Endre Bajomi Lázár (1914–1987)

Endre Lázár Bajomi (Hungarian name order Bajomi Lázár Endre) was born Iván András Lázár to a Jewish family in Biharnagybajom, Hungary. His parents were Etelka (Kardos) and Adolf Lázár. He passed the teacher's exam at the University of Debrecen and then moved to Paris, where he lived for 17 years. from 1934 to 1950. In Hungary, he became one of the leading advocates and interpreters of French literature and culture. He translated dozens of French novels and plays into Hungarian, including the works of Anouilh, Balzac, Giraudoux, Malraux, Sartre, Vercors, Vian, and Zola. He also wrote for Hungarian émigré newspapers. In France, he published under the pseudonym Ferenc Dávid, and in Hungarian journals under the name Endre Bajomi. He became editor of Szabad Szó in Paris in 1938, and between 1945 and 1947, he was the editor of Droit et Liberté and République Hongroise. In 1947, following World War II, he published his first book, Hongrois de la résistance (Hungarians of the Resistance). From 1947 to 1949, he served as the deputy head of the Hungarian Press Office in Paris and in 1949 was named its head. He returned to Hungary in 1952 and worked in the press department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a year. In 1953-1954, he was the editor and proofreader of Szépirodalmi Könyvkiadó, and from 1955 of Új Magyar Könyvkiadó and Európa Könyvkiadó until 1977, when he retired. He was a senior contributor to the World Literature Lexicon. He also wrote poetry, literary history, and numerous books on Paris and on great figures of French intellectual life.