German philosopher and literary and social critic, who was a member of the Frankfurt School. He went into exile in Paris when the Nazis came to power in 1933. After the fall of France he headed for Spain, but was denied entry and killed himself. His cryptic, ambiguous, ironical writings owe as much to messianic and kabbalistic Judaism as to Marxism and surrealism.
Art serves theological, philosophical, and political ends.
Benjamin championed the revolutionary epic theatre of his friend Brecht. Frankfurt School The Bloomsbury Guide to Art 2. The Oxford Companion to Philosophy 3. Frankfurt School Penguin Dictionary of Sociology 4. Frankfurt School Oxford Paperback Encyclopedia 5.