Emil Ludwig
Emil Ludwig | |
---|---|
Breslau, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire | |
Died | 17 September 1948 , Switzerland | (aged 67)
Nationality | German |
Citizenship | German and Swiss |
Occupation(s) | Writer, journalist |
Known for | Writing biographies |
Emil Ludwig (25 January 1881 – 17 September 1948) was a German-Swiss author, known for his biographies and study of historical "greats."[1]
Biography
Emil Ludwig (originally named Emil Cohn) was born in
After the 1921 trial of
During the 1920s, he achieved international fame for his popular biographies which combined historical fact and fiction with psychological analysis. After his biography of Goethe was published in 1920, he wrote several similar biographies, including one about
Ludwig interviewed
Ludwig's extended interviews with
At the end of the
In a May 1948 Tempo magazine article, Ludwig theorized that Hitler could have survived by having a body double killed and cremated in his place. The same year, presiding judge at the Einsatzgruppen trial at Nuremberg Michael Musmanno dismissed Ludwig's theory in an article stating his own definitive view that Hitler had died; Musmanno elaborated these opinions in a book two years later.[7][8]
Ludwig died in his sleep near Ascona on 17 September 1948.[2][9]
French and English editions of works by Ludwig
The following French editions of Emil Ludwig's books were published in the period 1926–1940: Biographies: Goethe (3 volumes), Napoléon, Bismarck, Trois Titans, Lincoln, Le Fils de l'Homme, Le Nil (2 volumes). Political works: Guillaume II, Juillet 1914, Versailles, Hindenburg, Roosevelt, Barbares et Musiciens, La Conquête morale de l'Allemagne, Entretiens avec Mussolini, La Nouvelle Sainte-Alliance.
Biographies of Goethe, Napoleon, Bismarck and Wilhelm Hohenzollern are available in English from G. P. Putnam's Sons (New York and London).
Emil Ludwig was – and remains – renowned for a popular biography of Napoleon published in English in 1926, just after it was published in Germany in the original German, while Ludwig was still living there. This book is still quite readable today – Ludwig has a rare gift of evoking a vanished era in straightforward plain prose. The book has a rare quality of immediacy, as if what Ludwig writes of were almost current history. Napoleon was published by Boni & Liveright, a New York publishing house renowned for titles of intellectual and scholarly interest in its day.
Writing style for Napoleon
Ludwig describes the characters using accurate vocabulary and dramatic quotes and sentences. His ability to combine facts with popular stories and rumors in his novel "Napoleon" makes the entire book a detailed odyssey. The explicit descriptions and psychological interpretations in his books make it appear as if the characters were heroes. His unique writing style simplifies the intricate political activities of that time in an interesting and readable manner.[citation needed]
Books
- Leaders of Europe, Ivor Nicholson and Watson Ltd. (1934), translated by James Murphy
- Bismarck
- Cleopatra
- Diana
- Genius and Character
- Gifts of Life
- Goethe
- Hindenburg William Heinemann Ltd. (1935), translated by Eden and Cedar Paul
- July '14 (1929)
- Kaiser Wilhelm II: Wilhelm Hohenzollern (1926)
- Nine Etched from Life
- Lincoln
- Napoleon (1922)
- On Mediterranean Shores
- The Practical Wisdom of Goethe
- Schliemann
- Son of Man (Jesus)
- Talks with Mussolini
- Three Titans
- The Davos Murder
- Defender of Democracy
- Masaryk of Czechoslovakia
- The Nile: The Life-Story of a River, The Viking Press (1937), translated by Mary H. Lindsay
- Mackenzie King. A Portrait Sketch (1944)
- Rembrandts Schicksal (1923)
- Three Titans: Michael Angelo, Rembrandt, Beethoven. (1930)
"Wagner: oder Die Entzauberten" (F. Lehmann, 1913) ″ Otelo″ "Bolivar and Napoleon" 1939
See also
References
- ^ An Interview with the German Author Emil Ludwig Date of Interview: 13 December 1931 Date Published: 1932 Publisher: Co-Operative Publishing Society of Foreign Workers in the U.S.S.R., Moscow Transcription/Markup: Brian Reid Public Domain: Marxists Internet Archive (2007).
- ^ )
- ^ "Emil Ludwig, Famous Biographer, Calls on Jews to Answer Hitler ‘in Own Terms’", The Sentinel (Chicago), 13 August 1936, p. 36.
- Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, vol. 7, New York: Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Inc., 1942, p. 231.
- ISBN 978-1-4008-8963-1.
- Lay summary in: Kieser, Hans-Lukas. "Pasha, Talat". 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War.
- ^ Emil Ludwig Says Hitler’s Anti-semitism Can Be Exploited by Allies to Split Germans JTA.com
- ^ Musmanno, Michael (23 July 1948). "Roundup of Facts and Evidence Proves Conclusively Death was Hitler's Fate". The Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, PN. p. 21. Retrieved 23 July 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Musmanno, Michael A. (1950). Ten Days to Die. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. pp. 236, 238–39.
- ^ "Emil Ludwig, Noted Jewish Biographer, Dies in Switzerland; Was 67 Years Old". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 20 September 1948. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
External links
- Publications by and about Emil Ludwig in the catalogue Helveticat of the Swiss National Library
- "Literary estate of Emil Ludwig". HelveticArchives. Swiss National Library.
- Ludwig's interview with Stalin
- Omitted section of Ludwig's interview with Stalin
- Talks with Mussolini
- Guide to the Papers of Emil Ludwig (1881-1948) at the Leo Baeck Institute, New York.
- Newspaper clippings about Emil Ludwig in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW