1915 Diary of S. An-sky
A Russian Jewish Writer at the Eastern Front
Reeks: Encounters: Explorations in Folklore and Ethnomusicology
S. A. An-Sky
- The
- WWI
- diary
- of
- the
- Russian
- Jewish
- activist
- and
- author
- of
- The
- Dybbuk
- presents
- “an
- unforgettable
- portrait
- of
- life,
- culture,
- and
- destruction”
- (Eugene
- Avrutin,
- author
- of
- Jews
- and
- the
- Imperial
- State).By
- the
- outbreak
- of
- World
- War
- I,
- S.
- An-sky
- was
- a
- well-known
- writer,
- a
- longtime
- revolutionary,
- and
- an
- ethnographer
- who
- pioneered
- the
- collection
- of
- Jewish
- folklore
- in
- Russia's
- Pale
- of
- Settlement.
- In
- 1915,
- An-sky
- took
- on
- the
- assignment
- of
- providing
- aid
- and
- relief
- to
- Jewish
- civilians
- trapped
- under
- Russian
- military
- occupation
- in
- Galicia.
- As
- he
- made
- his
- way
- through
- the
- shtetls
- there,
- close
- to
- the
- Austrian
- frontlines,
- he
- kept
- a
- diary
- of
- his
- encounters
- and
- impressions.In
- his
- diary,
- An-sky
- describes
- conversations
- with
- wounded
- soldiers
- in
- hospitals,
- fellow
- Russian
- and
- Jewish
- aid
- workers,
- and
- Jewish
- civilians
- living
- on
- the
- Eastern
- Front.
- He
- recorded
- the
- brutality
- and
- violence
- against
- the
- civilian
- population,
- the
- complexities
- of
- interethnic
- relations,
- the
- practices
- and
- limitations
- of
- philanthropy
- and
- medical
- care,
- Russification
- policies,
- and
- antisemitism.
- In
- the
- late
- 1910s,
- An-sky
- used
- his
- diaries
- as
- raw
- material
- for
- a
- lengthy
- memoir
- in
- Yiddish,
- published
- under
- the
- title
- The
- Destruction
- of
- Galicia.Although
- most
- of
- An-sky’s
- original
- diaries
- were
- lost,
- two
- fragments
- are
- preserved
- in
- the
- Russian
- State
- Archive
- of
- Literature
- and
- Art.
- Translated
- and
- annotated
- here
- by
- Polly
- Zavadivker,
- these
- fragments
- convey
- An-sky's
- vivid
- perceptions
- and
- enlightening insights.
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