{"id":3227,"date":"2020-05-01T13:51:59","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T13:51:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/?p=3227"},"modified":"2024-06-04T18:20:07","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T18:20:07","slug":"yiddish-wall-newspapers-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/2020\/05\/01\/yiddish-wall-newspapers-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Yiddish Wall Newspapers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yiddish Wall Newspapers<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201cWall newspapers\u201d\u2014large, hand-lettered or typed newsletters posted in a shared communal space\u2014have their roots in Soviet propaganda. Among the rich historical resources available through the Center for Jewish History\u2019s digital collections are wall newspapers that form a portion of YIVO\u2019s Displaced Persons Camps and Centers Poster Collection<\/a>, RG 294.6. Created in the aftermath of World War II, these fragile documents provide a vivid glimpse into Jewish life in the DP camps. Friends of YIVO groups and other individuals collected these unique materials in order to preserve this history.<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the DP camp experience, these wall newspapers provide insights into the ongoing influence of the rich Soviet Jewish culture that had developed since the days of the Russian Civil War (1917-22) and was still operative in the camps.<\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span> That Soviet Jewish culture should be so influential among the DP camp\u2019s Jewish refugees might seem surprising, as most of them came from places that, at least until WWII, lay outside the Soviet Union. For example, in Italy, where many of the YIVO DP camp wall newspapers originate, refugees came from Poland, Romania, and other East European and Baltic countries.<\/span>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>To make sense of the DP camp wall newspapers, it helps to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>look<\/span><\/span>\u00a0at their Soviet\u00a0<\/span><\/span>precursors.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Editors of the ORT textile cooperative ‘wall newspaper.’ Courtesy of YIVO.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Model: Soviet Wall Newspapers<\/h3>\n

As this photograph (front and back) of the proud editors of an ORT textile cooperative\u2019s wall newspaper attests,<\/span>4<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0Soviet wall newspapers were more than just an expediency for lean times. They were organizing tools for any and every communal effort. In a 1901 essay Lenin remarked, \u201cThe newspaper is not only a collective propagandist and collective agitator, it is also a collective organizer.\u201d<\/span>5<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>By the time of the 13th Party Congress in 1924, the wall newspaper was officially embraced as a major tool for integrating \u201cthe masses\u201d into the Marxist-Leninist social and political project.<\/span>6<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Courtesy of YIVO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In conjunction with the widespread institutionalization of wall newspapers came the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>organiz<\/span><\/span>ation of the \u201cworker-peasant correspondents\u2019 movement\u201d;\u00a0<\/span><\/span>that is, the factory workers, collective farmers, students, etc., who would create the wall newspapers for\u00a0<\/span><\/span>their communit<\/span><\/span>y<\/span><\/span>\u00a0based on\u00a0<\/span><\/span>its members\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/span>input.<\/span><\/span><\/span>7<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0 In the Soviet context, worker-peasant correspondents\u2019 reports helped to police, as well as give voice to their\u00a0<\/span><\/span>communities.<\/span><\/span><\/span>8<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0Every sort of Soviet community was organized by this powerful, if not always pleasant, combination of means. The ability of these correspondents and their humble papers to both <\/span><\/span>create and shape community has led at least one scholar to suggest that far from \u201c<\/span><\/span>an inferior, ephemeral, and amateur part of the history of print<\/span><\/span>,\u201d they might more properly be\u00a0<\/span><\/span>considered<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u201c<\/span><\/span>a central, communist contribution to the global long media history of user-generated content.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span>9<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Members of the Belorussian State Yiddish Theater in ‘In poylish af der keyt.’ Courtesy of YIVO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Soviet Yiddish<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Cultural<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Influence\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Soviet Yiddish culture\u00a0played a major role in the international Yiddish world. Kalman Weiser\u00a0notes\u00a0that the well-traveled Yiddish writer\u00a0Dovid\u00a0Bergelson,\u00a0\u201cin his 1926 essay\u00a0\u2018Three\u00a0Centers,\u2019\u00a0[.\u00a0.\u00a0.]\u00a0argued that only in the progressive USSR did Yiddish literature and culture have opportunities for broader development.\u201d<\/span>10<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0T<\/span><\/span>his was no isolated feeling.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>According to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Gennady\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Estraikh<\/span><\/span><\/a>,\u00a0\u201cIn the 1920s and 1930s, many \u2018pure\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Yiddishists<\/span><\/span>\u00a0moved over to the Communist camp. [\u00a0<\/span><\/span>. . . ]<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Soviet Communism\u2019s international character and initial, unprecedented support of Yiddish cultur<\/span><\/span><\/span>e convinced many people that the Soviet Union and pro-Soviet circles in other countries.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>11<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0But<\/span><\/span>\u00a0more than\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the refugees\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/span>intimate familiarity with Soviet Jewish culture, these wall newspapers demonstrate the refugees\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/span>repurposing of that framework in order to begin anew.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1947 Milan<\/span><\/span>(<\/span><\/span>?<\/span><\/span>)<\/span><\/span>\u00a0DP Camp Wall Newspaper\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u05d1\u05de\u05e2\u05d1\u05e8<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\/\u00a0<\/span><\/span>B\u2019Ma\u2019avar<\/span><\/span>\u00a0(\u201cin transit\u201d)<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"\"<\/a>
B’Ma’avar Wall Newspaper. Courtesy of YIVO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T<\/span><\/span>he<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Yiddish\u00a0<\/span><\/span>wall newspaper\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u05d1\u05de\u05e2\u05d1\u05e8<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\/<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>B\u2019Ma\u2019avar<\/span><\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>(\u201cin transit\u201d) (see additional issues here<\/a>,\u00a0here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here)<\/a>\u00a0provides an example of both the Soviet framework and its repurposing<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span>12<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0Created in an Italian DP camp<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>probably in Milan,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>it\u00a0<\/span><\/span>was<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>handwritten on strips of lined paper pasted onto\u00a0<\/span><\/span>printed\u00a0<\/span><\/span>newsp<\/span><\/span>aper<\/span><\/span>\u00a0from abroad. Photographs and drawings clipped from\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a variety of<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Yiddish publications\u00a0<\/span><\/span>illustrate each issue. A plea for camp residents to contribute articles, criticisms<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and remarks concerning camp life, signed by the editorial board, appears towards the bottom of each issue. The editors, Abraham and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Shlomo<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Gutman, themselves authors of most articles<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0provide an address that indicates that they<\/span><\/span>, too, resided in\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the camp.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There is nothing resembling a nameplate; the paper<\/span><\/span>\u2019s name<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/span>B<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>M<\/span><\/span>a\u2019avar<\/span><\/span><\/em>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0is buried in articles and notices that reference the paper as such. What is more, the issues are undated. Approximate<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>dates can be deduced: the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>six issues held by YIVO date from ca. late July\/early August 1947 (ITA.322) through 9 November<\/span><\/span>\u00a0(ITA 326)<\/span><\/span>\u00a0of the same year.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>While issues may be\u00a0<\/span><\/span>missing, t<\/span><\/span>h<\/span><\/span>is<\/span><\/span>\u00a0frequency\u2014once or twice a month\u2014is typical for wall newspapers which,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>as here<\/span><\/span>, are unique items handmade by members of the community for which they\u00a0<\/span><\/span>were<\/span><\/span>\u00a0created.<\/span><\/span><\/span>13<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0T<\/span><\/span>he inexpensive and recycled materials that went into this\u00a0<\/span><\/span>paper\u00a0<\/span><\/span>surely reflect camp conditions.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>T<\/span><\/span>hey are also typical of wall newspapers since their inception<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>during the Russian Civil War: paper shortages helped inspire the wall newspaper as a format, and such shortages remained a chronic problem for the Soviet publishing industry.<\/span><\/span><\/span>14<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0Abraham and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Shlomo<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Gutman<\/span><\/span>, evidently familiar with the potential of t<\/span><\/span>he wall newspaper medium<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>created one<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to help and guide, as well as inform, their DP community<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, t<\/span><\/span>he\u00a0<\/span>Gutman<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>\u00a0wall newspaper rejects Soviet\u00a0<\/span><\/span>objectives<\/span><\/span>, including\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Soviet efforts to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>eliminat<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Jewish religious practice,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>abolish<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Zionism, and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>eliminate<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>modern\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Hebrew<\/span><\/span>\u00a0from the USSR<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>even in<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the<\/span><\/span>\u00a0orthography of Yiddish words of Hebrew\u00a0<\/span><\/span>derivation<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>An issue\u00a0<\/span><\/span>of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>B\u2019Ma\u2019avar<\/span><\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>from mid-September 1947\u00a0<\/span><\/span>demonstrates the reversal of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Soviet<\/span><\/span>\u00a0priorities: it\u00a0<\/span><\/span>leads with an article about Rosh Hashanah<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and Yom Kippur<\/span><\/span>, holiday<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>then\u00a0<\/span><\/span>taking place<\/span><\/span>; it includes multiple references to emigration to Israel<\/span><\/span>; the paper\u2019s name is Hebrew<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and, next to a map of Israel clipped from a Yiddish newspaper<\/span><\/span>\u00a0appears\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the slogan<\/span><\/span>, in Hebrew,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u201cthe land of Israel for the people of Israel!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>The\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Zionist goals that underpin\u00a0<\/span><\/span>this, and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>all issues<\/span><\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>B\u2019Ma\u2019avar<\/span><\/span><\/em>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>would have been<\/span><\/span>\u00a0shared\u00a0<\/span><\/span>by many in the Barletta camp; DP camps throughout Italy were filled with refugees seeking emigrat<\/span><\/span>ion<\/span><\/span>\u00a0to Palestine.<\/span><\/span><\/span>15<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Polish\u00a0<\/span><\/span>E<\/span><\/span>dition of a Yiddish\u00a0<\/span><\/span>W<\/span><\/span>all\u00a0<\/span><\/span>N<\/span><\/span>ewspaper<\/span><\/span>, DP\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Camp Barletta<\/span><\/span>\u00a0(<\/span><\/span>undated<\/span><\/span>)<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Wall Newspaper from Camp Barletta\u00a0 Courtesy of YIVO.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Like\u00a0<\/span><\/span>B\u2019Ma\u2019avar<\/span><\/span><\/em>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0m<\/span><\/span>ost DP camp wall newspapers display<\/span><\/span>\u00a0great interest in user-generated content but<\/span><\/span>\u00a0little interest in layout<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>lettering<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>or graphic<\/span><\/span>\u00a0design<\/span><\/span>. One that aimed somewhat higher\u00a0<\/span><\/span>was created in Camp Barletta<\/span><\/span>, in southeastern Italy<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span>16<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0YIVO only holds one issue. Although written in Polish, a notice informs the reader that the original version was in Yiddish; this translation was made to ensure accessibility to everyone. Where a nameplate might be expected there is a notice, in purple ink, of a competition \u201cfor the most beautiful title for our magazine,\u201d with prizes of chocolate or cigarettes. The columns of text are given prominent headings and pasted onto strips of blue-green paper. While there are no illustrations, a call for caricatures\u00a0<\/span><\/span>suggests<\/span><\/span>\u00a0that the next issue might include imagery. Whether a second issue appeared, however, is unknown.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the Soviet Union, p<\/span><\/span>amphlets\u00a0<\/span><\/span>on creating<\/span><\/span>\u00a0your own wall newspaper<\/span><\/span>\u00a0provided\u00a0<\/span><\/span>meticulous<\/span><\/span>\u00a0guidelines<\/span><\/span>\u00a0for both ensuring\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Communist\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Party approval and fostering communal participation<\/span><\/span>. A naming competition<\/span><\/span>\u00a0such as that held by the Camp Barletta<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>wall newspaper\u00a0<\/span><\/span>was one technique recommended for enhancing\u00a0<\/span><\/span>engagement<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span>17<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0Soviet-style wall newspapers were as significant in Soviet Yiddish communities as in any other Soviet linguistic community.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u201cShul un\u00a0<\/span><\/span>bukh<\/span><\/span>,\u201d a publishing house\u00a0<\/span><\/span>that coordinated Yiddish publishing throughout the Soviet Union,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>founded by\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Emes<\/span><\/span>\u2019s<\/span><\/span>\u00a0editor,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Moyshe<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Litvakov<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>produced its own<\/span><\/span>, Yiddish,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0version<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>\u00a0of wall newspaper manual<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span>18<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0One such\u00a0<\/span><\/span>emphasized that \u201cnot less than 10 per cent of the paper should be taken up by pictures and another 10 per cent by the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>humour<\/span><\/span>\u00a0section.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span>19<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0In short, a premium was\u00a0<\/span><\/span>placed on visual entertainment. While\u00a0<\/span><\/span>B\u2019Ma\u2019avar<\/span><\/span><\/em>\u00a0and the Camp Barletta wall\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>newspapers may have been limited in this respect, the children in the Cremona DP camp devoted their\u00a0<\/span><\/span>charming\u00a0<\/span><\/span>wall newspaper,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u05e9\u05e4\u05bc\u05d9\u05dc\u05e7\u05e2\u05e1<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\/<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Shpilkes<\/span><\/span><\/em>\u00a0(Pins), entirely to cartoons and caricatures.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>20<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Shpilkes. Courtesy of YIVO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Conservation<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

We are fortunate that many issues of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Shpilkes<\/span><\/span><\/em>, as well as\u00a0<\/span><\/span>B\u2019Ma\u2019ava<\/em>r<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and other DP camp wall newspapers<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>not only\u00a0<\/span><\/span>survive in YIVO\u2019s collections\u00a0<\/span><\/span>but<\/span><\/span>\u00a0also, thanks to funds provided by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0have been\u00a0<\/span><\/span>digitized<\/span><\/span>\u00a0for public access<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>The fragility of wall newspapers\u00a0<\/span><\/span>has been regretted<\/span><\/span>\u00a0at least\u00a0<\/span><\/span>since<\/span><\/span>\u00a01925, when A.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Lobovskii<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>wrote<\/span><\/span>\u00a0that\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u201cwall newspapers are very difficult to preserve. Almost always, after being taken down after a certain amount of time, they are destroyed.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span>21<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0Jennifer\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Sainato<\/span><\/span>, Preservation Services Manager for the Center for Jewish History, notes that \u201cwall newspapers are a perfect example of a term often used in the field of Preservation\/Conservation: inherent vice. Inherent vice is the tendency of material to deteriorate due to its own intrinsic characteristics.\u201d The multiple layers of acidic paper\u00a0<\/span><\/span>from which these wall newspapers have been created,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>held together with glue that is itself acidic and shrinks with age, would not survive well in the best of circumstances. Their original use, hanging on a\u00a0<\/span><\/span>more or less exposed<\/span><\/span>\u00a0wall or bulletin board, has sped up their deterioration. While\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Jennifer\u00a0<\/span><\/span>has stabilized and mended tears and losses on YIVO\u2019s wall newspapers,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0she tells us that<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u201cthe embrittlement and discoloration cannot be reversed or stopped<\/span><\/span>. . .<\/span><\/span>The only solution is to digitally capture the collection and then close the originals to research, allowing the papers to embrace the sweet release of oblivion.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wall Newspapers from\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Birobidzhan<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Currently, th<\/span><\/span>e Edward Blank YIVO Vilna Online Collections<\/a> project\u00a0is engaged in\u00a0preserving and\u00a0digitizing\u00a0the entirety of YIVO\u2019s surviving prewar library and archival collections. These include newly preserved and documented\u00a0wall newspapers\u00a0(nos.\u00a012-81 and 83-92)\u00a0created as supplements\u00a0to the\u00a0Yiddish\u00a0newspaper, Birobidzhaner Shtern<\/span><\/em>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>22<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0The<\/span><\/span>y<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>dat<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span>\u00a0to<\/span><\/span>\u00a01933,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a key moment in the history\u00a0<\/span><\/span>of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Birobidzhan<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>23<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span>D<\/span><\/span>esignated a<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Jewish homeland<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in 1928<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>this territory in the Sovie<\/span><\/span>t Far East<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>wo<\/span><\/span>uld be\u00a0<\/span><\/span>declared\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a Jewish Autonomous Region, with Yid<\/span><\/span>dish its official language, in 1934<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>when it reached it<\/span><\/span>s brie<\/span><\/span>f peak as a Jew<\/span><\/span>ish\u00a0<\/span><\/span>land (1934-36)<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>24<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0A large-format camera allowed the Center for Jewish History\u2019s Senior Photographer, Gloria\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Machnowski<\/span><\/span>, to digitize these oversized materials with a minimum resolution of 400dpi; partial images have been stitched together using photoshop in post-production.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Founded October\u00a0<\/span><\/span>30,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>1930,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0the<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Birobidzhaner Shtern<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em>had\u00a0<\/span><\/span>quickly gained\u00a0<\/span><\/span>popularity<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span>25<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0On October\u00a0<\/span><\/span>3,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>1932<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0its new editor,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Henekh<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Kazakevich<\/span><\/span>, recently arrived from\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Kharkiv<\/span><\/span>\u00a0(where he had served as editor of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Royte<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Velt<\/span><\/span>),<\/span><\/span><\/span>26<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0along with his friend, the writer\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Dovid<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Bergelson<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>27<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0visiting from Berlin, would join in celebrating the newspaper\u2019s hundredth issue.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>28<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0We eagerly<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>anticipate<\/span><\/span>\u00a0the opportunity<\/span><\/span>\u00a0to view<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>paper\u2019<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>\u00a0little-studied<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>wall\u00a0<\/span><\/span>new<\/span><\/span>spaper suppl<\/span><\/span>ements<\/span><\/span>, which<\/span><\/span>\u00a0would appear to have<\/span><\/span>\u00a0been\u00a0<\/span><\/span>created\u00a0<\/span><\/span>on\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Kazakevi<\/span><\/span>c<\/span><\/span>h\u2019s<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>initiative<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and, accordi<\/span><\/span>ng\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to Nikolai\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Borodu<\/span><\/span><\/a>lin,\u00a0contain\u00a0“more critical materials than\u00a0the official\u00a0Birobidzhaner<\/span>\u00a0Shtern<\/em>.<\/span><\/span><\/span>29<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0They<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>represent both an important moment in Soviet Jewish culture and a medium, the wall newspaper, that would find traction far beyond the borders of the Soviet Union<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeanne-Marie Musto<\/a>, Independent Scholar<\/h4>\n

Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yiddish Wall Newspapers \u201cWall newspapers\u201d\u2014large, hand-lettered or typed newsletters posted in a shared communal space\u2014have their roots in Soviet propaganda. Among the rich historical resources available through the Center for Jewish History\u2019s digital collections are wall newspapers that form a portion of YIVO\u2019s Displaced Persons Camps and Centers Poster Collection, RG 294.6. Created in the aftermath of World War II, these fragile documents provide…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10,1241,9,50,841,31],"class_list":["post-3227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-post","tag-center-for-jewish-history","tag-from-the-partners-collections","tag-jewish-history","tag-yiddish","tag-yiddish-culture","tag-yivo-institute-for-jewish-research-collections"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3227"}],"version-history":[{"count":122,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4418,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3227\/revisions\/4418"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cjh.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}