Ada Brodsky (née Ada Neumark) (born 30 October 1924,
Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...
; died 12 April 2011,
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
) was an Israeli radio journalist and translator from
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
into
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
. She was a winner of the
Goethe Medal
The Goethe Medal, also known as the Goethe-Medaille, is a yearly prize given by the Goethe-Institut honoring non-Germans "who have performed outstanding service for the German language and for international cultural relations". It is an offici ...
in 1995 for her contributions to the cultural relationship between
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
and
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
Life
Ada Neumark was born in Frankfurt (Oder) to Ilse Neumark and Hermann Neumark, a paediatrician. Her father worked at the municipal hospital as well as holding a private clinic. When the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
took power, he lost both positions. Her mother was a trained classical singer who had given up her professional career to take care of the family.
Both Ada and Alfred became active in a local Zionist youth movement to build
Erez Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (region), Palesti ...
. As the repression of the Jews built up in Germany, more and more families were trying to emigrate. Alfred won a music scholarship to Emil Hauser's musical conservatory in
Palestine and was allowed to leave Germany in 1938. The same year, one of Neumark's stories was published in the ''Jüdischen Rundschau'' which convinced the
Youth Aliyah
Youth Aliyah (Hebrew: עלית הנוער, ''Aliyat Hano'ar'', German: Jugend-Alijah, Youth Immigration) is a Jewish organization that rescued thousands of Jewish children from the Nazis during the Third Reich. Youth Aliyah arranged for their ...
that she was deserving of a scholarship to Palestine. She travelled on the
kindertransport
The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children (but not their parents) from Nazi-controlled territory that took place during the nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second Worl ...
to
Ben Shemen Youth Village
Ben Shemen Youth Village ( he, כפר הנוער בן שמן, ''Kfar HaNo'ar Ben Shemen'') is a youth village and agricultural boarding school in central Israel. Located near Ben Shemen and Ginaton, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Mod ...
via
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...
.
At Ben Shemen, Neumark received an education in which music, theatre and literature played a major role. She, with the other children, were also closely involved in agricultural work. Ada translated between the local Hebrew-speaking children and the new arrivals from Germany.
Neumark's parents needed a visa from the British Mandate in Palestine to emigrate there. This was a costly affair, requiring around £1,000 or 12,500
Reichsmark
The (; sign: ℛℳ; abbreviation: RM) was the currency of Germany from 1924 until 20 June 1948 in West Germany, where it was replaced with the , and until 23 June 1948 in East Germany, where it was replaced by the East German mark. The Reich ...
s, which they did not have. Ada's aunt who was already in Palestine collected the monies with great difficulty, and a relative with British citizenship had to personally deliver it in Germany to prevent it being confiscated by the Nazis. Hermann Neumark was already arrested and was released from the
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoner ...
only under the condition that he would leave Germany immediately. The visas arrived just in time to save the Neumarks.
In 1943, Neumark graduated high school and worked in a kibbutz. She then studied English literature and Jewish studies in Jerusalem, followed by courses in music education and musicology at the
Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance
The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance ( he, האקדמיה למוסיקה ולמחול בירושלים), is a school for the music and the performing arts in Jerusalem. It is located on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerus ...
.
Neumark married David Brodsky and had two daughters with him. She died in Jerusalem on 12 April 2011.
Three plaques created by Gunter Demnig was laid in her and her parents' honour at their former home in Wilhelmsplatz in Frankfurt (Oder).
Career
After her school years, Brodsky began to earn her livelihood by translating German songs into Hebrew. Lyrics from compositions by
Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...
,
Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
and
Mahler
Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism o ...
were impossible to perform or broadcast in the German language in Israel. Neumark published several books of translations into Hebrew.
Brodsky began to work at the radio station ''Kol HaMusica'', which concentrated on classical music. She developed broadcasts over many years.
Brodsky had always loved the poetry of
Rainer Maria Rilke
René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recog ...
. To introduce Israeli readers to his works, she self-published a monograph on the poet, and translated poems and prose texts into Hebrew. This manuscript is considered to be the standard work on Rilke in the Hebrew language.
Brodsky's interest in German literature was not restricted to the classical authors. She translated
Ingeborg Bachmann
Ingeborg Bachmann (25 June 1926 – 17 October 1973) was an Austrian poet and author.
Biography
Bachmann was born in Klagenfurt, in the Austrian state of Carinthia, the daughter of Olga (née Haas) and Matthias Bachmann, a schoolteacher. Her f ...
's ''Probleme zeitgenössischer Dichtung'' in 2009.
In music, Brodsky edited a series of pedagogical texts, ''Words to Sounds''.
In 1995, Brodsky received the
Goethe Medal
The Goethe Medal, also known as the Goethe-Medaille, is a yearly prize given by the Goethe-Institut honoring non-Germans "who have performed outstanding service for the German language and for international cultural relations". It is an offici ...
for her contributions to German culture.
Selected works
Translations
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Musical texts
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Others
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References
Additional sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Brodsky, Ada
1924 births
2011 deaths
Translators from German
Israeli translators
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine
20th-century Israeli translators
Burials at Har HaMenuchot