HOFSTEIN, DAVID

HOFSTEIN, DAVID
HOFSTEIN, DAVID (1889–1952), Yiddish poet. Born in the Ukraine, he had a traditional Jewish education and began to write in Yiddish, Hebrew, Russian, and Ukrainian. However, after the 1917 Revolution he wrote only in Yiddish, contributing to various publications. He was coeditor of the Moscow journal Shtrom, the last organ of free Jewish expression in Russia. The Communist Revolution of 1917 aroused Hofstein's enthusiasm. The poems in which he acclaimed the achievements of the Revolution established his popularity as one of the Kiev triumvirate of Yiddish poets, along with leib kvitko and perez markish . His elegies for Jewish communities devastated by counterrevolutionary pogromists appeared in 1922,   with illustrations by Marc Chagall. Exercising his newfound freedom, in 1924 he protested the banning of Hebrew and the persecution of Hebrew writers, but discovered that his protest made him suspect. He therefore left Russia, immigrating first to Germany and from there in 1925 to Palestine. In Palestine he wrote both in Hebrew and Yiddish. In 1924–25 he published in Yiddish the dramatic poem "Sha'ul – Der Letster Meylekh fun Yisroel" ("Shaul – the Last King of Israel") and an expressionistic drama Meshiekhs Tsaytn ("Messianic Times"). He returned to Kiev in 1926, where he soon found himself compelled to follow the Communist Party line faithfully, to praise Soviet achievements, and to describe Birobidzhan as the Promised Land where Jewish genius would flourish. His works there evidence the conflict between his sorrow over the disintegration of Jewish society and his pride in the salvation offered by the Soviet regime. When, in 1948, Israel came into existence with the support of the U.S.S.R., Hofstein hailed the new state with genuine enthusiasm; but, with the change in the Soviet attitude toward Israel, he was arrested and transported to Moscow, where the secret police fabricated the "conspiracy of the jewish anti-fascist committee ." He was shot on August 12, 1952, together with other leaders of the committee, including his fellow writers dovid bergelson , perez markish , leib kvitko , and itsik fefer . After the death of Stalin, Hofstein was rehabilitated as a victim of Stalinist repression. His selected works, which had appeared shortly before his arrest in 1948, reappeared in a Russian translation in 1958. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Rejzen, Leksikon, 1 (1926), 778–82; LNYL, 3 (1960), 59–62; S. Niger, Yidishe Shrayber in Sovyet Rusland (1958), 49–55; E.H. Jeshurin, Dovid Hofsteyn, Izi Kharik, Itsik Fefer: Bibliografye (1962). ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: D. Hofstein, Lider un Poemes (1977); Ch. Shmeruk (ed.), A Shpigl oyf a Shteyn (1987), 221-75, 741-4; G. Estraikh, In Harness (2005), index. (Sol Liptzin / Gennady Estraikh (2nd ed.)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • David Hofstein — (Yiddish: דוד האָפשטיין Dovid Hofshteyn, Russian: Давид Гофштейн; 1889 August 12, 1952) was a Yiddish poet. He was born in Ukraine, Russian Empire and received a traditional Jewish education; his application to the Kiev University was declined.… …   Wikipedia

  • David Hofstein — David Naumowitsch Hofstein (russisch Давид Наумович Гофштейн; * 25. Julijul./ 6. August 1889greg. in Korostischew, Gouvernement Kiew; † 12. August 1952 in Moskau) war ein russischer Schriftsteller. Er gilt als einer der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Hofstein — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: David Hofstein (auch: Dawid Hofstein oder Dovid Hofstein oder Hofshteyn; 1889–1952), jiddischer Schriftsteller Israel Hofstein, Maggid (Wanderprediger) von Kozienice Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • BERGELSON, DAVID — (1884–1952), Russian Yiddish writer. Born in Okhrimovo (Sarna), near Uman, in the Ukraine, Bergelson was the son of a pious Talner ḥasid and prominent lumber and grain merchant, who died when Bergelson was only nine; his mother died five years… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • YIDDISH LITERATURE — This articles is arranged according to the following outline: introduction UNTIL THE END OF THE 18TH CENTURY the bible in yiddish literature epic homiletic prose drama liturgy ethical literature Historical Songs and Writings transcriptions of… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Nuit des poètes assassinés — Pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, des intellectuels juifs soviétiques, le plus souvent d expression yiddish avaient formé le Comité juif antifasciste à partir de 1942. L objectif du comité était de diffuser de la propagande prosoviétique à des… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Blues — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Blues (homonymie). Blues Origines stylistiques Musique acoustique Musique folk Chant de travail Gospel Origines culturelles …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Le blues — Blues Pour les articles homonymes, voir Blues (homonymie). Blues Origines stylistiques Musique country …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Malakhovka, Moscow Oblast — Malakhovka (English) Малаховка (Russian)   Urban type settlement …   Wikipedia

  • ḤASIDISM — ḤASIDISM, a popular religious movement giving rise to a pattern of communal life and leadership as well as a particular social outlook which emerged in Judaism and Jewry in the second half of the 18th century. Ecstasy, mass enthusiasm, close knit …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”