Chava Rosenfarb, a Yiddish writer, was born a century ago in a world that is now lost. In the year 1923, Lodz was home to the second-largest Jewish community in Poland, consisting of about 250,000 Jews, which made up more than a third of the city’s population. This community was diverse, comprising entrepreneurs, unionists, Zionists, socialists, rich and poor individuals, religious and secular people, politicians, artists, and writers. However, the Nazi occupation during the Holocaust destroyed everything. Today, only a few hundred Jews remain in Lodz, and Yiddish, the language Rosenfarb used to write her celebrated works, is a mere memory.
Nevertheless, on the centennial of her birth, the city of Lodz is honoring Rosenfarb with various programs and an international conference scheduled for October. Her works are being translated from Yiddish to Polish, and her complete selection of short stories has been published in English for the first time. These stories depict the lives of Holocaust survivors in Canada, where Rosenfarb settled after surviving the Lodz Ghetto, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen until her death in 2011. It seems that Rosenfarb herself is experiencing a literary afterlife.
Joanna Podolska, the director of the Marek Edelman Dialogue Center, which is organizing the centennial, stated that Rosenfarb wrote more about Lodz than any other Polish writer. However, since her works were not previously translated, they offer a new perspective on the city and its history, making it somewhat of a discovery.
However, this celebration takes place against the backdrop of a libel law that aims to punish those who accuse Poland of complicity in the Holocaust. This raises concerns about how the city can honor Rosenfarb while the government is attempting to whitewash her war experiences. Even Rosenfarb’s daughter, Goldie Morgentaler, who translated her mother’s writings into English, is apprehensive about attending the conference.
Anita Norich, a professor emerita at the University of Michigan and a scholar of Yiddish women’s literature, understands these concerns. She questions whether it’s possible to celebrate Rosenfarb in a country that hasn’t fully acknowledged its past. Norich commends those who are translating Rosenfarb’s work into Polish, but wonders if Poland as a whole can confront and come to terms with the Holocaust, considering that none of the characters in Rosenfarb’s stories can escape its reach.
Rosenfarb was most renowned among Yiddish literature enthusiasts for her epic novel “The Tree of Life,” which spans over 1,000 pages across three volumes, offering a tragic and sweeping portrayal of Jewish life in Lodz. After settling in Montreal following the war, Rosenfarb continued to publish novels, poetry, short stories, and essays within a thriving Yiddish literary and cultural scene.
Morgentaler, Rosenfarb’s daughter, reflects on her mother’s dedication to writing, recounting how she would jot down clever remarks made by Morgentaler as a child. It wasn’t until Morgentaler was in her 30s that she became involved in translating her mother’s works into English, which made her realize just how talented Rosenfarb was as a writer.
Morgentaler has also recently translated and edited a collection of her mother’s short stories, titled “In the Land of the Postscript,” published by White Goat Press. These haunting stories feature Holocaust survivors as characters, reflecting Rosenfarb’s own experiences. The stories delve into themes such as family drama, infidelity, depression, suicide, resilience, desire, and love. Rosenfarb approaches the subject of the Holocaust with unsparing realism, presenting the true consequences of this horrific event.
By commemorating Rosenfarb’s life and sharing her stories, Podolska and her colleagues are also discovering more about the history of their own city. This Jewish history, largely unknown to many readers, offers a new perspective. However, it remains uncertain if more Poles will be interested in this perspective, especially if it forces them to confront their own national complicity in the Holocaust.
Poland is currently experiencing a paradox. While Jewish life is flourishing in many ways, with new museums, community centers, and cultural festivals, antisemitism still persists. Polls reveal a significant number of Poles who do not desire Jewish citizens or neighbors. The government’s control of the national narrative finds acceptance due to these sentiments. Nevertheless, Rosenfarb’s stories serve as a reminder of the consequences of suppressing and censoring the past. Through her character Rella in “Edgia’s Revenge,” Rosenfarb demonstrates that lasting trauma cannot be confronted and resolved without a thorough exploration of the past and the brutal honesty that comes with it. This applies not only to fictional characters but also to entire nations.
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