Shtetl: The Life and Death of a Small Town and the World of Polish Jews - Softcover

Hoffman, Eva

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0395924871 ISBN 13: 9780395924877

Publisher: Mariner Books, 1998

Synopsis

An unforgettable evocation of the lost world of Polish Jewry, Shtetl is a "beautifully written" (Village Voice) mining of the deep rifts in Polish-Jewish relations in the small town of Bransk. With understanding and sensitivity, Shtetl limns the culture that influenced Christian villagers' decisions to conceal or betray Jewish neighbors when the Nazis invaded. A New York Times Notable Book.

About this title

Review:

Relations between Jews and Poles were troubled even before World War II began, writes Eva Hoffman in this powerful memoir of life under Nazi occupation. Dealings between the groups were no easier with the arrival of a common enemy, who exploited longstanding anti-Semitism to destroy the inhabitants of both city and shtetl, the rural Eastern European small town that stood as "the site of the Jewish soul." This extraordinary account of cultures in conflict has led to much discussion--even controversy--in Europe. Hoffman's vigorously defended view of Poland's role in the Holocaust will doubtless generate debate elsewhere.

About the Author:

Eva Hoffman is the author of Lost in Translation and Exit into History: A Journey Through the New Eastern Europe. Born in Cracow, Poland, she lived in the United States for many years and now lives in London.

About this edition

• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0395924871
• ISBN 13: 9780395924877
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272