THE DEVELOPMENT OF YIDDISH LITERATURE IN ODESSA IN THE 1920S – 1930S
THE DEVELOPMENT OF YIDDISH LITERATURE IN ODESSA IN THE 1920S – 1930S

Summary/Abstract: Soviet literature in Yiddish contributed to the education of the Jewish population of the Ukrainian SSR. The Yiddish literature supported the socialist education of Jewish workers. The education of Jewish workers needed literature in Yiddish to combat religious, nationalist and Zionist prejudices. At the same time, it contributed to an atheistic and internationalist worldview. Odessa Jewish writers in Yiddish found a certain freedom of expression in their expression of patriotic feelings, life-affirming lyric poetry, descriptions of their historical past and faith in a better future. Through such creative themes, Odessa Yiddish writers turned successful. Until the end of the 1930s, many of their works often followed the spirit of «socialist realism», while partially reflecting the reality. At present, these works document that period. Soviet Jewish Literature in Yiddish in the 1920s-1930s experienced a revival, yet many writers associated with this period either stopped writing during the Stalinist terror of the 1930s, died in World War II, or became victims of post-war repression. After that, many of them were under the control of the Communist Party and could only work along the «socialist realism». With few exceptions, some of them emigrated to other countries. This paper presents the most remarkable writers in Odessa during this decade; in order to provide this overview, I have used periodicals, archival sources and various scholarly contributions.

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