Yiddish and the Creation of Soviet Jewish Culture: 1918-1930

Description

Yiddish and the Creation of Soviet Jewish Culture gives voice to the activists empowered by the state to create a Soviet Jewish national culture. These activists were striving for a national revolution to create a new culture for Jews to identify as Jews on new, secular, Soviet terms. This book explores the ways in which Jews were part of, not apart from, both the Soviet system and Jewish history. Soviet Jewish culture worked within contemporary Jewish national and cultural trends and simultaneously participated in the larger project of propagating the Soviet state and ideology. Soviet Jewish activists were not nationalists or Soviets, but both at once. David Shneer addresses some of the painful truths about Jews' own implication and imbrication in the Soviet system and inserts their role in twentieth-century Jewish culture into the narrative of Jewish history.

"...enlightening and...enjoyable." American Historical Review "...an important contribution...moves beyond many of the stereotypically conventional ways historians have portrayed Soviet Jewish intellectuals in the past...well-documented study." Mark L. von Hagen, Columbia University "Shneer's masterful account of Soviet nationalities policy and Yiddish language politics sets the stage for his discussion of how activists like Esther Frumkina, Moshe Litvakov, and Semen Dimanshteyn promoted Yiddish as Soviet policy." Russian Review, Sean Martin, Cleveland, Ohio "[an] astute and comprehensive study" Journal of Modern History Abraham Brumberg, Chevy Chase, Marlyand "This book is a welcome addition to the literature on Jews in eastern Europe. It will appeal to readers in the fields of Russian, Jewish and cultural studies. It could also interest people delving into the cultural aspects of the Jewish past." - Allan Laine Kagedan, Carleton University