# Eric Mosbacher

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{{Short description|English journalist and translator (1903–1998)}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}}
'''Eric Mosbacher''' (22 December 1903 – 2 July 1998) was an English journalist and translator from Italian, French, German, and Spanish. He translated work by [Ignazio Silone](/source/Ignazio_Silone) and [Sigmund Freud](/source/Sigmund_Freud).<ref name=TimesObit>'Eric Mosbacher', ''[The Times](/source/The_Times)'', 10 July 1998, p.25</ref>

==Life==
Eric Mosbacher was born in London. He was educated at [St Paul's School](/source/St_Paul's_School%2C_London) and [Magdalene College, Cambridge](/source/Magdalene_College%2C_Cambridge), graduating in 1924 in French and Italian. After working on local newspapers, he worked for the ''[Daily Express](/source/Daily_Express)'' and then the ''[Evening Standard](/source/Evening_Standard)''. He also worked as assistant editor of the weekly ''Everyman'' and editor of ''Anglo-American News'', the London journal of the [American Chamber of Commerce](/source/American_Chamber_of_Commerce).<ref name=TimesObit/> Mosbacher's wife, Gwenda David, introduced him to the work of Ignazio Silone, and the pair translated Silone's anti-fascist novel ''[Fontamara](/source/Fontamara)'' in 1934. Often working in collaboration with his wife, Mosbacher continued translating in parallel with his other jobs.<ref name="TimesObit" />

During World War II, Mosbacher worked as an interpreter interrogating Italian [prisoners of war](/source/prisoners_of_war) before joining the [Political Warfare Executive](/source/Political_Warfare_Executive) in 1943, working alongside [Sefton Delmer](/source/Sefton_Delmer) to produce a German-language newspaper to be dropped on Germany each night. In June 1945, he was sent to the [Rhineland](/source/Rhine_Province), now occupied by the British, to encourage a [free press](/source/free_press) by starting two German-language newspapers there, ''Kolnischer Kurier'' and ''Ruhr-Zeitung''.<ref name="TimesObit" /> Demobilized in 1946 at the rank of lieutenant-colonel, Mosbacher was a public relations officer for the [Ministry of Town and Country Planning](/source/Ministry_of_Town_and_Country_Planning) before joining ''[The Times](/source/The_Times)'' as a sub-editor in 1948. Resigning from the ''Times'' in 1960, he continued to work at translation.<ref name="TimesObit" />

==Translations==
* (with Gwenda David) ''[Fontamara](/source/Fontamara)'' by Ignazio Silone. London: Methuen & Co., 1934.
* (with Gwenda David) ''Spiridonova: revolutionary terrorist'' by [Isaac Steinberg](/source/Isaac_Steinberg). London: Methuen & Co., 1935.
* (with Gwenda David) ''The last civilian'' by [Ernst Glaeser](/source/Ernst_Glaeser). London: Nicholson & Watson, 1936.
* (with Gwenda David) ''Karl Marx: man and fighter'' by [Boris Nicolaevsky](/source/Boris_Nicolaevsky) and [Otto Maenchen-Helfen](/source/Otto_Maenchen-Helfen). London: Methuen & Co., 1936.
* (with Gwenda David) ''Bread and wine'' by [Ignazio Silone](/source/Ignazio_Silone). London: Methuen & Co., 1936.
* (with Gwenda David) ''Offenbach and the Paris of his time'' by [Siegfried Kracauer](/source/Siegfried_Kracauer). London: Constable, 1937.
* ''The Triumph of Barabbas'' by [Giovanni Giglio](/source/Giovanni_Giglio). London: Victor Gollancz, 1937.
* (with [Franz Borkenau](/source/Franz_Borkenau)) ''I helped to build an army. Civil War memoirs of a Spanish staff officer'' by [José Martín Blázquez](/source/Jos%C3%A9_Mart%C3%ADn_Bl%C3%A1zquez). Translated from the Spanish. With an introduction by Borkenau. London: Secker & Warburg, 1939.
* (with Gwenda David) ''The school for dictators'' by Ignazio Silone. Translated from the Italian. London: Jonathan Cape, 1939.
* (with Gwenda David) ''Hitler and I''. Translated from the French ''Hitler et moi''. London: Jonathan Cape, 1940.
* (with Gwenda David) ''Birl. The story of a cat'' by [Alexander Moritz Frey](/source/Alexander_Moritz_Frey). London: Jonathan Cape, 1947.
* ''The fiancée'' by [Alberto Vigevani](/source/Alberto_Vigevani). Translated from the Italian. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1948.
* ''The house by the medlar tree'' by [Giovanni Verga](/source/Giovanni_Verga). Translated from the Italian ''I Malavoglia''. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1950.
* ''A hero of our time: a novel'' by [Vasco Pratolini](/source/Vasco_Pratolini). Translated from the Italian ''Un eroe del nostro tempo''. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1951.
* (with David Porter) ''Russian purge and the extraction of confession'' by F. Beck (pseud.) and W. Godin (pseud.). Translated from the German. London: Hurst & Blackett, 1951.
* ''Secret Tibet'' by [Fosco Maraini](/source/Fosco_Maraini). Translated from the Italian ''Segreto Tibet''. London: Hutchinson, 1952.
* ''Heaven pays no dividends'' by Richard Kaufmann. Translated from the German ''Der Himmel zahlt keine Zinsen''. London: Jarrolds, 1952.
* (with James Strachey) ''The origins of psycho-analysis. Letters to Wilhelm Fliess, drafts and notes: 1887–1902'' by [Sigmund Freud](/source/Sigmund_Freud). Translated from the German ''Aus den Anfängen der Psychoanalyse. Briefe an Wilhelm Fliess''. London: Imago Publishing Co., 1954.
* ''Final contributions to the problems and methods of psycho-analysis'' by [Sándor Ferenczi](/source/S%C3%A1ndor_Ferenczi). Translated from the German. London: Hogarth Press, 1955.
*  ''The state of France: a study of contemporary France'' by [Herbert Lüthy](/source/Herbert_L%C3%BCthy). Translated from the German ''Frankreichs Uhren gehen anders''. London: Secker & Warburg, 1955.
* ''The bound man, and other stories'' by [Ilse Aichinger](/source/Ilse_Aichinger). London: Secker & Warburg, 1955.
* ''Tune for an elephant'' by [Elio Vittorini](/source/Elio_Vittorini). Translated from the Italian ''Il Sempione strizza l'occhio al Frejus'' .London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1955.
* (with Oliver Coburn) ''Ambush'' by [Jean Hougron](/source/Jean_Hougron). Translated from the French ''Rage blanche''. London: Hurst & Blackett, 1956.
* ''My secret diary of the Dreyfus case, 1894–1899'' by [Maurice Paléologue](/source/Maurice_Pal%C3%A9ologue). Translated from the French. London : Secker & Warburg, 1957.
* ''Meeting with Japan'' by [Fosco Maraini](/source/Fosco_Maraini). Translated from the Italian ''Ora Giapponesi''. New York: The Viking Press, 1959.
* ''[Ferdydurke](/source/Ferdydurke)'' by [Witold Gombrowicz](/source/Witold_Gombrowicz). London: Macgibbon & Kee, 1961. 
* (with Vivian Milroy) ''With my dogs in Russia'' by [Hildegard Plievier](/source/Hildegard_Plievier). London: Hammond, Hammond & Co., 1961.
* ''The fight against cancer'' by [Charles Oberling](/source/Charles_Oberling). London: A. Deutsch, 1961.
* ''The fox and the camelias'' by [Ignazio Silone](/source/Ignazio_Silone). London: Jonathan Cape, 1961.
* ''The realm of the Great Goddess. The story of the megalith builders'' by [Sybille von Cles-Reden](/source/Sybille_von_Cles-Reden). London: Thames & Hudson, 1962.
* ''Hekura: the diving girls' island'' by [Fosco Maraini](/source/Fosco_Maraini). London: H. Hamilton, 1962.
* ''I was Cicero'' by [Elyesa Bazna](/source/Elyesa_Bazna). London: A. Deutsch, 1962.
* ''The shady miracle'' by [Ernst Glaeser](/source/Ernst_Glaeser). London: Secker & Warburg, 1963. 
* ''Thou shalt not kill'' by [Igor Šentjurc](/source/Igor_%C5%A0entjurc). Translated from the German ''Der unstillbare Strom''. London, Dublin: Constable, 1963.
* ''Psycho-analysis and faith: the letters of Sigmund Freud & Oskar Pfister'' by [Sigmund Freud](/source/Sigmund_Freud). London: Hogarth Press, 1963.
* (with Denise Folliot) ''The better song'' by [Luc Estang](/source/Luc_Estang). Translated from the French ''Le Bonheur et le salut''. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1964.
* ''The torrents of war'' by [Igor Šentjurc](/source/Igor_%C5%A0entjurc). Translated from the German. London: Transworld Publishers, 1965.
* ''Mannerism. The crisis of the Renaissance and the origin of modern art'' by [Arnold Hauser](/source/Arnold_Hauser_(art_historian)). 2 vols. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1965.
* ''[La Vita agra; or, It's a hard life](/source/La_vita_agra)'' by [Luciano Bianciardi](/source/Luciano_Bianciardi). London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1965.
* ''Simplicius 45: a novel'' by [Heinz Küpper](/source/Heinz_K%C3%BCpper). Translated from the German. London: Secker & Warburg, 1966.
* ''Remembrance Day: thirteen attempts in prose to adopt an attitude of respect'' by [Gerhard Zwerenz](/source/Gerhard_Zwerenz). London: Hutchinson, 1966.
* ''The end of the Jewish people?'' by [Georges Friedmann](/source/Georges_Friedmann). Translated from the French ''Fin du peuple juif?''. London: Hutchinson, 1967.
* ''Cosmos'' by [Witold Gombrowicz](/source/Witold_Gombrowicz). Translated from the French and German translations. London: Macgibbon & Kee, 1967.
* ''Society without the father: a contribution to social psychology'' by [Alexander Mitscherlich](/source/Alexander_Mitscherlich_(psychologist)). London: Tavistock Publications, 1969.
* ''Equilibrium'' by [Tonino Guerra](/source/Tonino_Guerra). Translated from the Italian. London: Chatto & Windus, 1969.
* (with others) ''Dietrich Bonhoeffer: theologian, Christian, contemporary'' by [Eberhard Bethge](/source/Eberhard_Bethge). London: Collins, 1970.
* ''The end of an alliance: Rome's defection from the Axis in 1943'' by [Friedrich-Karl von Plehwe](/source/Friedrich-Karl_von_Plehwe). Translated from the German ''Schicksalsstunden in Rom''. London: Oxford University Press, 1971.
* ''Fragments grave and gay'' by [Karl Barth](/source/Karl_Barth). London: William Collins Sons & Co., 1971.
* ''Infallible? an enquiry'' by [Hans Küng](/source/Hans_K%C3%BCng). Translated from the German ''Unfehlbar? Eine Anfrage''. London: Collins, 1971.
* ''The hollow legions: Mullsolini's blunder in Greece, 1940–1941'' by [Mario Cervi](/source/Mario_Cervi). London: Chatto & Windus, 1972.
* ''Marxism and history'' by [Helmut Fischer](/source/Helmut_Fischer). Translated from the German ''Marxismus und Geschichte''. London: Allen Lane, 1973.
* ''Solzhenitsyn'' by [Giovanni Grazzini](/source/Giovanni_Grazzini). Translated from the Italian. London: Joseph, 1973.
* ''Commemorations'' by [Hans Herlin](/source/Hans_Herlin). Translated from the German ''Freunde''. London: Heinemann, 1975.
* ''Children of the SS'' by [Clarissa Henry](/source/Clarissa_Henry) and [Marc Hillel](/source/Marc_Hillel). Translated from the French ''Au nom de la race''. London: Hutchinson, 1976.
* ''The nuclear state'' by [Robert Jungk](/source/Robert_Jungk). Translated from the German ''Atomstaat''. London: J. Calder, 1979.
* ''The biology of peace and war: men, animals and aggression'' by [Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt](/source/Iren%C3%A4us_Eibl-Eibesfeldt). London: Thames and Hudson, 1979.
* ''Cocaine'' by [Pitigrilli](/source/Pitigrilli). Feltham: Hamlyn Paperbacks, 1982.
* ''Franz Kafka of Prague'' by [Jǐrí Gruša](/source/J%C7%90r%C3%AD_Gru%C5%A1a). Translated from the German ''Franz Kafka aus Prag''. London: Secker & Warburg, 1983.
* ''Nomenklatura: anatomy of the Soviet ruling class'' by [Michael Voslenski](/source/Michael_Voslenski). London: The Bodley Head, 1984.
* ''Leonardo's Judas'' by [Leo Perutz](/source/Leo_Perutz). Translated from the German ''Der Judas des Leonardo''. London: Collins Harvill, 1989.
* ''Saint Peter's snow'' by Leo Perutz. Translated from the German ''Sankt Petri-Schnee''. London: Collins-Harvill, 1990.
* ''By night under the stone bridge'' by Leo Perutz. Translated from the German ''Nachts unter der steinemen Brücke''. London: Collins Harvill, 1989.
* ''Psychoanalysis of the sexual functions of women'' by [Helen Deutsch](/source/Helen_Deutsch). London: Karnac, 1990. 
* ''{{ill|The Master of the Day of Judgment|de|Der Meister des Jüngsten Tages}}'' by [Leo Perutz](/source/Leo_Perutz). Translated from the German ''Meister des jüngsten Tages''. London: Harvill, 1994.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mosbacher, Eric}}
Category:1903 births
Category:1998 deaths
Category:French–English translators
Category:German–English translators
Category:Italian–English translators
Category:Spanish–English translators
Category:The Times people
Category:20th-century English translators
Category:20th-century English male journalists
Category:20th-century English journalists

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Eric Mosbacher](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Mosbacher) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Mosbacher?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.