Aharon Appelfeld (; born Ervin Appelfeld; February 16, 1932 – January 4, 2018) was an Israeli

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, its collaborators before and during World War II ...

Biography

Ervin (Aharon) Appelfeld was born in Jadova Commune, Storojineț County, in the

Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...

region of the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

, now

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. In an interview with the literary scholar, Nili Gold, in 2011, he remembered his home town in this district, Czernowitz, as "a very beautiful" place, full of schools and with two Latin gymnasiums, where fifty to sixty percent of the population was Jewish. In 1941, when he was nine years old, the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forc ...

retook his hometown after a year of Soviet occupation and his mother was murdered. Appelfeld was deported with his father to a forced labor camp in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n-controlled

Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

. He escaped and hid for three years before joining the

Soviet army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

as a cook. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Appelfeld spent several months in a

displaced persons camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displace ...

in Italy before immigrating to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

in 1946, two years before

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

's independence. He was reunited with his father after finding his name on a

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). As an ...

list in 1960. (Both Appelfeld and his father had presumed the other had been murdered in

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. They had both made their way separately to Israel after the war.) The father had been sent to a '' ma'abara'' (refugee camp) in Be'er Tuvia. The reunion was so emotional that Appelfeld had never been able to write about it. In

, Appelfeld made up for his lack of formal schooling and learned

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

, the language in which he began to write. His first literary efforts were short stories, but gradually he progressed to novels. He completed his studies at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

. He lived in Mevaseret Zion and taught literature at Ben Gurion University of the Negev and was often writing in Jerusalem's Ticho House ( Beit Ticho). In 2007, Appelfeld's ''Badenheim 1939'' was adapted for the stage by Arnold Wesker and performed at the Gerard Behar Center in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Choice of language

Appelfeld was one of Israel's foremost living Hebrew-language authors, despite the fact that he did not learn the language until he was a teenager. His mother tongue was German, but he was also proficient in

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

, Ukrainian, Romanian, Russian, English, and Italian. With his subject matter revolving around the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

and the sufferings of the Jews in Europe, he could not bring himself to write in German. He chose Hebrew as his literary vehicle for its succinctness and biblical imagery. Appelfeld purchased his first Hebrew book at the age of 25: ''King of Flesh and Blood'' by

Moshe Shamir Moshe Shamir (; 15 September 1921 – 20 August 2004) was an Israeli author, playwright, opinion writer, and public figure. He was the author of a play upon which Israeli film '' He Walked Through the Fields'' was based. Biography Shamir was bor ...

. In an interview with the newspaper ''Haaretz'', he said he agonized over it, because it was written in

Mishnaic Hebrew Mishnaic Hebrew () is the Hebrew language used in Talmudic texts. Mishnaic Hebrew can be sub-divided into Mishnaic Hebrew proper (c. 1–200 CE, also called Tannaim, Tannaitic Hebrew, Early Rabbinic Hebrew, or Mishnah, Mishnaic Hebrew I), which w ...

and he had to look up every word in the dictionary. In an interview in the ''

Boston Review ''Boston Review'' is an American quarterly political and literary magazine. It publishes political, social, and historical analysis, literary and cultural criticism, book reviews, fiction, and poetry, both online and in print. Its signature form ...

'', Appelfeld explained his choice of Hebrew: "I’m lucky that I’m writing in Hebrew. Hebrew is a very precise language, you have to be very precise—no over-saying. This is because of our Bible tradition. In the Bible tradition you have very small sentences, very concise and autonomic. Every sentence, in itself, has to have its own meaning."

The Holocaust as a literary theme

Many Holocaust survivors have written an autobiographical account of their survival, but Appelfeld does not offer a realistic depiction of the events. He writes short stories that can be interpreted in a metaphoric way. Instead of his personal experience, he sometimes evokes the Holocaust without even relating to it directly. His style is clear and precise, but also very modernistic. Appelfeld resided in Israel but wrote little about life there. Most of his work focuses on Jewish life in Europe before, during and after World War II. As an orphan from a young age, the search for a mother figure is central to his work. During the Holocaust he was separated from his father, and only met him again 20 years later.

Motifs

Silence, muteness and stuttering are motifs that run through much of Appelfeld's work. Disability becomes a source of strength and power.

Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (; March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short-story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophical ...

described Appelfeld as "a displaced writer of displaced fiction, who has made of displacement and disorientation a subject uniquely his own."

Awards and honors

* 1975

Brenner Prize The Brenner Prize is an Israeli literary prize awarded annually by the Hebrew Writers Association in Israel and the Haft Family Foundation. It recognizes and honors Hebrew literature Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern w ...

for literature. * 1979

Bialik Prize The Bialik Prize is an annual literary award given by the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel, for significant accomplishments in Hebrew literature. The prize is named in memory of Israel's national poet Hayyim Nahman Bialik. There are two separate p ...

for

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

(jointly with Avot Yeshurun). * 1983

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

for literature. * 1989

National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1943, is an American organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. The goal of the council, as stated on its website, is "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of qual ...

for Fiction for '' Badenheim 1939'' ( ), *1989

''for Fiction for The Immortal Bartfuss'' * 1997 Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

. *1998

for Fiction for ''The Iron Tracks'' * 2004

Prix Médicis The Prix Médicis () is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by and .

(foreign works category) for his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

, '' The Story of a Life: A Memoir'' (2003, ) *''2011''

for Fiction for ''Until the Dawn’s Light'' * 2012 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize for ''Blooms of Darkness'': at the time, Appelfeld was the oldest ever recipient of the prize * 2016 Sydney Taylor Book Award for the children's book "Adam and Thomas"

Cultural references

Appelfeld's work was greatly admired by his friend, fellow Jewish novelist

, who made the Israeli writer a character in his own novel '' Operation Shylock''.

Published works

*'' Badenheim 1939'' (1978, English translation: 1980) *''The Age of Wonders'' (1978, tr. 1981) *''Tzili'' (1982, tr. 1983) *''The Retreat'' (tr. 1984) *''To the Land of the Cattails'' (tr. 1986) (earlier published as To the Land of the Reeds) *'' The Immortal Bartfuss'' (1988) *''For Every Sin'' (tr. 1989) *''The Healer'' (tr. 1990) * ''Katerina'' (1989, tr. 1992) *''Iron Tracks'' (1991, tr. 1998) *''Unto the Soul'' (tr. 1993) *''The Conversion'' (1991, tr. 1998) *''Laish'' (2001, tr. 2009) *''Beyond Despair: Three Lectures and a Conversation With Philip Roth'' (tr. 2003) *'' The Story of a Life: A Memoir'' (2003) *''A Table For One: Under The Light Of Jerusalem'' (tr. 2005) *''All Whom I Have Loved'' (tr. 2007) *'' Blooms of Darkness'' (2006, tr. 2010) *''Until the Dawn’s Light'' (1995, tr. 2011) *''Yalda Shelo Minhaolam Hazé'' = ''A girl from another world'' (fiction for children) (2013, not yet tr. in English), (published in French, Italian, 2014) *''Suddenly Love'' (tr. 2014) *''Long Summer Nights'' (2015) *''Adam and Thomas'' (fiction for children) (2015) *''The Man Who Never Stopped Sleeping'' (2017) *''To the Edge of Sorrow'' (2012, tr. 2020)Aharon Appelfeld’s ‘To the Edge of Sorrow’, Tablet Magazine
/ref>

References

External links

* * *
Interview with Appelfeld on his habit of writing at cafes
Tablet (Magazine), nextbook.org *"A Cafe Should Give Inspiration" Aharon Appelfeld on Ticho House, Jerusale
Haaretz.com
*
Biography from the Berlin International Literature Festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Appelfeld, Aharon 1932 births 2018 deaths People from Chernivtsi Oblast Academic staff of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Brenner Prize recipients Hebrew-language poets Israel Prize in literature recipients Israeli autobiographers Israeli novelists Israeli poets Jewish Israeli writers Jewish concentration camp survivors Romanian Ashkenazi Jews Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Prix Médicis étranger winners Romanian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Yiddish-speaking people Recipients of Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works Burials at Har HaMenuchot Bialik Prize recipients