Walter Benjamin Biography

Walter Benjamin, was a German critic, writer, philosopher, essayist, translator and radio broadcaster. He supported the importance of the cultural and spiritual influence of Judaism, instead of its religious propaganda. Through his work, he speculated and discussed the uniqueness of German romanticism and the beginning of the 'tragedy' as a conclusive element in German literature. He was born and brought up in Berlin in a wealthy Jewish family. He went to Kaiser Friedrich School and received his final doctorate from the University of Bern. Benjamin published different essays on aesthetic theory and Western Marxism, such as, 'Kritik der Gewalt', Goethes Wahlverwasntschaften', etc. He was socially acquainted with many renowned writers and critics of his time, such as, Gyorgy Lukacs and Theodor adorno and worked with Franz Hessel and Max Horkheimer. He also worked in many German publications and towards the end of his life he published his writings under a pseudonym. He literary critiqued the works of Franz Kafka, Marcel Proust, etc. and considered himself more of a critic than a philosopher. He left Germany for good when he was stripped off his German citizenship on the account of being a Jew and lived most of his life in France. In his struggle to escape Nazis, he committed suicide at the French-Spanish border.