author
Rudolf Leonhard
1889–1953
A restless German poet and essayist, he moved through expressionism, pacifism, exile, and anti-fascist resistance. His life and work were shaped by the political upheavals of the first half of the twentieth century.
2 Audiobooks
Das Werk Heinrich Manns
by Rudolf Leonhard
Polnische Gedichte
by Rudolf Leonhard
About the author
Born in Lissa in 1889, in what is now Leszno, Poland, he became known as a German writer linked with literary expressionism. He studied philology and law in Berlin and Göttingen, and after the outbreak of World War I he volunteered for service before turning into a committed pacifist.
Leonhard worked as a freelance writer in Berlin and later moved to Paris in 1927. During the Nazi years he lived in exile, and sources describe him as both a radical pacifist and an active participant in the French Resistance during the occupation.
He died in East Berlin in 1953. Alongside poetry and essays, he is also remembered for his political engagement, especially his communist and anti-fascist commitments, which remained closely tied to his literary career.