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Book Cover
Book
Author Veidlinger, Jeffrey, 1971-

Title The Moscow State Yiddish Theater : Jewish culture on the Soviet stage / Jeffrey Veidlinger
Published Bloomington : Indiana University Press, [2000]
©2000

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Location Call no. Vol. Availability
 MELB  792.094731 Vei/Msy  AVAILABLE
Description 356 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Series Indiana-Michigan series in Russian and East European studies
Jewish literature and culture
Indiana-Michigan series in Russian and East European studies.
Jewish literature and culture.
Contents Introduction: Soviet Jewish culture or Soviet culture in Yiddish? -- "Let's perform a miracle": the creation of the Moscow State Yiddish Theater -- Comrades from the center: state, party, and stage -- Wandering stars: tour and reconstruction -- The court is in session: judgment postponed -- Where are the Maccabees?: the heroic past -- One generation passes away: the great terror -- Brother Jews: Mikhoels and the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee -- Our people live: the Yiddish theater during World War II -- This is a bad omen: the last act -- Conclusion: The Moscow State Yiddish Theater
Summary "This is the first book in English to trace the history of the Moscow State Yiddish Theater, founded in 1919 and liquidated by the Soviet government in 1949. Since the conventional view of the fate of Jews in Soviet Russia is that, from the beginning, the Soviet state pursued policies aimed at stamping out Jewish culture, it is surprising to learn that from the 1920s through World War II, secular Yiddish culture was actively promoted, and Yiddish cultural institutions thrived, supported by the Soviet government, albeit for its own propaganda purposes."
"Drawing from newly available archives, Jeffrey Veidlinger uses the dramatic story of the Moscow State Yiddish Theater, the premiere secular Jewish cultural institution of the Soviet era, to demonstrate how Jewish writers and artists were able to promote Jewish national culture within the confines of Soviet nationality policies. He shows how a stellar group of artists, writers, choreographers, directors, and actors led by Solomon Mikhoels brought to life shtetl fables, biblical heroes, Israelite lore, exilic laments, and dilemmas of contemporary life under the guise of conventional socialist realism before the theater and many of its principal figures fell victim to Stalinist anti-semitism and xenophobia after World War II."--BOOK JACKET
Notes Formerly CIP. Uk
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 323-341) and index
Subject Moskovskiĭ gosudarstvennyĭ evreĭskiĭ teatr -- History.
Theater, Yiddish -- Russia (Federation) -- Moscow -- History -- 20th century.
LC no. 00035004
ISBN 0253337844 (alk. paper)