Bloch, Ernst (1885—1977)
German Marxist philosopher, social critic and utopianist. Bloch was born in the industrial town of Ludwigshafen. His father was an assimilated Jew of modest means who worked as an official on the railways. Bloch studied philosophy in Munich and Würzburg, before making a definitive move to Berlin where he was mentored by Simmel, Georg (their friendship ended when Simmel spoke in favour of Germany’s entry to World War I). In Berlin, Bloch also met and became a firm friend of Marxist literary critic Lukács, György with whom he would later have very public disagreements concerning Expressionism, which he favoured and Lukács did not. At the outbreak of World War 1, Bloch (declared unfit for military service) moved out of Berlin, first to Grünewald, and then to Switzerland, where he struck up a friendship with cultural critic Benjamin, Walter. After the war, he returned to Berlin and was part of the large circle of intellectuals who were resident there in the heady Weimar Republic days---Adorno, Theodor,