Jean Cayrol

Jean Cayrol 6 June 1911 10 February 2005 was a French poet publisher and member of the Académie Goncourt born in Bordeaux He is perhaps best known for writing the narration in Alain Resnaiss 1955 documentary film Night and Fog He was a major contributor to the subversive philosophical French publication Tel Quel In 1941 during the Nazi occupation of France Cayrol joined the French Resistance but he was subsequently betrayed arrested and sent to the Gusen concentration camp in 1943 He was one of the youngest French inmates at that camp and consequently was made to do some of the hardest work along with the construction of roads and railways When Cayrol wanted to die by refusing any further food his life was saved by Johann Gruber the Saint of Gusen Gruber gave Cayrol some Gruber soup in the washroom of barrack No 20 and intervened for Cayrol to get him transferred to an easier job Cayrol thereafter worked at the finalinspection of SteyrDaimlerPuch at KL Gusen I the Georgenmuehle command where he was able to write literature during breaks Between February 1944 and April 1945 Cayrol created a large volume of poetry at Gusen I One of his poems from this era is the text for Chant dEspoir which was set to music by a fellow Gusen I inmate Remy Gillis in 1944 Alerte aux ombres 19441945 a collection of Cayrols Gusen texts was published in 1997 The figure of Lazarus appears many times in Cayrols work Having escaped death himself Cayrol was fascinated and inspired by the story of Lazarus who died who Jesus returned to life after being dead Cayrol founded and edited for ten years 195666 the review Ecrire published by Éditions du Seuil who had recruited him as an editorial adviser in 1949 He retired to Bordeaux where he died at the age of 93 Source Article Jean Cayrol from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30