René de Obaldia

René de Obaldia (22 October 1918 – 27 January 2022) was a French playwright and poet. He was elected to the Académie française on 24 June 1999. He was the great-grandson of José Domingo de Obaldía, the second President of Panama. He grew up in Paris, studying at the Lycée Condorcet before being mobilised for the army in 1940. Taken prisoner, he was sent to Stalag VIII-C (in Sagan). He was then sent to the lighter making area in Kransdyhernfurt on 26 June 1940, then to a commando at Auras an der Oder to clear a forest. Even in the worst moments of this ordeal, he kept his special sense of humour. He was repatriated in 1944.