Mile Klopčič was a Slovenia

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 poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 and translator. Together with Tone Seliškar

Tone Seliškar

Tone Seliškar was a Slovene writer, poet, journalist and teacher. He published poetry, short stories and novels and is also known for his youth literature...

, he is considered as the foremost representative of Slovene

Slovenian literature

Slovene literature, meaning the literature in the Slovene language, starts with Freising manuscripts around 1000. From first printed Slovene religious books in 1550 it is followed by these literary periods and notable authors:-Middle Ages:-Folk poetry:...

 social realist poetry of the 1930s and 1940s.

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 I, 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...

. In 1920, he joined the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. During the dictatorship of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia, he was imprisoned as a political opponent of the regime. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, he joined the partisan resistance, and became the chairman of the Commission for Culture in the Slovenian National Liberation Council (SNOS). After the war, he worked mostly as a translator. Among other, he translated works of Heinrich Heine

Heinrich Heine

Christian Johann Heinrich Heine was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann...

, Pushkin, Lermontov and Korney Chukovsky

Korney Chukovsky

Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky was one of the most popular children's poets in the Russian language. His poems, Doctor Aybolit , The Giant Roach , The Crocodile , and Wash'em'clean have been favourites with many generations of Russophone children...

 into Slovene.

Klopčič is most renowned for his pre-World War II poetry, consisting of dry yet highly descriptions of the daily life of minors and industrial workers.

He was the brother of the Communist activist and historian France Klopčič

France Klopčič

France Klopčič was a Slovenian 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...

, and father 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...

 and the violinist Rok Klopčič.