Today is 21 years since Robert Shvarc passed away.

Robert Shvarc, an Albanian translator of Jewish origin, was renowned for his translations of literature from German to Albanian and vice versa.

The Shvarc family moved to Albania in 1925, initially settling in Shkodër.

For years, the name of Robert Schwarz was a symbol of the German language in Albania. A significant moment augmenting his translating skillfulness mastership was the year 1995, when the well-known translator was honored by the German embassy to Tirana with the award “German Cross of Merit”. Shvarc was the first of Albanian culture who got this title precisely in the field of translation. Also, this title is the first that the German president of the time awarded to a prominent figure from the Eastern countries.

The name of Shvarc is associated with a series of the most masterful translations, where it is worth mentioning: “Three friends”, “The Arch of Triumph”, “Nothing new from the front of the West”, “The spark of life or the black obelisk” by Remarque; “The Jew of Toledo”, “Francesco Goya” by Lion Feuchtwanger; and Brecht’s dramas, “Mother Courage and her children”, “Song of a German Mother”, “Days of the Commune”, “The Resistable Rice of Arturo Ui”, “Mother Karrar’s Rifles”, “Opera for Three Grosz”, “Bali “, by Heinrich Heine: “Germany, a winter’s tale”; by Goethe and Schiller’s “Poems and Ballads”.

Meanwhile, Shvarc has also translated Albanian authors into German, such as Ismail Kadare, Dritëro Agolli, Xhevahir Spahiu, Gaqo Bushaka, Ervin Hatibi, Mimoza Ahmeti, Rexhep Qosja, etc.

Robert Shvarc was given the title of “Grand Master” by the President of the Republic, Alfred Moisiu. The translator received this title shortly after receiving another title, that of “Honorary Citizen of Tirana”, which was given to him on the occasion of his 70th birthday.

Robert Shvarc passed away on April 25, 2003.

/a.p./