Handbook of Polish, Czech, and Slovak Holocaust Fiction

Works and Contexts

Elisa-Maria Hiemer, Jiří Holý, Agata Firlej, Hana Nichtburgerová, Elisa-Maria Hiemer, Agata Firlej, Hana Nichtburgerová, Jiří Holý

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9783110671056
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: European Literary Criticism
• Index: History

The Handbook of Polish, Czech, and Slovak Holocaust Fiction aims to increase the visibility and show the versatility of works from East-Central European countries. It is the first encyclopedic work to bridge the gap between the literary production of countries that are considered to be main sites of the Holocaust and their recognition in international academic and public discourse. It contains over 100 entries offering not only facts about the content and motifs but also pointing out the characteristic fictional features of each work and its meaning for academic discourse and wider reception in the country of origin and abroad.

The publication will appeal to the academic and broader public interested in the representation of the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, and World War II in literature and the arts. Besides prose, it also considers poetry and theatrical plays from 1943 through 2018. An introduction to the historical events and cultural developments in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Czech, and Slovak Republic, and their impact on the artistic output helps to contextualise the motif changes and fictional strategies that authors have been applying for decades.

The publication is the result of long-term scholarly cooperation of specialists from four countries and several dozen academic centres.

Table of contents

• Content
• List of Entries
• Introduction
• Entries
• The Abandoned Doll (Opuštěná panenka)
• And God Saw That It Was Bad (I viděl bůh, že je to špatné)
• Annihilation (Zaglada)
• At Home with the Hitlers. The Hitlers’ Kitchen (Doma u Hitlerů. Hitlerovic kuchyň)
• The Beautiful Mrs Seidenman (Początek)
• The Black Seasons (Czarne sezony)
• A Black Solstice (Čierny slnovrat)
• Black Torrent (Czarny potok)
• The Black Tree’s Memory (Černá paměť stromu)
• The Boarding House (Pensjonat)
• Boundary Marker (Kamień graniczny)
• A Box of Lives (Krabice živch)
• Bread for the Departed (Chleb rzucony umarlym)
• A Christmas Legend from the Ghetto (Vánoční legenda z ghetta)
• The Clerical Republic (Farská republika)
• Colors (Barvy)
• Concert on the Island (Koncert na ostrově)
• Confession (Spowiedź)
• The Court Jesters (Dvorní šašci)
• The Cremator (Spalovač mrtvol)
• Crow Songs (Vraní zpěvy)
• The Day of Wrath (Dzień gniewu)
• Death Is Called Engelchen (Smrť sa volá Engelchen)
• Death of a Liberal (Śmierć liberała)
• The Death of the Beautiful Deer (Smrt krásných srnců)
• The Devil’s Workshop (Chladnou zemí)
• Diamonds of the Night (Démanty noci)
• Diary of Love (Pamiętnik miłości)
• Doctor Josef’s Beauty (Ślicznotka doktora Josefa)
• Doctor Mráz (Doktor Mráz)
• The Earth Under Your Feet (Zem pod nohami)
• Elegy for 77,297 Victims (Žalozpěv za 77 297 obětí)
• Elegy for the Little Jewish Towns (Elegia miasteczek żydowskich)
• The Elephants in Mauthausen (Slony v Mauthausene)
• Emma and the Death’s Head Hawkmoth (Ema a Smrtihlav)
• The Empty Field (Puste pole)
• The Escape from Yasnaya Polyana (Ucieczka z Jasnej Polany) and Shakespeare (Szekspir)
• An Excursion to the Museum (Wycieczka do muzeum)
• A Farewell to Maria (Pożegnanie z Marią)
• The Final Station (Umschlagplatz)
• The Flytrap Factory (Fabryka mucholapek)
• The Fourth Language (Štvrtá reč)
• Frascati: An Apotheosis of Topography (Frascati. Apoteoza topografii)
• From the Abyss: Memories from the Camp (Z otchlani: Wspomnienia z lagru)
• God’s Horse (Koń Pana Boga)
• Hannah (Hana)
• The Holocaust (Holokaust)
• Holy Week: A Novel of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (Wielki Tydzień)
• A Human Matter (Rzecz ludzka)
• I Didn’t Want to Be a Jew (Nechcel som byť žid)
• It Happened on the First September (or Whenever) (Stalo sa prvého septembra [alebo inokedy])
• Italian High Heels (Wloskie szpilki)
• The Jewish War and The Victory (Żydowska wojna, Zwycięstwo)
• The Land of Forgetting (Krajina zabudnutia)
• The Land without God (Země bez Boha)
• The Last Cyclist (Poslední cyklista)
• The Last Thing (Posledná vec)
• Lessons in Love and Dancing (Hodina tance a lásky)
• Life with a Star (Život s hvězdou)
• The Lilies of Erika (Erikine ľalie)
• Lily of the Valley: Rudolf Dilong’s Forbidden Love (Konvália: Zakázaná láska Rudolfa Dilonga)
• The Liver of Prometheus (Prometheova játra)
• Medallions (Medaliony)
• The Menorah (Sedmiramenn svícen)
• Miracle in the Darkhouse (Zázrak v černém domě)
• Modern Nativity Play (Jaselka-moderne)
• Money from Hitler (Peníze od Hitlera)
• More Gas, Comrades! (Więcej gazu, Kameraden!)
• The Most Important Particle (Ta najważniejsza cząsteczka)
• Mr Theodore Mundstock (Pan Theodor Mundstock)
• Night of the Living Jews (Noc żywych Żydów)
• The Old Man and Fate (Star pán a osud)
• Our Class: XIV Lessons from History (Nasza klasa: historia w XIV lekcjach)
• The Peasant (Sedliak)
• A Pending Matter (Nevybavená záležitosť)
• The Pianist (Śmierć miasta)
• A Piece about Mother and Fatherland (Utwór o Matce i Ojczyźnie)
• Plague in Athens (Mor v Athénách)
• Pocket Atlas of Women (Kieszonkowy atlas kobiet)
• Postscriptum (Postscriptum)
• A Prayer for Katerina Horovitzova (Modlitba pro Kateřinu Horovitzovou)
• A Private Conversation (Soukrom rozhovor)
• Proofs of Existence (Dowody na istnienie)
• A Reading of Ashes (Odczytanie popiolów)
• Romeo and Juliet and the Darkness (Romeo, Julie a tma)
• Samson (Samson)
• A Scrap of Time (Skrawek czasu)
• Selected Poetry (Poezje wybrane)
• Selected Poetry (Poezje wybrane)
• Selected Poetry (Wiersze wybrane)
• The Shop on Main Street (Obchod na korze)
• Sidra Noach (Sidra Noach)
• The Sixth Battalion, On Guard! (Šiesty prápor, na stráž!)
• Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Spolek pro ochranu zvířat)
• The Song Will Survive… An Anthology of Poems About Jews Under the German Occupation (Pieśń ujdzie cało... Antologia wierszy o Żydach pod okupacją niemiecką)
• The Sound of the Sundial (Zvuk slunečních hodin)
• St. Elizabeth’s Square (Námestie svätej Alžbety)
• The Stein Brothers Are in Town (Ve městě jsou bratři Steinové)
• The Subtenant (Sublokatorka)
• The Suitcase (Walizka)
• Sweet Theresienstadt (Sladk Theresienstadt)
• The Terezín Requiem (Terezínské Rekviem)
• There Used to Be a Jewish Women, There Is No More Jewish Woman Now (Była Żydówka, nie ma Żydówki)
• Trap with a Green Fence (Treblinka, slovo jak z dětské říkanky)
• Tumult (Rejwach)
• Tworki (Tworki)
• We, Polish Jews (My, Żydzi polscy)
• What I Read to the Dead (Co czytalem umarlym)
• White Elephants (O bílch slonech)
• Without Beauty, without a Collar (Bez krásy, bez límce)
• The Woman Rabbi (Rabínka)
• The Wrecked Temple in Me (Vo mne zbúran chrám)
• Detailed Overview
• Contributors
• Index of Names
• Index of Topics, Motifs, Images, Places, and Devices