Born Kurt Erich Suckert in 1898, the man who would adopt the nom de plume Malaparte—meaning the evil or wrong side—carved an erratic path through the twentieth century. From his early adherence to fascism to his post-war embrace of communism, he functioned as a journalist, soldier, and chronicler of European collapse across Italy, France, and the Eastern Front.
Political Evolution and Exile
Though he joined the National Fascist Party in 1922, Malaparte maintained an independent streak that eventually alienated him from Mussolini. His political insights, notably articulated in the 1931 French-language text Technique du coup d’Etat, argued that state seizure was a technical task rather than a purely political one. This analytical detachment, combined with critical writings on Hitler, led to the loss of his party membership in 1933 and subsequent internal exile on the island of Lipari until 1938.
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Malaparte’s experience as a war correspondent for Corriere della Sera on the Ukrainian front provided the foundation for his most enduring literary works. Kaputt, published in 1944, and The Skin, released in 1949, offer semi-fictionalized accounts of the Second World War. The former captured the moral decay of the conflict, while the latter focused on the post-war state of Naples, a work so controversial it was placed on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum.
Architectural and Cinematic Legacy
Between 1938 and 1941, while oscillating between arrests in Rome’s Regina Coeli jail, Malaparte collaborated with architect Adalberto Libera to construct his residence on the Isle of Capri. Known as the Casa Malaparte, this structure on Capo Massullo later served as a backdrop for the film Le Mépris. In his final years, he transitioned toward filmmaking and reportedly sought affiliation with both the Italian Communist Party and the Catholic Church before his death in Rome in 1957.
Fast facts
- Born: 1898, Prato
- Died: 1957, Rome
- Original name: Kurt Erich Suckert
- Education: Sapienza University of Rome; Convitto Nazionale Cicognini
- Key works: Kaputt (1944), The Skin (1949)
- Awards: War Cross for Military Valour
- Citizenship: Kingdom of Italy; Italy
Questions readers ask
Why did he change his name from Suckert to Malaparte?
He adopted the surname in 1925 as a play on the name Bonaparte, changing 'good side' to 'evil or wrong side'.
Was he a consistent supporter of Italian fascism?
No, despite early support, he had a complex relationship with the party, was stripped of his membership in 1933, and endured multiple arrests and periods of exile under Mussolini's regime.
