Icchokas Meras (8 October 1934 – 13 March 2014) was a

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

writer.

Biography

Meras was born in 1934 to Jehuda and Miriam Meras in a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

Kelmė Kelmė (; ; Yiddish: קעלם) is a city in northwestern Lithuania, a historical region of Samogitia. It has a population of 8,206 and is the administrative center of the Kelmė District Municipality. Name Kelmė's name is likely derived from t ...

, Lithuania, which contained one of the country's notable Jewish communities. His family perished in 1941 when the Nazis undertook the liquidation of Lithuania's Jews, but young Icchokas escaped 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 ...

. "On July 28, 1941, I was being taken to a ditch to be shot," he wrote later. "Due to chance, they decided to return some of the children. Due to another chance, I fell in with people who valued the life of a seven-year old child." Hidden and adopted by a Lithuanian peasant family, Meras survived the war. In the violent and troubled post-war years Meras attended secondary school and soon revealed an inclination towards writing when he came to work for a local newspaper in Kelmė. In 1958 he graduated from the

Kaunas Polytechnic Institute The Kaunas University of Technology (abbreviated as KTU, ) is a public university, public research university located in Kaunas, Lithuania. Established in 1922, KTU has been seen as one of Lithuania's top science education centers. In 2021, KTU ...

with a degree in

radio electronics Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connected to ...

, but began devoting most of his spare time to literature. In 1960 Meras published his first collection of stories entitled ''Geltonas lopas'' (The Yellow Patch). He based his sketches on his own childhood experiences of Holocaust terror. In 1963 Meras published two works: ''Žemė visada gyva'' (The Earth is Always Alive) and his best-known work internationally, ''Lygiosios trunka akimirką'' (A Stalemate Lasts But a Moment). In 1965 Meras published another novel, ''Ant ko laikosi pasaulis'' (What the World Rests On). In 1971 there followed ''Mėnulio savaitė'' (The Week of the Moon) and ''Senas fontanas'' (The Old Fountain). In 1971 Meras presented his darkly

existentialist Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and value ...

novel ''Striptizas, arba Paryžius — Roma — Paryžius'' (Striptease or

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

-Paris). This work was published in literary monthly magazine ''

Pergalė ''Pergalė'' (meaning ''Victory'' in English) was a literary magazine in Soviet Lithuania issued between 1942 and 1990. Profile ''Pergalė'' was started in 1942 as a literary Supplement (publishing), supplement to the army newspaper ''Motherland ...

'' and was roundly criticised by Communist party officials. Under increasing pressure from the

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

authorities for his literary "deviations," he emigrated from Lithuania to

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 ...

in 1972 where he lived until his death.

Awards and recognition

* :

Lithuanian National Prize The Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts (), established in 1989, is an award granted for achievements in culture and the arts. It has been awarded annually in six categories since 2006 (between 1989 and 2006 there were nine categories). ...

(2010). * : Commander's Cross of the Order of Gediminas (1995)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meras, Icchokas Lithuanian novelists Lithuanian short story writers Lithuanian Jews Israeli novelists Kaunas University of Technology alumni Holocaust survivors People from Kelmė Lithuanian screenwriters Lithuanian male screenwriters 1934 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Lithuanian novelists Commander's Crosses of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas 20th-century short story writers