André Schwarz-Bart

• Birth Name — André Schwarz-Bart • Born — 23 May 1928 • Birthplace — Metz, Moselle, France • Died — 30 September 2006 • Place of death — Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, France • Occupation — Novelist • Notable Works — The Last of the Just

Schwarz-Bart's parents moved to France in 1924, a few years before he was born in Metz. His first language was Yiddish and he learned to speak French on the street and in public school. In 1941, after the fall of France and occupation by Nazi troops, his parents were deported to Auschwitz. Soon after, Schwarz-Bart, still a young teen, joined the Resistance. His experiences as a Jew during the war later prompted him to write his debut work, Les derniers des justes (1959), published in English in 1960 as Last of the Just. It chronicled Jewish history through the eyes of a wounded survivor and won the Prix Goncourt. He spent his final years in Guadeloupe, with his wife, the novelist Simone Schwarz-Bart. Her parents were natives of the island. The two co-wrote the book Un plat de porc aux bananes vertes (1967). Some critics have suggested that his wife collaborated with him on A Woman Named Solitude. The two were awarded the Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde in 2008 for their lifetime of literary work. He is best known for his novel Le Dernier des justes (translated into English as The Last of the Just). The book, which traces the story of a Jewish family from the time of the Crusades to the gas chambers of Auschwitz, earned Schwarz-Bart the Prix Goncourt in 1959. He won the Jerusalem Prize in 1967. He died of complications after heart surgery in 2006. One of his two sons with his wife Simone Schwarz-Bart is Jacques Schwarz-Bart, a noted jazz saxophonist.

André Schwarz-Bart was recorded at birth as Abraham Szwarcbart. The authorities additionally record the heading Andre Schwarz-Bart. His recorded language was French. He married Simone Schwarz-Bart. One child is recorded: Jacques Schwarz-Bart.

André Schwarz-Bart is recorded as having received Prix Goncourt, Jerusalem Prize and Officer of Arts and Letters. Recognition and collections. Schwarz-Bart received Prix Goncourt, Jerusalem Prize, Officer of Arts and Letters and Bancarella Literary Prize.