Albert Cohen, a prize-winning Jewish author who won the French Academy’s Award in 1968, died here last Saturday at the age of 86. His writings, which were in French, have been compared to the works of Rousseau.
Cohen was born on the island of Corfu where his father was the leader of the Jewish community. His family moved to Marseilles and Cohen later studied in Paris and Geneva where he settled in 1926. He worked as a diplomat for the League of Nations while pursuing a writing career.
In 1940, when France surrendered to Nazi Germany Cohen was in England representing the Jewish Agency. He was a close associate of Dr. Chaim Weizmann, and, after World War II, served as a liaison between Jewish organizations and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Cohen remained a Swiss citizen. His best known books are “La Belle Du Seigneur”, “My Mother’s Book,” and “Solal.” He also wrote a play, “Yechezkiel.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
