Encyclopedia of Holocaust Literature David Patterson Alan L. Berger Sarita Cargas Editors Oryx Press Encyclopedia of Holocaust Literature Edited by David Patterson, Alan L. Berger, and Sarita Cargas Oryx Holocaust Series Oryx Press Westport, Connecticut • London 4 • The rare Arabian Oryx is believed to have inspired the myth of the unicorn. This desert antelope became virtually extinct in the early 1960s. At that time, several groups of international conservationists arranged to have nine animals sent to the Phoenix Zoo to be the nucleus of a captive breeding herd. Today, the Oryx population is over 1,000, and over 500 have been returned to the Middle East. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Encyclopedia of Holocaust literature / edited by David Patterson, Alan L. Berger and Sarita Cargas. p. cm.—(Oryx Holocaust series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1–57356–257–2 (alk. paper) 1. Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945), in literature—Encyclopedias. 2. Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945)—Personal narratives—Encyclopedias. 3. Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945)—Biography. I. Patterson, David. II. Berger, Alan L., 1939– III. Cargas, Sarita. IV. Series. PN56.H55 E53 2002 809'.93358—dc21 2001036639 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2002 by David Patterson, Alan L. Berger, and Sarita Cargas All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2001036639 ISBN: 1–57356–257–2 First published in 2002 Oryx Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.oryxpress.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 • 5 Dedicated, with deepest gratitude, to the memory of one of the world’s most revered scholars of Holocaust literature, Harry James Cargas, whose inspiration led to the creation of this volume. Introduction • vii Contents Preface ...................................................................................................................... ix Introduction............................................................................................................. xiii Encyclopedia of Holocaust Literature ....................................................................... 1 Appendix 1: Authors by Date of Birth................................................................... 225 Appendix 2: Authors by Country of Birth ............................................................. 227 Appendix 3: Authors by Birth Name ..................................................................... 229 Bibliography of Primary Works of Holocaust Literature ...................................... 231 Bibliography of Critical Studies of Holocaust Literature ...................................... 247 Index ...................................................................................................................... 253 Contributors ........................................................................................................... 261 viii • Introduction Introduction • ix Preface Organization and Aim of the Encyclopedia of Holocaust Literature The thread running through the distinctive characteristics of the genres of Holo- caust literature (which are outlined in the Introduction to this volume) is a motif of personal testimony to the dearness of humanity. Invariably underlying the novels, diaries, and dramas is an individual’s struggle to return to life, meaning, and identity. Because the lives of the authors in this volume are so central to Holocaust literature, the encyclopedia is organized by authors. The entries are not organized according to topics; rather, they are organized according to lives lived in a testimony to life. The body of primary and secondary texts in Holocaust literature is vast and steadily growing. While this encyclopedia is generally intended for an English- speaking audience, Holocaust literature is written in all the languages of Euro- pean Jewry, and many outstanding works have yet to be translated into English. To simplify the selection of authors for inclusion in the limited space available here, second-generation authors are excluded. A second-generation literature is emerging in its own right—a literature with its own defining features which are fundamentally different from those in this encyclopedia of Holocaust literature. All the authors selected for this volume survived the Holocaust, perished in the Holocaust, or were otherwise closely connected to the Holocaust; nearly all of them—some notable exceptions are Tadeusz Borowski and Charlotte Delbo— are Jewish. Authors who have merely incorporated the Holocaust theme into a work—such as William Styron, Thomas Keneally, and Sylvia Plath—and who have no other direct link to the Holocaust are not included. Furthermore, all 128 authors included in this volume have had their works examined in one or more critical editions dealing with Holocaust literature. Finally, an asterisk following a name denotes a cross-reference. (A list of book-length studies of Holocaust literature can be found in the Bibliography of Critical Studies of Holocaust Lit- erature at the end of this volume.) Using these guidelines, we consulted several Holocaust scholars for their advice on entries for the encyclopedia. Even with such guidelines, however, the selection of authors for inclusion in an encyclopedia of Holocaust literature poses a number of difficulties. While the aim of the encyclopedia is to include works on the basis of their excellence and influence, arguments concerning which are x • Preface Introduction the best or most influential are unavoidable. One may ask, for example, why Abel Jacob Herzberg and not Stanislaw Adler? Or why Kitty Hart and not Eu- gene Kogon? Once all the factors have been weighed, the answers to such ques- tions lie as much in the interests and expertise of the contributors as in the qual- ity of the literature; such is the reality constituting any encyclopedia. This reality limits the scope of the encyclopedia, but it does not preclude the pursuit of the project. To provide readers with information both on texts included in this vol- ume and on other works of Holocaust literature, we have included a comprehen- sive list of primary works in the Bibliography of Primary Works of Holocaust Literature at the end of the encyclopedia. While variations in the lives and works of the Holocaust authors listed in this volume have led to some variation in the organization of specific entries, all the entries answer the same basic questions about the author and his or her work: What is the nature of the author’s literary response to the Holocaust? What is his or her place in Holocaust literature? What does the author’s work contribute to an understanding of the Holocaust? What is distinctive about the author’s work? What are some key moments in the author’s life? What issues does the author’s work pose for the reader? To address these questions in a coherent manner, the entries are generally organized into three primary divisions: (1) an opening sec- tion on why the author’s work has a significant or distinctive place in Holocaust literature, (2) a second section containing information on the author’s biogra- phy, and (3) a critical examination of the highlights of the author’s work. In most cases, the third section of the entry will be the longest, since the focus of the encyclopedia is the literature, not the author; of course, these categories overlap somewhat. The encyclopedia also includes three appendixes. Appendix 1 lists authors by date of birth to allow readers to acquire quickly a chronological sense of the people and works discussed in this volume. Appendix 2 lists authors by country of birth. Due to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires after World War I and the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the birthplaces of many authors are today in a different country, but this appendix will give readers a sense of the geographic and cultural background of the people included in this book. Finally, for authors listed under their more well-known pen names, Ap- pendix 3 provides users with birth names. The differences that distinguish Holocaust literature, however, call for a dif- ferent critical approach to its study. As the work of witnesses, Holocaust litera- ture transforms its reader into a witness—one cannot engage it without being implicated by it. If Holocaust literature transforms any reader into a witness, such a transformation is no less powerful for the scholars who have written these entries. In exploring a literature that responds to the slaughter of a people, the contributors do not always maintain the cold detachment that is characteristic of other reference works. We believe this sense of urgency on the part of the con- tributors is a distinctive feature of the volume, one that conveys something of what Holocaust literature is all about. In encountering a literary text that emerges from the Holocaust, one encounters the cry of a human soul; such a text is never merely a text. The contributors, therefore, have done more than engage in an IntroductionPreface • xi academic exercise—they have met a responsibility. With the variations that one would expect, the contributors’ writing styles may at times reflect a