Walter Benjamin: biography of this German philosopher.

A summary of the life of Walter Benjamin, German philosopher linked to the Frankfurt School.

History is full of important figures worth remembering for their contributions to the pursuit of knowledge, whether in the scientific, philosophical, literary or other fields. In this article we will talk about one of these figures, specifically, belonging to the twentieth century: the German philosopher, literary critic and translator Walter Benjamin.

In this brief biography of Walter Benjamin we will review his life and some of his most outstanding contributions.and some of his most outstanding contributions throughout his career.

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A biography of Walter Benjamin

Walter Benjamin, full name Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin, was a German-born philosopher and literary critic, as well as a translator and essayist.. He was born on July 15, 1892 in Berlin (Germany), and died on September 26, 1940 in Portbou (Spain), at the age of 48.

Benjamin's thought, associated with the Frankfurt School, draws from different disciplines and orientations, such as German idealism, romanticism, historical materialism and Jewish mysticism. His contributions focused mainly on two currents: Western Marxism and aesthetic theory..

Thus, Benjamin was a restless philosopher, strongly influenced by Marxism, who drew from different philosophies and currents to develop his own thinking. In addition, he was a great traveler, as he was in different countries learning and training.

Origins and childhood

Walter Benjamin was born in Berlin in 1892 into a well-to-do family of Ashkenazi origin (this term refers to Jews settled in Central and Eastern Europe). His family was involved in business, and at the time was fully integrated in Germany..

His father was Emil Benjamin, a Paris banker who had moved to Germany; in Berlin he worked as an antique dealer. Her mother was Pauline Schönflies, who used to tell her stories at night (as Benjamin recalls, and in fact draws inspiration from them to elaborate one of his theories).

Thus Benjamin reflects on them, focusing on the relationship they establish between tradition and the present time. Later, in 1905, Benjamin entered a boarding school in a rural area, specifically in Thuringia (Germany). Two years later, in 1907, Benjamin returned to school in Berlin.

Studies, life and career

At the age of twenty, Walter Benjamin began studying philosophy at the University of Freiburg (Germany), but soon moved to the University of Berlin to continue his studies there. (Germany), although he soon moved to the University of Berlin to continue his studies there.

It was at the University of Berlin that he became acquainted with Zionism, a Jewish nationalist movement and political ideology. From there, Benjamin develops a "cultural Zionism," based on the value of the culture of Jewish mysticism.. On the other hand, Benjamin, perhaps influenced by his origin, defends Judaism as an essential part of European culture, and especially values its spirituality.

In addition, Walter Benjamin was also interested in educational issues, and during his university years joins a group called the "Union of Free Students", where he is elected president.. Thus, he develops for this group some writings that mention the need for reform, both educationally and culturally.

As for his private life, Walter Benjamin married Dora Pollack in 1917. They had one son, Stefan Raphël (1918-1972). At the time, Benjamin was looking for a topic for his thesis, which ended up focusing on the philosophy of Kant and Plato.

Frankfurt School

We have seen at the beginning of this article how Walter Benjamin's thought was, to a large extent, associated with the Frankfurt School. Thus, Benjamin was a collaborator of the Frankfurt School, although he was never directly "associated" with it.

For its part, the Frankfurt School, in Germany, was formed by a group of researchers and scholars who followed a series of theories and orientations of the Frankfurt School. a number of theories and theoretical orientations, such as those of Freud, Marx and Hegel..

Walter Benjamin adopted a Marxist philosophy in his career. Marxist philosophy aimed to study the nature and foundations of Marxism, an explanatory theoretical model of reality, formed through the thought of Karl Marx, a German philosopher and revolutionary of Jewish origin. Let us recall that Marx's contributions had repercussions in fields as diverse as economics, law, history and sociology.

Literature: translations and literary criticism

Walter Benjamin, as we have seen, was also a translator and literary critic. Of his translations, those of two important figures stand out: Marcel Proust and Charles Baudelaire. On the other hand, one of Walter Benjamin's best-known works was The Work of the Translator (an essay), which deals precisely with this literary activity in which he participated: translation.

As for his literary criticism, his criticism of works such as the novel Elective Affinitiesby Goethe, and some works by Franz Kafka, Karl Kraus, Marcel Proust, Charles Baudelaire... He also translated into German the play Les Fleurs du Maland some parts of the novel by Proust À la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time)..

Death in Spain

In 1940, in the historical context of the occupation of France by the Nazis, Walter Benjamin went to the United States, Walter Benjamin headed for the United States, passing through Spain.. But the Spanish police intercepted him, along with a group of refugees of which he was also a member, because he did not have the documentation (visa) required at the time.

As a result, Benjamin, in a hotel in the Pyrenean border town, ingested a lethal dose of morphine and committed suicide in Portbou (province of Girona). He was 48 years old and his death occurred on September 26, 1940.