Laurent Schwartz came from a Jewish family of Alsatian origin, with a strong scientific background: his father was a well-known surgeon, his uncle Robert Debré (who contributed to the creation of UNICEF) was a famous pediatrician, and his great-uncle-in-law, Jacques Hadamard, was a famous mathematician.

Marie-Hélène was gifted in mathematics as well, as she contributed to the geometry of singular analytic spaces and taught at the University of Lille.

As a man of Trotskyist affinities and Jewish descent, life was difficult for Schwartz during World War II.

He was both an influential researcher and teacher, with students such as Bernard Malgrange, Jacques-Louis Lions, François Bruhat and Alexander Grothendieck.

In 1950 at the International Congress of Mathematicians, Schwartz was a plenary speaker[2] and was awarded the Fields Medal for his work on distributions.

Because of his sympathy for Trotskyism, Schwartz encountered serious problems trying to enter the United States to receive the medal; however, he was ultimately successful.

Throughout his life, Schwartz actively worked to promote science and bring it closer to the general audience.

As a young socialist influenced by Leon Trotsky, Schwartz opposed the totalitarianism of the Soviet Union, particularly under Joseph Stalin.