Status
Available
Publication
Mariner Books (1998)
Description
In Shtetl (Yiddish for "small town"), critically-acclaimed author Eva Hoffman brings the lost world of Eastern European Jews back to vivid life, depicting its complex institutions and vibrant culture, its beliefs, social distinctions, and customs. Through the small town of Brafsk, she looks at the fascinating experiments in multicultural coexistence--still relevant to us today-- attempted in the eight centuries of Polish-Jewish history, and describes the forces which influenced Christian villagers' decisions to conceal or betray their Jewish neighbors in the dark period of the Holocaust.
User reviews
LibraryThing member rondoctor
Good short history of the culture of the shtetl.
LibraryThing member jonfaith
Jake Pfau selected this book on samizdat and then never posted again. Forgive my snark, but it sucks being him. This book inspired some decent discussions and was appreciated by all. You still suck, Jake.
LibraryThing member SeriousGrace
Inspired by a documentary Hoffman saw on Frontline, this is the biography of Bransk, a Polish town that no longer exists thanks to the thoroughness of the Nazis under Russian rule. One of the most difficult segments to read was the recounting of young Bransk boys conscripted into the Russian army.
As an aside, I am afraid of cult figures and the power they can wield over seemingly intelligent people. I was surprised to learn of a man in the 1750s by the name of Jakub Frank who claimed he was the Messiah. He wanted to rule all of Poland and had a strong sexual appetite for young girls and orgies.
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They were religiously converted away from their birthright and upon returning home, shunned by their own people. As an aside, I am afraid of cult figures and the power they can wield over seemingly intelligent people. I was surprised to learn of a man in the 1750s by the name of Jakub Frank who claimed he was the Messiah. He wanted to rule all of Poland and had a strong sexual appetite for young girls and orgies.
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LibraryThing member Matke
Hoffman has written an in-depth look at the history of one Shtetl, Bransk, in eastern Poland. She covers hundreds of years, from the earliest settlement to the destruction of Bransk I during the Holocaust.
Hoffman is mostly even-handed yet doesn’t gloss over the centuries of abuse and cruelty
Highly recommended, not least for its look at how mindless hatred and political manipulation can cause unspeakable tragedies.
Hoffman is mostly even-handed yet doesn’t gloss over the centuries of abuse and cruelty
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toward the Jews of Bransk and Poland in general. This is a very difficult book to read but it’s a valuable addition to Holocaust literature and to tooth Jewish and Polish history. The author saw a documentary about Bransk and was so interested that she followed it up with much in-person research. Highly recommended, not least for its look at how mindless hatred and political manipulation can cause unspeakable tragedies.
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Subjects
Language
Original language
English
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