August 12th: Remembering the Soviet Yiddish Writers

Proste Yiddish - Simple Yiddish

Episode 9 // Season 5

מיר רעדן װעגן די סאָװעטישע ייִדן װאָס מען האָט דערהרגעט דעם 12טן אױגוסט 1952. און איך לײען אַ ביסל פֿון אַ ליד פֿון פּרץ מאַרקיש.

An episode in honour of the 12th of August, when people remember the Soviet Jews murdered by Stalin's regime on this date in 1952. Why is this night referred to as “The night of the murdered poets”? I discuss the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee and a little about the fate of the 13 Soviet Jews who were executed. I also read an excerpt from a poem by one of the murdered poets, Peretz Markish. Markish read this poem at the funeral of his friend Shloyme Mikhoels who was also on the committee and was the first to be murdered.

This is a bit of a complex topic so don’t forget to read the transcript if you get confused. There are also links there to find out more about the history, and a translation of the poem excerpt.

Transcript

Find all the relevant links, improve your reading and learn new vocab in the Yiddish transcript:

https://tinyurl.com/ProsteTranscriptS5E9

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Music

All the music in our show is from the Free Music Archive. The tunes are by Tres Tristes Tangos, ⁠ ⁠Crowander, ⁠⁠Danny Bale⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠The Underscore Orkestra⁠⁠. Full details ⁠⁠in the transcript⁠⁠.

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Proste Yiddish is entirely volunteer-made, on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrong People in Naarm (so-called melbourne, oystralie).