Marek Halter
Encyclopedia
Marek Halter is a French-Jewish novel
ist. He was born in Warsaw
, Poland
in 1936. During World War II
, he and his parents escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto
and fled to the Soviet Union
, spending the remainder of the war in Ukraine
, Moscow
and later in Kokand
, Uzbekistan
. In 1945 he was chosen to travel to Moscow to present flowers to Stalin.
In 1946 the family returned to Poland and later, in 1950, they emigrated to France
and took up residence in Paris
. Halter studied pantomime
under Marcel Marceau
and for a time earned a living as a painter; his work was featured in several international exhibitions.
Halter began writing in the 1970s. His works include The Madman and the Kings (awarded the Prix Aujourd’hui in 1976), The Messiah, The Mysteries of Jerusalem, The Book of Abraham
(1986) and its sequel, The Children of Abraham (1990), The Wind of the Khazars (2003) —a piece of historical fiction about the Khazars
, a nomadic kingdom of Turkic
people in the Caucasus
who converted to Judaism
—, Sarah (2004), Zipporah (2005), Lilah (2006), and Mary of Nazareth (2008). In addition to his novels he is the author of The Jester And the Kings: a Political Biography (1989) and Stories of Deliverance: Speaking with Men And Women Who Rescued Jews from the Holocaust (1998).
In 1991 Halter organized French College in Moscow
. As of now (2007) he remains the president of the college. http://www.moscuf.com/ru/index.php?tema_id=2
In 1994, he reportedly told the Israeli weekly magazine HaShishi that he personally delivered a letter from Peres to the Pope in Sept, 1993 in which Peres promised to internationalize Jerusalem, granting the UN political control of the Old City of Jerusalem, and the Vatican hegemony of the holy sites within.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist. He was born in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
in 1936. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he and his parents escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
and fled to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, spending the remainder of the war in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and later in Kokand
Kokand
Kokand is a city in Fergana Province in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley. It has a population of 192,500 . Kokand is 228 km southeast of Tashkent, 115 km west of Andijan, and 88 km west of Fergana...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
. In 1945 he was chosen to travel to Moscow to present flowers to Stalin.
In 1946 the family returned to Poland and later, in 1950, they emigrated to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and took up residence in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Halter studied pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
under Marcel Marceau
Marcel Marceau
Marcel Marceau was an internationally acclaimed French actor and mime most famous for his persona as Bip the Clown.-Early years:...
and for a time earned a living as a painter; his work was featured in several international exhibitions.
Halter began writing in the 1970s. His works include The Madman and the Kings (awarded the Prix Aujourd’hui in 1976), The Messiah, The Mysteries of Jerusalem, The Book of Abraham
The Book of Abraham
The Book of Abraham is a historical novel written by Marek Halter that documents the history of his Jewish family...
(1986) and its sequel, The Children of Abraham (1990), The Wind of the Khazars (2003) —a piece of historical fiction about the Khazars
Khazars
The Khazars were semi-nomadic Turkic people who established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with the capital of Atil and territory comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus , parts of...
, a nomadic kingdom of Turkic
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
people in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
who converted to Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
—, Sarah (2004), Zipporah (2005), Lilah (2006), and Mary of Nazareth (2008). In addition to his novels he is the author of The Jester And the Kings: a Political Biography (1989) and Stories of Deliverance: Speaking with Men And Women Who Rescued Jews from the Holocaust (1998).
In 1991 Halter organized French College in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. As of now (2007) he remains the president of the college. http://www.moscuf.com/ru/index.php?tema_id=2
In 1994, he reportedly told the Israeli weekly magazine HaShishi that he personally delivered a letter from Peres to the Pope in Sept, 1993 in which Peres promised to internationalize Jerusalem, granting the UN political control of the Old City of Jerusalem, and the Vatican hegemony of the holy sites within.
External links
- Masha Leon, "Of Sugihara and Hiroshima", The ForwardThe ForwardThe Forward , commonly known as The Jewish Daily Forward, is a Jewish-American newspaper published in New York City. The publication began in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily issued by dissidents from the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel DeLeon...
, Aug 12, 2005.