ...

Corse-du-Sud Corse-du-Sud (; co, link=no, Corsica suttana , or ; en, Southern Corsica) is (as of 2019) an administrative department of France, consisting of the southern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collect ...

– 26 October 1990) was a French writer. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was involved in the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

and deported. In 1939 he married

Marguerite Duras Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu (, 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), known as Marguerite Duras (), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film ''Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) ea ...

. Their child died at birth in 1942. In the same year, Duras met

Dionys Mascolo Dionys Mascolo (11 February 1916 - 20 August 1997) was a French literary editor, resistance fighter, left-wing political activist, author, and former husband of Marguerite Duras. Life and work Born into a family of Italian immigrants, Mascolo ...

, who became her lover. Robert Antelme Buchenwald Arolsen Archives DocID5436887

Antelme was arrested and deported on 1 July 1944. He was at

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...

, then Gandersheim. After the end of the war

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

found Antelme in a terrible state while visiting the

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

and organised his return to Paris; Mitterrand later reported that he had almost not heard Antelme's soft-voiced call to him. Marguerite Duras looked after Antelme and wrote '' La Douleur'' about his return. She divorced him soon after he regained his health, but they remained friends.

Works

Antelme later wrote ' (1947) depicting his experiences in the camps. The book related his experience of detention in concentration camps. Published in 1947, the book was more than just a memoir of the hardships of a concentration camp, it was also a philosophical reflection on humanity.

Political career

Antelme was a member of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...

. His political career did not last long as he resigned from the party upon learning of the existence of labor camps in the Soviet Union. Paris 13e - Place Robert-Antelme 2

Paris 13e - Place Robert-Antelme - plaque

Death

Paralyzed in 1983 by a stroke, he died on 26 October 1990 in the hospital of the Invalides in Paris.

References

Bibliography

;By Antelme * ''L'espèce humaine'', Gallimard 1947, 1957, 1999 * ''Penser la mort'', Gallimard ;On Robert Antelme * Marguerite Duras, '' La Douleur'', POL, Paris, 1985. * Martin Crowley, ''Robert Antelme, l'humanité irréductible'', Editions Léo Scheer, 2004 1917 births 1990 deaths People from Corse-du-Sud 20th-century French non-fiction writers 20th-century French male writers Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Dachau concentration camp survivors French communists {{France-nonfiction-writer-stub