In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • Czernowitz—Stadt der Dichter: Geschichte einer jüdischen Familie aus der Bukowina (1900–1948) by Edith Silbermann
  • Joseph W. Moser
Edith Silbermann, Czernowitz—Stadt der Dichter: Geschichte einer jüdischen Familie aus der Bukowina (1900–1948). Edited by Amy-Diana Colin. Paderborn: Wilhelm Fink, 2015. 401 pp. & 2 CDs.

Edith Silbermann’s (1921–2008) autobiography, which was edited, documented, and commented on by her niece and renowned Czernowitz scholar Amy-Diana Colin, is a fascinating book that not only explores the family history of an Austrian-Jewish family from Czernowitz, the former capital of the Austrian crown land of Bukovina, but also gives tremendous insight into the German-speaking culture that Austrian-Jews maintained in Czernowitz even under Romanian rule until 1940. Of course, this book is also a must-read for any Paul Celan and Rose Ausländer scholar. Silbermann was an early childhood friend of Celan, as he used to frequent Silbermann’s house on account of her father’s extensive library of German literature, and Silbermann was in close contact with Ausländer after the war and later on in Düsseldorf. The book is complemented by two audio CDs. Silbermann sings Yiddish songs on the first disk and presents poetry and fable readings on the second CD; both bring Silbermann to life for the reader of this book as an actress and reader of poetry, and these audio testimonies serve as a reminder of the extinct German and Yiddish-speaking cultures of Czernowitz.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part is the autobiographical core written by Silbermann, which, after a brief foreword by Colin, progresses chronologically (as many biographies do), starting with her grandparents’ history and a particular emphasis on her mother Lisa Stadler’s childhood. Silbermann’s descriptions of life in rural and rustic Bukovina before World War I are vivid reminders of the simplicity of life and the peaceful cohabitation of a diverse set of people in this crown land. The following chapters narrate further familial relations and delve into childhood memories, Silbermann’s first crush, who was Paul Celan, and this is where the book gives an interesting perspective on Celan’s adolescent years in Czernowitz as well. Silbermann’s time in Gymnasium (1932–1940), which gives a deep insight into the life of a young German-speaking Czernowitzer during the interwar period, when the city was under Romanian control and known as Cernauti, is the focus of the following chapter. Silbermann devotes an entire chapter to the first year of the Russian occupation (1940–1941), followed by another chapter on the years of persecution under the Fascist Romanians and Germans (1941–1944), which is then followed by two chapters on the second Russian invasion, when the [End Page 169] Soviets took control of the city until 1991. There is a final unfinished chapter on the first postwar years in exile in Bucharest (1945–1948). Of course, the reader remains curious about Silbermann’s life in postwar Romania and how she adapted to West Germany in the early 1960s, but this is where autobiography ends.

The second part of the book was compiled and written by Colin and contains documentation and pictures as well as detailed references on Silbermann’s songs and poetry recitations. The detailed references that make up almost half of the book raise Edith Silbermann’s autobiography to the level of an academic text that is very useful for scholars wishing to incorporate this book into their research on Czernowitz. The information presented by Colin gives some insight into Silbermann’s creative works after 1948, which are not covered in the actual autobiography.

Going well beyond the scope of a regular autobiography, this book is also immensely interesting to Celan scholars, who will gain great insights into Celan’s years in Czernowitz and will also learn what he read in Silbermann’s father’s library. After all, interpretation of Celan’s poetry often relies heavily on understanding Celan’s background. The book is also very helpful in explaining the ambivalence that Czernowitz Jews felt toward the first Soviet invasion, which simultaneously meant a liberation from Fascist Romania and its persecution of Jews, while at the...

pdf

Share