Walter Benjamin was a German Jewish philosopher and cultural critic. While he enjoyed little acclaim during his lifetime, he is now regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century.
Benjamin was born in 1892 to an affluent German Jewish family in Berlin. He attended the University of Freiburg before transferring to the University of Berlin where he studied philosophy. After being introduced to Zionism at university, Benjamin distanced himself from that movement and instead championed what he called "cultural zionism." Benjamin saw his Jewishness as an integral part of his European identity and sought to celebrate and espouse Jewish culture throughout Europe.
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