"Even the Dead Won't Be Safe": Walter Benjamin's Final Journey
Yes, Lisa Fittko was the courageous anti-fascist activist who guided Walter Benjamin and a small group of refugees through the Pyrenees to escape Nazi-occupied France in September 1940. Their goal was to reach Portbou, Spain, and then continue onward to neutral Portugal.
Key Details of the Journey:
The escape route was known as the F-route, a difficult mountain path through the Pyrenees used to smuggle refugees out of France.
The group left Banyuls-sur-Mer (a French border town) on September 25, 1940, and took about seven hours to reach the Spanish side at Portbou.
It was a physically exhausting journey, particularly for Walter Benjamin, who had a weak heart and suffered from severe fatigue along the way.
They were stopped by Spanish border guards upon arrival and were told they would be sent back to France, where Benjamin feared capture by the Gestapo.
Who Was in the Group?
Besides Walter Benjamin and Lisa Fittko, the escape group included:
1. Henny Gurland A Jewish German refugee who had been living in France.
2. Jose Gurland (Henny’s teenage son) Accompanied his mother.
3. Possibly one or two other refugees whose names are uncertain.
The Tragic End:
That night (September 26, 1940), Benjamin, believing he was about to be deported, took a lethal dose of morphine in his hotel room in Portbou.
His exact burial site remains unclear, though he was reportedly buried in the Portbou cemetery.
Ironically, the next day, the rest of the group was allowed to continue to Portugal, proving that Benjamin’s despair may have been premature.
Lisa Fittko’s Perspective:
Lisa Fittko later wrote about this journey in her memoir, “Escape Through the Pyrenees” (1985). She described Benjamin’s frail condition and the difficulty of the mountainous route. She did not accompany them all the way into Portbou, as her role was only to guide them across the border.
Historical Significance:
This escape attempt became one of the most poignant moments in 20th-century intellectual history, marking the tragic loss of one of Europe’s greatest thinkers.
Lisa Fittko continued her anti-Nazi resistance work, helping many others escape through the same route.
Benjamin’s death in exile has since been seen as symbolic of the collapse of European intellectual life under fascism.
