Born in
Przemyśl, a Polish city under
Austro-Hungarian rule, Rosenfeld moved to
Germany with his family in 1912. He attended the
Humboldt University of Berlin, where he studied philosophy under
Nicolai Hartmann and
Eduard Spranger,
aesthetics under
Max Dessoir, and literary theory under
Julius Petersen, as well as
history and
German literature. In 1936, fleeing
nazism, he arrived in Brazil, where he initially worked as a
farmer and a
peddler, later becoming a prolific essayist, with a focus on
German literature. Besides giving private courses on philosophy and literature, Rosenfeld also taught at the
University of São Paulo. Many of his lectures were transcribed and posthumously published as books. He was called a
civilizing hero by
Antonio Candido. == Works ==