Erich Fried was an Austrian poet, essayist and translator. Born in a Jewish family in Vienna, he fled with his mother to London after his father's murder by the Gestapo following the Anschluss with Nazi Germany. From 1952 to 1968 he worked as a political commentator for the BBC German Service. He translated works by Shakespeare, T S Eliot and Dylan Thomas. He died in Baden-Baden, Germany, in 1988 and is buried in Kensal Green cemetery, London.

Quotes

• Do not doubt him who tells you he is afraid, but be afraid of him who tells you he has no doubts.
  • Original German translation: "Zweifle nicht an dem der dir sagt er hat Angst, aber hab Angst vor dem der dir sagt, er kennt keinen Zweifel."
    • from "100 Gedichte ohne Vaterland" pub, 1978.