19 Facts About Emanuel Litvinoff

Emanuel Litvinoff was a Jewish writer and well-known figure in Anglo-Jewish literature, known for novels, short stories, poetry, plays and human rights campaigning.

Emanuel Litvinoff was born to Russian Jewish parents who emigrated from Odessa to Whitechapel, London, in 1915.

Emanuel Litvinoff's father was repatriated to Russia to fight for the czar and never returned: he is thought to have been killed in the Russian Revolution.

One of his brothers was the historian Barnet Emanuel Litvinoff and his half-brother was David Emanuel Litvinoff who was born to his mother's second husband Solomon Levy.

Emanuel Litvinoff left school at 14 and, after working in a number of unskilled factory jobs, found himself homeless within a year.

Emanuel Litvinoff was commissioned into the Pioneer Corps in August 1942.

Emanuel Litvinoff became known as a war poet during his time in the Army.

Emanuel Litvinoff was a friend and mentor to many younger poets.

Emanuel Litvinoff's poems were collected in Notes for a Survivor.

When Emanuel Litvinoff got up to announce the poem at a poetry reading for the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1951 the event's host, Sir Herbert Read, declared, "Oh Good, Tom's just come in," referring to Eliot.

Emanuel Litvinoff is known for his poem "Struma", written after the Struma disaster.

Emanuel Litvinoff's passengers hoped to travel overland to Palestine, but Turkey forbade them to disembark unless Britain allowed them to settle in Palestine.

Emanuel Litvinoff's novels explore the issue of Jewish identity across decades and in a variety of geographical contexts; Britain, Germany, the Soviet Union and Israel.

Ten years after the war Emanuel Litvinoff went to live in Berlin.

Emanuel Litvinoff described it as "a strangely exhilarating experience, like being under fire".

The Lost Europeans was Emanuel Litvinoff's first novel and was born out of this experience.

Emanuel Litvinoff describes the overcrowded tenements of Brick Lane and Whitechapel, the smells of pickled herring and onion bread, the rattle of sewing machines, and chatter in Yiddish.

Emanuel Litvinoff relates stories of his parents, who fled from Russia in 1914, his experiences at school and a brief flirtation with Communism.

Emanuel Litvinoff had one child by his second wife, Mary McClory.