Jorge Semprún (Madrid, 1923-Paris, 2011) was one of the most important European intellectuals of the 20th century. Halfway between politician and writer, his biography was also the story of a time and a whole continent. His experiences were marked by the history of the 20th century and were reflected in an extensive body of work, including novels, autobiographies and film scripts.
Semprún was born into a family of intellectuals (his grandfather was the politician Antonio Maura) who, after the Civil War, went into exile in Paris.
In Paris, Semprún studied philosophy and literature at the Sorbonne. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he fought with the partisans of the Resistance to liberate France from Nazi occupation. A year later he was captured by the German army and confined in Buchenwald concentration camp, where he was released at the end of the war. During the post-war period he worked as a translator for Unesco and joined the Spanish Communist Party, with which he maintained intense political activity in the underground. From 1964 onwards he devoted himself fully to his literary career, although he returned to politics between 1988 and 1991 to become Minister of Culture in the government of Felipe González.
His work, mostly written in French, is marked by his life experience, especially in its political dimension. Some of his titles are El largo viaje, Autobiografía de Federico Sánchez, Aquel domingo, Federico Sánchez se despide de ustedes and La escritura o la vida. He was also an important screenwriter for films by directors such as Alain Resnais and Costa-Gavras, among others.
