Personal Opinions
Apart from his scientific work, Schwartz was a well-known outspoken intellectual. As a young socialist influenced by Leon Trotsky, Schwartz opposed the totalitarianism of the Soviet Union, particularly under Joseph Stalin. Schwartz ultimately rejected Trotskyism for democratic socialism.
Schwartz campaigned against the Algerian War.
In danger of being classified as a Jew under the Nazi racial laws, he had to spend parts of World War II in hiding under aliases, predominantly "Laurent Sélimartin". He was related to the Debré family.
Read more about this topic: Laurent Schwartz
Famous quotes containing the words personal and/or opinions:
“It has no share in the leadership of thought: it does not even reflect its current. It does not create beauty: it apes fashion. It does not produce personal skill: our actors and actresses, with the exception of a few persons with natural gifts and graces, mostly miscultivated or half-cultivated, are simply the middle-class section of the residuum.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“Almost all the opinions we have are taken on authority and on credit.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)