Rudolf Schottlaender
Rudolf Schottlaender | |
---|---|
Born | August 5, 1900 |
Died | January 4, 1988 |
Occupation(s) | German philosopher, classical philologist, translator and political publicist |
Rudolf Schottlaender (August 5, 1900 in Berlin, German Empire – January 4, 1988 in East Berlin, East Germany) was a German philosopher, classical philologist, translator and political publicist of Jewish descent.
Biography
Rudolf Schottlaender studied philosophy with
During the Weimar Republic, Schottlaender was a private scholar. With his translation of the first part of A la recherche du temps perdu, which was published by Verlag Die Schmiede under the title of Der Weg zu Swann, he was the first German translator of Marcel Proust. He survived the Nazi regime and the persecution of the Jews, hiding in Berlin.
After 1945, he taught Latin and Greek as a secondary school teacher in
Besides numerous philological and philosophical works, Schottlaender published brilliant translations (new translations of Sophocles which were very effective on the stage, the publication of an edition of Petrarch, among others) and fundamental discussions of questions concerning Judaism and antisemitism. In his political essays and articles, which he predominantly published in the West, he saw himself as a mediator between the systems. Because of his positions critical to East Germany, he was put under close surveillance by the Ministry for State Security (Ministerium für Staatssicherheit or Stasi). He inspired leading minds of the developing opposition in East Germany.
Works
- Trotz allem ein Deutscher, autobiography, Herder-Verlag 1986