France Klopčič
Encyclopedia
France Klopčič was a Slovenia
n historian
, author
, translator
and Communist political activist.
He was born in the town of L'Hôpital
, France
, then part of the German
province of Alsace-Lorraine
, where his father worked as industrial workers. At the outbreak of World War One, the family moved to the industrial town of Zagorje ob Savi
. He attended high school in Ljubljana
. Already as a teenager, he became member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. During the 1920s, he worked as a journalist for left wing newspapers. He was strongly opposed Yugoslav
centralism, and advocated the establishment of a socialist and federal Yugoslavia. Between 1926 and 1929, he was in the leadership of the Slovenian section of the Yugoslav Communist Party.
In 1930, he emigrated to the Soviet Union
. In the mid 1930s, he was accused of counter-revolutionary activity, and imprisoned. He was released in 1945, but had to remain in the Soviet Union because his disapproval of the Informbiro
declaration. In 1956, he was released at the request of the Yugoslav authorities.
After his return to Yugoslavia, he settled in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and became a professional historian, focusing on the history of the worker movement in Slovenia, and on the history of the Communist Party. Together with Dušan Kermavner, he was one of the foremost Communist historians of the Socialist movement in Slovenia. He was also vocal in the defence of the federalist system in Yugoslavia and of the autonomy of the single Yugoslav republics against centralist pressures.
He was also a prolific translator from Russian
into Slovene. Among other, he translated several works of Lenin and Mayakovsky
. In 1964, he translated Solzhenitsyn's novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
.
He died in Ljubljana.
He was the brother of the social realist poet Mile Klopčič
, and the uncle of the film director Matjaž Klopčič
.
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
and Communist political activist.
He was born in the town of L'Hôpital
L'Hôpital
L'Hôpital is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.It is the birthplace of the Slovenian author Mile Klopčič and historian France Klopčič....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, then part of the German
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
province of Alsace-Lorraine
Alsace-Lorraine
The Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine was a territory created by the German Empire in 1871 after it annexed most of Alsace and the Moselle region of Lorraine following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War. The Alsatian part lay in the Rhine Valley on the west bank of the Rhine River and east...
, where his father worked as industrial workers. At the outbreak of World War One, the family moved to the industrial town of Zagorje ob Savi
Zagorje ob Savi
Zagorje ob Savi is a town and a municipality in central Slovenia. It is located in the valley of Medija Creek, a minor left-bank tributary of the Sava River, east of Ljubljana southwest of Celje, and west of Trbovlje. Traditionally the area was part of the Upper Carniola region. The entire...
. He attended high school in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
. Already as a teenager, he became member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. During the 1920s, he worked as a journalist for left wing newspapers. He was strongly opposed Yugoslav
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
centralism, and advocated the establishment of a socialist and federal Yugoslavia. Between 1926 and 1929, he was in the leadership of the Slovenian section of the Yugoslav Communist Party.
In 1930, he emigrated to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. In the mid 1930s, he was accused of counter-revolutionary activity, and imprisoned. He was released in 1945, but had to remain in the Soviet Union because his disapproval of the Informbiro
Informbiro
Informbiro was a period in the history of Yugoslavia characterized by conflict and schism with the Soviet Union...
declaration. In 1956, he was released at the request of the Yugoslav authorities.
After his return to Yugoslavia, he settled in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and became a professional historian, focusing on the history of the worker movement in Slovenia, and on the history of the Communist Party. Together with Dušan Kermavner, he was one of the foremost Communist historians of the Socialist movement in Slovenia. He was also vocal in the defence of the federalist system in Yugoslavia and of the autonomy of the single Yugoslav republics against centralist pressures.
He was also a prolific translator from Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
into Slovene. Among other, he translated several works of Lenin and Mayakovsky
Mayakovsky
Vladimir Mayakovsky was a Russian poet and playwright, among the foremost representatives of early-20th century Russian Futurism.Mayakovsky or Mayakovskaya may also refer to:...
. In 1964, he translated Solzhenitsyn's novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is a novel written by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, first published in November 1962 in the Soviet literary magazine Novy Mir . The story is set in a Soviet labor camp in the 1950s, and describes a single day of an ordinary prisoner, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov...
.
He died in Ljubljana.
He was the brother of the social realist poet Mile Klopčič
Mile Klopčič
Mile Klopčič was a Slovenian poet and translator. Together with Tone Seliškar, he is considered as the foremost representative of Slovene social realist poetry of the 1930s and 1940s....
, and the uncle of the film director Matjaž Klopčič
Matjaž Klopčič
Matjaž Klopčič was a Slovenian film director and screenwriter. He directed 28 films between 1959 and 2005...
.