Lévy, Paul

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LÉVY, PAUL

LÉVY, PAUL (1887–1962), French linguist and historian. Lévy, who was born in Alsace, became a specialist on the linguistic history of Alsace and Lorraine and taught at the Lycée Kléber in Strasbourg. From 1933 he taught at the Lycée Rollin (later Jacques Ducour) in Paris. During the German occupation of France in World War ii he refused an offer of exceptional reinstatement in his post. After the war, Lévy directed the investigation of the secret archives of the Third Reich. Among his major works were Histoire linguistique d'Alsace et de Lorraine (1929), La Langue allemande en France (1950–52), and Les Noms des Israélites en France (1960).

[Irwin L. Merker]