Transnational Ashkenaz: Yiddish culture after the Holocaust

After the Holocaust’s near complete destruction of European Yiddish cultural centres, the Yiddish language was largely viewed as a remnant of the past, tragically eradicated in its prime. This article reveals that, on the contrary, for two and a half decades following the Holocaust Yiddish culture w...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jan Schwarz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Donner Institute 2016-04-01
Series:Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journal.fi/scripta/article/view/66575
Description
Summary:After the Holocaust’s near complete destruction of European Yiddish cultural centres, the Yiddish language was largely viewed as a remnant of the past, tragically eradicated in its prime. This article reveals that, on the contrary, for two and a half decades following the Holocaust Yiddish culture was in dynamic flux. Yiddish writers and cultural organisations maintained a staggering level of activity in fostering publications and performances, collecting archival and historical materials, and launching young literary talents. This article provides a cultural historical map of a Yiddish transnational network that derived its unity from the common purpose of commemorating and bearing witness to the destruction of the Jewish heartland in Central and Eastern Europe.
ISSN:0582-3226
2343-4937