Paul Celan

Paul Celan was the most frequently used pseudonym of Paul Antschel (the pseudonym adopts an anagram of his surname in Romanian, Ancel) (November 23, 1920 – approximately April 20, 1970), who is considered one of the few major poets of the post-World War II era. He was born in Romania, lived in Austria and later in France, and wrote in German. In additional to the composition of his poetry, he was an extremely active translator, translating literature from Romanian, French, Portuguese, Russian, and English into German.

Paul Celan`s Romanian Years

Amidst musings on a possible emigration to Palestine and Soviet activities variably tolerating and inciting Antisemitism, in 1945 Celan left Soviet occupied territory for Bucharest, Romania, where he remained until 1947, active in the Jewish literary community as a translator of Russian literature into Romanian and a poet, publishing his work under a variety of pseudonyms. The literary scene of the time was amply populated with surrealists, and it was in this period that Celan developed pseudonyms both for himself and his friends, including the one he took as his pen name.

Related Topics:
Palestine - Antisemitism - Soviet - Bucharest - Romania - Romanian

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A version of "Todesfuge" appeared as "Death Tango" in a Romanian translation in May 1947. Such was the surrealist ferment of the time that additional remarks were published with it indicating that the dancing and musical performances of the poem were realities of the concentration camp life (Night and Fog, for example, includes a picture of the Auschwitz Orchestra, an institution organized by SS order, which was required to assemble and play selections, including dances and popular songs, made by the Germans; one may further recall the SS man interviewed by Lanzmann for Shoah who rehearsed the songs prisoners were made to sing in the death camp, remarking immediately that no Jews taught that song survived).

Related Topics:
Concentration camp - Night and Fog - Auschwitz Orchestra - Lanzmann - Shoah - Death camp

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