The Power of Language: Understanding Yiddish in the Shadow of the Holocaust

The Power of Language: Understanding Yiddish in the Shadow of the Holocaust

On March 27, 2025, Hannah Pollin-Galay, associate professor at Tel Aviv University, will give a lecture entitled "The Microhistory of Words. Holocaust-Yiddish as a Window onto Prisoner Life" at the Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI) in Vienna. The lecture begins at 6:30 p.m. and discusses the profound changes that the Holocaust brought about in the Yiddish language. The event will be held in English and participation requires prior registration at anmelde@vwi.ac.at. Further information is available in the OTS to find.

The lecture particularly addresses the development of “Khurbn-Yiddish,” a unique form of vocabulary that was coined by Jewish survivors during and after the Second World War. Before the Holocaust, the Yiddish language was unable to adequately describe the traumatic experiences of captivity, death and dehumanization. The war led to prisoners developing or adapting numerous new Yiddish words and expressions in order to be able to process their experiences linguistically.

The linguistic innovation

In her lecture, Pollin-Galay will introduce two key concepts that have emerged in this new sociolect. These terms refer to the topics of theft and German-Yiddish encounters during the Holocaust. Authors and intellectuals such as Nachman Blumenthal, Yisrael Kaplan, and Chava Rosenfarb contributed to documenting these new linguistic elements. They processed their traumatic experiences by creating language that took into account the moral and existential dilemmas they faced.

For example, new terms such as “shabrivin” (plundering) and “kuzinka” (exploitative sexual practice) are mentioned, which vividly reflect the challenges and conflicts of survival. The poetic and literary significance of “Holocaust Yiddish” finds expression in the works of writers such as Rosenfarb and Ka-Tzetnik. In their texts, these authors deal with topics such as corruption, identity and resilience, which are also very relevant to today's discussions about Jewish history and identity.

Extended context

In addition to the linguistic aspects, the lecture is also seen in a historical context. The Eichmann trial, for example, changed the social perception of the German language in Israel and created a special acoustic presence. People who spoke and gave testimony in this trial treated German less as a “Nazi language” and more as part of their specific historical reality. These developments contribute to developing more current perspectives on the German language and its cultural significance after the Holocaust.

Hannah Pollin-Galay has delved into the topic of linguistic changes during the Holocaust in her research and publications, particularly in her book Occupied Words: What the Holocaust Did to Yiddish. This work received the 2024 National Jewish Book Award in the Holocaust Studies category. Pollin-Galay summarizes the importance of the Yiddish language and its transformations in dealing with Holocaust history.

Exploring these linguistic innovations opens up a new perspective on Jewish history and the associated question of identity. The lecture therefore promises a profound examination of language, trauma and history.