Jorge Semprún: A twentieth-century European life
By Charlotte Stace
The Spanish writer and politician Jorge Semprún is one of Spain’s most interesting characters. During World War II, he joined a resistance organisation in France, but was arrested by the Gestapo and deported to Buchenwald concentration camp. After his release in 1945, he became an active member of the Communist Party. Yet, from 1953 to 1962, he lived clandestinely in Spain and worked for the exiled Communist Party while Franco was in power.
Following Franco's death, Semprún served as Minister of Culture in Spain's socialist government from 1988 to 1991. During this time he began writing novels, plays and screenplays of his experiences, most notably of his harrowing experiences in the concentration camp.
This exhibition at the MHC now provides an overview of the life of this political figure and writer; a life that was marked by the political extremes of the 20th century.