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Abraham Sutzkever

From the internet;
Splinters of Eternity: The Poetry of Abraham Sutzkever

http://yiddishbookcenter.org/story.php?n=10028

by Ruth Wisse Abraham Sutzkever is a great poet with great belief in
the powers of poetry. Born in Smorgon in 1913, he came of age in the
neighboring city of Vilna, when its Jewish youth was pioneering a
modern Yiddish culture in the newly independent Poland. Sutzkever was
a child of his time: he joined the Jewish scout organization, played
soccer, hiked in the forests. Fatherless since early childhood, he
experienced both the independence and the economic hardship of a
one-parent family. Like quite a number of his friends and neighbors,
he began to write poetry at an early age. But while most of his
contemporaries in the local writers' and artists' group Yung Vilne
considered art an instrument of social and political struggle,
Sutzkever looked for the immutable power within poetry that transcends
the changeable human order. "Do not love grey time," he writes in one
poem of 1940, and in another, laying claim to all the splendors that
his roaming eye can behold, "in everything/ I come upon a splinter/ of
eternity."

This faith in the transcendent potential of poetry acquired magnified
importance when the Germans occupied Vilna in June 1941 and began to
annihilate its Jewish population. Forced with his wife, his mother,
and his fellow Jews into the constricting ghetto, Sutzkever claimed
for the poet ever greater moral and aesthetic powers.

In this small lyric of 24 lines in all, the poet explores the artistic
paradox of motion in stasis. Based on the actual experience of hiding
-- in a coffin! -- during a German aktion, the poem joins the speaker
imaginatively to the infant Moses in his bark and to a sister who died
and is thus truly interred. Song issues from the tomb; from a small
and narrow poem sounds a resonant faith. Sutzkever's ghetto poetry
discovers di groyskayt fun kleynkayt, the immensity of value in such a
homely act as warming one's icy hands over a pile of horse manure, the
intimation of freedom and beauty when a butterfly penetrates a bunker
of hunted children. The poet resists the degradation being imposed on
him not only through his ability to keep writing poetry, but by making
aesthetic resistance the subject of his verse.

Sutzkever's poetry of and about the period of destruction made him
famous throughout the Yiddish-speaking world. When a partisan courier
brought his poems to Moscow in the winter of 1943, a special plane was
dispatched to an air strip near the Narocz forests to airlift
Sutzkever with his wife, who had escaped with a group of ghetto
fighters, to the Soviet Union as a symbol of the Jewish resistance to
fascism. Some of his poems of the ghetto, such as "Teacher Mira" and
"On the Death of Yankev Gershteyn" commemorate its inspiring cultural
personalities. The lyric "Under Your White Stars" -- a modern de
profundis -- was set to music and sung as a ghetto hymn.

The enormity of the history to which he bore witness inspired
Sutzkever to write epic poems as well as lyrics. The narrative poem
Geheymshtot (Secret Town, 1945-47), in several hundred stanzas of
amphibrach tetrameter, depicts a symbolic ten survivors who hide in
the sewers beneath Vilna. The epic poem Gaystike Erd (Spiritual Soil)
commemorates the arrival of Sutzkever with his wife and infant
daughter in Eretz Yisrael aboard the ship Patria. In each work, a
constellation of dramatic personages represents the human and
ideological variety of Jews who share a common fate -- the crucible of
destruction in the one case, and the reclamation of national
sovereignty in the other.

Sutzkever's ripest and most remarkable works are the reflective lyrics
of his later years, collected under the title Poems of a Diary. Just
as the title yokes the everyday prosiness of the diary to the
heightened occasion of the formal poem, so, too, the lyrics unite
contrarieties, fusing all that is normally divided. "A funeral by day,
a concert by night/ to attend both is my fate." This opening line
introduces a series of such pairings from light and shadow to woman
and man, each augmenting the theme that opposites must unite because
there can no longer be innocence without experience. Another poem
demonstrates that "distance nears," bringing the end within sight of
the beginning, compressing and cancelling out the separation between
life and death. When the poet receives a letter from his homeland with
an enclosed blade of grass from the beautiful woods of Ponar -- the
place of trysting that the Germans turned into the major killing field
of Vilna Jewry -- he turns it into the baton of a symphonic offering
to the Lord and Master of the universe. Sutzkever uses rhyme to
actualize these themes, creating an ultimate harmony, an immutable
form for mutability.

Perhaps more than any other modern Jewish writer, Sutzkever has lived
the life of the romantic poet-hero. He was at the center of the Jewish
national tragedy in Europe, and in Israel on the eve of Jewish
national rebirth. He took great risks in rescuing Jewish cultural
treasures from Vilna and was the witness for Jewry at the Nuremberg
trials of Nazi war criminals. But he accords the highest value to
poetry in the way that the psalmist serves God through song. Without
direct use of religious language, his poetry translates the inherited
faith of his ancestors into the personal perception of the
extraordinary in the ordinary.

Ruth Wisse is Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature and
Professor of Comparative Literature at Harvard University. Her most
recent books on literature are The Modern Jewish Canon and I. L.
Peretz and the Making of Modern Jewish Culture.


Abraham Sutzkever at 90: Yiddish Poet Extraordinaire
(Nov 7, 2003)
http://www.cjh.org/about/Forward/view_Forward.cfm?Forwardid=15

by Dr. Kenneth Libo Ph.D and Michael Skakun
Made possible by a generous grant from the Smart Family Foundation.

Literature at its best is a defiance of destiny, a protest against
oblivion. In the face of history's brutal logic, it offers the
irresistible magic of dreams. Nowhere perhaps is this more poignantly
evident than in Yiddish poetry, the late flower of European culture,
which blossomed in the imperishable verse of Abraham Sutzkever, who
turns ninety this year.A virtuoso of poetic meter, rhyme and rhythm,
Sutzkever has been called the "Ariel of Yiddish literature," whose
voice, a mix of utter refinement and complexity, rises above the
bloody crossroads of history. In "Vi Azoy?" he writes of "…black
shrieks/ where shards of days shudder in spasm/ in a bottomless,
roofless chasm…" As a Holocaust survivor, Sutzkever recounts the
quintessential Jewish pilgrimage in the twentieth century from
annihilation to renewal. The current YIVO-sponsored exhibit at the
Center for Jewish History reveals the trajectory of his extraordinary
life. A descendant of renowned rabbinic and Hasidic figures, Sutzkever
is a child of the twentieth century. His birth in 1913 in Smorgon,
Poland nearly coincides with the outbreak of World War I. Early on he
came to know displacement and dispossession. He and his family fled
Vilna when he was an infant for the "relative safety" of Siberia. His
kinship with nature was so powerful that in "Siberia," a book of poems
illustrated by Marc Chagall, he invests the grimness of space with
inimitable beauty.In 1920, after his father died in Siberia of heart
failure at the age of 30, the Sutzkevers returned to Vilna where
Abraham received a traditional Jewish education. He came of age as a
member of Yung Vilne (Young Vilna), an aspiring group of Yiddish
writers who like himself were to leave an indelible impression on
interwar Polish Jewish culture. Sutzkever raised the standard of
aesthetic perfection and avant-garde modernism, which often irked his
contemporaries. However, in time, Sutzkever's genius won out. His
unorthodox rhymes and verbal effects caught the attention of New
York-based Yiddish poet Aaron Glanz Layeles, the leader of the In
Zikhisten (Introspectivists) who sought to fuse form and content,
feeling and rationality. They invited him to become a regular
contributor to the landmark Yiddish journal, "In Zikh." Sutzkever's
first book, "Lider" (Songs) appeared in 1937 to wide critical acclaim.
In 1940 he published his second volume of poems "Valdeks" (Forest), a
hymn to nature, further solidifying his reputation.The Nazis invaded
the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 and two days later occupied Vilna.
Imprisoned in the Vilna Ghetto, Sutzkever risked his life to smuggle
hundreds of rare books and manuscripts housed in YIVO, located at the
time in Vilna. In the midst of tragedy, he continued to write poems of
classical meter and perfect rhyme, hurling their beauty against the
unspeakable barbarity of the Nazis. Here is an example from a poem
focusing on Vilna's Rom printing press famed for its classical
editions of the Babylonian Talmud:Like fingers stretched out through
the bars in the nightTo catch the free light of the air that is
shed—We sneak in the dark to grab up, as in spite,The Rom printing
plates, with old wisdom inbred.We dreamers now have to be soldiers and
fightAnd melt into bullets the soul of the lead.Sutzkever joined the
Vilna Ghetto underground, smuggled weapons and taught Yiddish poetry.
On September 12, 1943, he escaped the Vilna Ghetto and joined a
partisan fighters unit. Surviving the most vicious of Nazi
anti-guerilla offensives, he took refuge in the forest and the
freezing waters of Lake Narocz. In 1944 he was airlifted out of the
forests to Moscow where he inspired Dovid Bergelson and Peretz
Markish, who later fell victim to Stalin. Meanwhile, Ilya Ehrenberg
compared his work to a Greek tragedy and Boris Pasternak translated
his poetry into Russian. Miraculously, Sutzkever retrieved the
cultural treasures he had buried in Vilna and succeeded in sending
them to New York where they constitute an integral part of Yoyo's
archival holdings.In 1947, Sutzkever arrived in British-occupied
Palestine as part of the brioche, the Zionist illegal immigration. In
1948, he founded the leading Yiddish journal, "Die Golden Key" (The
Golden Chain), which put literary Yiddish back on the map, a not
inconsiderable feat in Israel where a hostile atmosphere made matelote
unwelcome. Even in the midst of revival, Sutzkever continued to write
imperishable verses about the vanished world of Vilna in such
collections as "Yiddishe Gas" (Jewish Street) and "Geheymshtot"
(Secret City).Sutzkever at 90 is perhaps the last of a line of great
Yiddish writers beginning in the nineteenth century with Mendele
Mokher Sforim, Sholom Aleichem and Yehuda Leib Peretz. Though his
literary forebears are hardly strangers to tragedy and suffering,
Sutzkever's experience of cataclysm and genocide – he is a man for
whom "rivers of blood" are not a metaphor -- surpasses anything they
could have ever imagined. That Sutzkever responds with lyricism laced
with lamentation to what he has witnessed serve as timely and eloquent
proof of the incontestable power of literature as resistance and
transcendence.

-------------
The poet Abraham Sutskever holds conversations with his parents
through his writing. They talk to him and he to them. By writing about
them and listening to what they have to say he finds continued
guidance. In one of his poems he writes about his mother's death at
the hands of the Nazis during the Vilna massacre. He imagines rushing
into her room after her death and finding her torn nightshirt.
Sutskever says that he threw off his clothes and climbed into her open
shirt. "It's no longer a shirt but your bright skin/ it's your cold,
surviving mortality."

But after he had taken on her skin, she speaks to him. She tells him
not to do it. "It's a sin, a sin./ Accept our separation/ as just."

What is this sin? It is giving up his own life, to take on his mother'
s for her sake. She tells him, "If you remain/ I will still be alive/
as the pit of the plum/ contains in itself the tree,/ the nest and the
bird/ and all else besides."

The sentiment of the poem is correct. For Sutskever to take up his
mother's life would compound the tragedy. If he wants to honor her, it
is enough for him to live. It is that which ensures her immortality.
Life is complete and each life is unique. To give up life, to deny
one's own specialness is to commit a sin.

She tells him that the seed contains the flower, the acorn the tree.
She will remain alive because he exists. His very existence attests to
hers. In this way her presence is real and eternal. And in this way
her son continues to talk to her.
http://www.aeu.org/loveis/chap03.html

Yad vashem reports for other Sutzkevers
Suckower, Abraham
Abraham Suckower was born in Kremenchug, Ukraine in 1922 to Nakhum
and Malka. He was a tractor driver and single. Prior to WWII he lived
in Smorgon, Poland. Abraham perished in 1941 near Polock, Belorussia (
lost while trying to escape the Germans. This information is based on
a Page of Testimony (displayed on left) submitted on 27/12/1956 by his
sister Chaia Sara Lutz of Petach Tikva
Suckower Mojsze
Mojsze Suckower was born in Smorgon, Poland in 1913 to Malka. He was
a tanner and married. Prior to WWII he lived in Smorgon, Poland.
During the war was in Smorgon, Poland. Mojsze perished in 1944 in
Lublin, Poland. This information is based on a Page of Testimony
(displayed on left) submitted on 01/01/1957 by his sister Chaia Sara
Lutz of Petach Tikva

Suckower Itka
Itka Suckower was born in Smargon, Poland in 1915 to Yisrael and
Pnina. She was married to Moshe. Prior to WWII she lived in Smorgon,
Poland. During the war was in Smorgon, Poland. Itka perished in 1943
in Wilna, Poland. This information is based on a Page of Testimony
(displayed on left) submitted on 27/12/1956 by her sister-in-law Chaia
Sara Lutz of Petach Tikva
--------------
Suckiver Itke
Itke Suckiver nee Shemesh was born in Smorgonie, Poland in 1915 to
Yisrael and Perel. She was married and had a little child. Prior to
WWII she lived in Smorgonie, Poland. During the war was in Oszmiana,
Poland. Itke perished in Ponary with son; Nachum age 3. This
information is based on a Page of Testimony (displayed on left)
submitted on 15/07/1955 by her sister Miryam' husband; Avraham Gelman
of Chedera.

Suckewer Raja
Raja Suckewer was born in Wilno, Poland in 1914 to Herzl and
Nekhama. She was a clerk and single. Prior to WWII she lived in Wilno,
Poland. During the war was in Woronow, Poland. Raja perished in 1942
in Woronow, Poland. This information is based on a Page of Testimony
(displayed on left) submitted on 03/09/1956 by her brother, Eliezer
Suckewer, a Shoah survivor. Address; Hibat Zion Street # 10 - Ramat
Gan
----------
Suckewer Yafa
Yafa Suckewer was born in Dewenishki, Poland in 1906 to Eliahu and
Sima. She was a housewife and married to Eliezer. Prior to WWII she
lived in Dzwiniszki, Poland. During the war was in Ejszyszki, Poland.
Yafa perished in 1941 in Ejszyszki, Poland with children; Herzl age 11
and Sima age 4. This information is based on a Page of Testimony
(displayed on left) submitted on 03/09/1956 by her husband, Eliezer
Suckewer, a Shoah survivor. Address; Hibat Zion Street # 10 - Ramat
Gan
----------------
Chodosz Fruma nee Sutzkever
Fruma Chodosz was born in Smorgon, Poland in 1909 to Moshe and
Sheina. She was a housewife and married. Prior to WWII she lived in
Smorgon, Poland. During the war was in Smorgon, Poland. She perished
in 1942 in Kurenets, Poland with her 3 children; . Chaia age 16, Chaia
age 13 and Sara age 8s based on a Page of Testimony ) submitted on
20/11/1955 by her relative Miryam Dialko of Kfar Saba.

--------
Sutzkever Isaak
Isaak Sutzkever was born in Wilno, Poland in 1888 to Maxim. He was a
widowed. Prior to WWII he lived in Moskva, Russia. During the war was
in Army, Ussr. Isaak perished in 1941 in Moskva, Russia at the age of
53. This information is based on a Page of Testimony (displayed on
left) submitted by his niece in Russia; Irma Abramovitz
Sutzkever Aleksander
Aleksander Sutzkever was born in Moskva, Russia in 1920 to Isaak and
Rakhel. He was a student and single. Prior to WWII he lived in Moskva,
Russia. During the war was in Moskva, Russia. Aleksander perished in
1941 in Moskva, Russia at the age of 21. This information is based on
a Page of Testimony (displayed on left) submitted by his cousin. More
Details...

----------------------------------
Sockower Beila nee Weisbord
Beila Sockower was born in Lebiedziewo, Poland in 1920 To Itka and
Feyve. She was a seamstress and married to Yosef. Prior to WWII she
lived in Smorgon, Poland. During the war was in Smorgon, Poland. Beila
perished in Lebiedziew, Poland. This information is based on a Page of
Testimony (displayed on left) submitted on 10/02/1957 by her sister ;
Miryam Chositza of Kfar Saba.

Suckewer Rhaja
Rhaja Suckewer was born in Wilno, Poland. Prior to WWII she lived in
Dziewieniszki, Poland. During the war was in Dziewieniszki, Poland.
Rhaja perished in Lida, Poland at the age of 35. This information is
based on a Page of Testimony (displayed on left) submitted by her
friend Dalbinski from Holon

Sutzkover Sheina
Sheina Sutzkover was born in Divenishok, Poland in 1900 to Eliahu
and Sima. She was a housewife and married. Prior to WWII she lived in
Divenishok, Poland. During the war was in Divenishok, Poland. Sheina
perished in the Shoah. This information is based on a Page of
Testimony (displayed on left) submitted on 20/08/1998 by her niece.
Dvora Fridman of Givataim

Sutzkover Yehudit
Yehudit Sutzkover nee Shemesh was born to Yisrael and Perel. She was
married. Prior to WWII she lived in Smorgon, Poland. During the war
was in Smorgon, Poland. Yehudit perished in Poland. This information
is based on a Page of Testimony (displayed on left) submitted on
28/08/1999 by her nephew from Israel Reuven Shemesh of Chedera ( there
is a phone number)
Khasia nee Sutzkover. She was married to Unknown. Prior to WWII she
lived in Oszmiana, Poland. Khasia perished in the Shoah. This
information is based on a list of victims from Yizkor books found in
the Oshmana Memorial Book (Hebrew, Yiddish, English), Tel Aviv 1969
page 551
Chayka Sutzkever was born in Wilno, Poland in 1917. Prior to WWII she
lived in Antokolski Street, Wilno, Poland and was a member of Hashomer
Hatzair. During the war was in Wilno, Poland at Same. She perished in
1942 in Ponary at the age of 25. This information is based on a Page
of Testimony (displayed on left) submitted on 14/04/1999 by her boy
friend from Israel, a Shoah survivor; Baraz of beer Sheva

Goder Chasha
Chasha Goder nee Sutzkover was born in Wilno, Poland to Joseph and
Fanny. During the war was in Minsk, Belorussia. Chasha perished in the
Shoah. This information is based on a Page of Testimony (displayed on
left) submitted by her great niece from United states Ilene Unterman
Zimmer of New York

Cyrulnik Erma nee Sutzkever
Erma Cyrulnik was born in Wilna, Poland in 1910. She was married.
During the war was in Smorgon, Poland. Erma perished in 1943 in the
Shoah with daughter; Sima age 16. This information is based on a Page
of Testimony (displayed on left) submitted on 01/01/1955 by her
relative Miryam Pialko Kfar Saba
Sutzkover Veisbrod Itka
Itka Veisbrod was born in Lebedowa, Poland in 1895 to Khaim. She was
married to Faive. Prior to WWII she lived in Lebedowa, Poland. During
the war was in Lebedowa, Poland. Itka perished in 1942 in Lebedowa,
Poland at the age of 47. This information is based on a Page of
Testimony ( submitted on 01/01/1994 by her daughter Miryam Chositza of
Kfar Saba.
Kucher Sheina
Sheina Kucher nee Sutzkover was born in Wilno, Poland in 1848 to
Zalman and Rivka ( Bonimovitz). She was a housewife and married to
Hirsh. Prior to WWII she lived in Wilno, Poland. Sheina perished in
1942 in Wilno at the age of 80. This information is based on a Page of
Testimony (displayed on left) submitted on 02/05/1999 by her
granddaughter, a Shoah survivor Sonia Sara Kucher Yechieli from Tel
Aviv ( nachmani 3)
Sutzkover Shmuel
Shmuel Sutzkover was born in 1905. He was a worker and married to
Chaia. Prior to WWII he lived in Minsk, Belorussia. During the war was
in Minsk, Belorussia. Shmuel perished in 1943 in the Shoah at the age
of 38. This information is based on a Page of Testimony (displayed on
left) submitted by his sister in law Sofia Gurevitz
Sutzkover Chaia
Chaia Sutzkover nee Barkan was born in 1908 to Samuil and Chernya. She
was a worker and married to David. Prior to WWII she lived in Minsk,
Belorussia. During the war was in Minsk, Belorussia. She perished in
1943 in the Shoah at the age of 35. This information is based on a
Page of Testimony (displayed on left) submitted by her sister. Sofia
Gurevitz

Sutzkover Mere
Mere Sutzkover was born in Minsk, Belorussia in 1934 to Samuil and
Chaia. She was a pupil and a child. Prior to WWII she lived in Minsk,
Belorussia. During the war was in Minsk, Belorussia. Mere perished in
1943 in Minsk, Belorussia at the age of 9. This information is based
on a Page of Testimony (displayed on left) submitted by her aunt.
Sofia Gurevitz
Sutzkover Rakhil
Rakhil Sutzkover was born in Minsk, Belorussia in 1925 to Samuil.
She was a pupil and married. Prior to WWII she lived in Minsk,
Belorussia. During the war was in Minsk, Belorussia. Rakhil perished
in 1943 in Minsk, Belorussia at the age of 18. This information is
based on a Page of Testimony (displayed on left) submitted by her
aunt. Sofia Gurevitz
Sutzkover Khaim
Khaim Sutzkover was born in Minsk, Belorussia in 1934 to Samuil. He
was a pupil and a child. Prior to WWII he lived in Minsk, Belorussia.
During the war was in Minsk, Belorussia. Khaim perished in 1943 in
Minsk, Belorussia at the age of 9. This information is based on a Page
of Testimony (displayed on left) submitted by his aunt Sofia Gurevitz
Sutzkover Volf
Volf Sutzkover was born in Minsk, Belorussia in 1890. He was a
ritual slaughterer and married to Sara. Prior to WWII he lived in
Borisov, Belorussia. During the war was in Borisov, Belorussia. Volf
perished in 1941 in Borisov, Belorussia at the age of 51. This
information is based on a Page of Testimony (displayed on left)
submitted on 01/01/1995 by his nephew
Submitter's Last Name GENKIN
Submitter's First Name GRIGORI
Sutzkover Sara
Sara Sutzkover nee Gurevich was born in Minsk, Belorussia in 1904 to
Yuda. She was a housewife and married to Vulf. Prior to WWII she lived
in Borisov, Belorussia. During the war was in Borisov, Belorussia.
Sara perished in 1941 in Borisov, Belorussia at the age of 37. This
information is based on a Page of Testimony (displayed on left)
submitted on 01/01/1995 by her nephew
Submitter's Last Name GENKIN
Submitter's First Name GRIGORI

 

Sutzkever Yakov
Yakov Sutzkever was born in 1909 to Yefrem and Tzilya. He was an
architect and single. Prior to WWII he lived in Moskva, Russia. During
the war was in Moskva, Russia. Yakov perished in 1942 in Belaya
Tserkov, Ukraine. This information is based on a Page of Testimony
(displayed on left) submitted on 25/07/1998 by his niece Vorobeichik
Rozaliya

Suzkenwer Jacob

Jacob Suzkenwer was born in Echaroki in 1892. Jacob perished in the
Shoah. This information is based on a list of deportation from France
found in the Le Memorial de la deportation des juifs de france, Beate
et Serge Klarsfeld, Paris 1978. More

-------------

On September last year I made an inquiry about SUTZKEVER from Smorgon
to the Lithuanian State Historical Archives asking them to assist me
to built the family tree.
The LVIA informed me they " keep the vital records of the Lithuanian
Jewish communities dating up to 1940 if the documents were not
destroyed during wars and fires.
In Tsarist period (till 1918) Smorgon was a place in the Oszmiany
district of
former Vilno gubernia (Vilnius province). Now it is a place in Grodno
province, Belarus.Our archive has not received any vital records of
Smorgon Jewish Community for keeping." Smorgon was destroyed in 1915.
"The archive keeps the Revision lists and some other lists for the
different years of the first part of the 19 Th century for families
registered in Smorgon Jewish Community" I ordered those. It will take
at least a year and half.

Avraham SUTZKEVER a partisan, a well known Yiddish poet and the younger
brother of my father Moshe SAVIR SUCKEVER z"l lives in Tel Aviv.We are
all part of this family what ever spelling is used.

Ester DE PAZ

SUTZKEVER from Smorgon
FINBERG from Michaliskes
GITELMAN and GIZUNTERMAN from Tereblicz

An artist's rendition of Avraham Sutzkever during his testimony at the Nuernberg trial.
Avraham Sutzkever and Shmerke Kaczerginski, members of the Jewish underground in the Vilnius ghetto.
The author and poet Avraham Sutzkever