Maurice Sachs
Encyclopedia
Maurice Sachs was a French
writer. He was the son of a Jewish family of jewelers.
and worked in a bookshop, and returned to Paris.
In 1925 he converted to Catholicism
and decided to become a priest, though this didn't last upon meeting a young man on the beach at Juan-les-Pins.
After involvement in a number of dubious business activities, he traveled to New York
, where he passed himself off as an art dealer. Returning to Paris, he associated himself with leading homosexual writers of the time - Cocteau
, Gide
and Max Jacob
- with all of whom he had stormy relationships whose precise nature is unclear. At various times he worked for Jean Cocteau and Coco Chanel
, in both cases stealing from them.
Sachs was mobilized at the start of World War II
, but was discharged for sexual misconduct. During the early years of the Occupation, he made money out of helping Jewish families escape to the Unoccupied Zone. He may also have been an informer for the Gestapo
. He was later imprisoned in Fuhlsbüttel
.
.
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...
writer. He was the son of a Jewish family of jewelers.
Biography
Sachs was educated in an English-style boarding-school, lived for a year in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and worked in a bookshop, and returned to Paris.
In 1925 he converted to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
and decided to become a priest, though this didn't last upon meeting a young man on the beach at Juan-les-Pins.
After involvement in a number of dubious business activities, he traveled to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where he passed himself off as an art dealer. Returning to Paris, he associated himself with leading homosexual writers of the time - Cocteau
Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, playwright, artist and filmmaker. His circle of associates, friends and lovers included Kenneth Anger, Pablo Picasso, Jean Hugo, Jean Marais, Henri Bernstein, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel, Erik Satie, María...
, Gide
André Gide
André Paul Guillaume Gide was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1947. Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the symbolist movement, to the advent of anticolonialism between the two World Wars.Known for his fiction as well as his autobiographical works, Gide...
and Max Jacob
Max Jacob
Max Jacob was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic.-Life and career:After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, France, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic career...
- with all of whom he had stormy relationships whose precise nature is unclear. At various times he worked for Jean Cocteau and Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist thought, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion. She was the founder of one of the most famous fashion brands, Chanel...
, in both cases stealing from them.
Sachs was mobilized at the start of 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...
, but was discharged for sexual misconduct. During the early years of the Occupation, he made money out of helping Jewish families escape to the Unoccupied Zone. He may also have been an informer for the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
. He was later imprisoned in Fuhlsbüttel
Fuhlsbüttel
Fuhlsbüttel is an urban quarter in the north of Hamburg, Germany in the district Hamburg-Nord. It is known as the site of Hamburg's international airport, and as the location of a prison which served as a concentration camp in the Nazi system of repression....
.
Death
One story of Sachs' death is that he was lynched by other prisoners and his body was thrown to the dogs.Works
- Alias, 1935. ISBN B0000DQN60.
- Au Temps du Boeuf sur le Toit, 1939 e 2005. ISBN 2-246-38822-8.
- André Gide, 1936. ISBN B0000DQN0W.
- Chronique joyeuse et scandaleuse (Joyous and Scandalous Chronicle), Corrêa, 1950. ISBN B0000DS4FF.
- Correspondence, 1925-1939, Gallimard, Paris 2003 ISBN 2-07-073354-8.
- Histoire de John Cooper d'Albany (The Story of John Cooper of Albany), Gallimard, Paris 1955. ISBN B0000DNJVG.
- La décade de l'illusion (The Decade of Illusion), Gallimard, Paris 1950. ISBN B0000DL12G.
- Le Sabbat. Souvenirs d'une jeunesse orageuse (The Sabbath. Memories of a Stormy Youth), Paris 1946. ISBN 2-07-028724-6.
- La chasse à courre (The Hunt), Gallimard, Paris 1997 ISBN 2-07-040278-9.
- Tableaux des moeurs de ce temps (Table of Manners of This Time), Gallimard, Paris 1954. ISBN B0000DL12I.
Trivia
A shot of the cover of Sachs's novel Abracadabra (1952) momentarily occupies the entire screen during a crucial episode of Breathless, a classic film by Jean-Luc GodardJean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
.
External links
- This article draws heavily on the :fr:Maurice Sachs article in the French-language Wikipedia, which was accessed in the version of March 27, 2006.