Franz Hessel

Franz Hessel (November 21, 1880 – January 6, 1941) was a German writer and translator. With Walter Benjamin, he produced a German translation of Marcel Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu.

Hessel's parents, Fanny and Heinrich Hessel, came to Berlin in 1880, and joined the Lutheran church (having been born Jewish). Hessel was one of the first German exponents of the French idea of flânerie, and later published a collection of essays on the subject related to his native Berlin, "Walking in Berlin".

He was the father of diplomat Stéphane Hessel.

Hessel was the inspiration for the character of Jules in Henri-Pierre Roche's novel Jules et Jim.

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