French · 1928–2006
André Schwarz-Bart won the 1959 Prix Goncourt for "The Last of the Just," a novel tracing Jewish suffering from medieval England to Auschwitz through the legend of the thirty-six righteous men upon whom the world's existence depends. Born in Metz to Polish-Jewish parents who died in the camps, Schwarz-Bart wrote the book over seven years. The novel's combination of Jewish folklore, historical sweep, and unflinching witness to the Holocaust created a landmark of post-war French literature.