Nathan Samuely: A Forgotten Writer in a Neglected Genre

The Nazi suppression of Jewish writers led to the near eradication of an entire genre of German literature—that of the so-called "ghetto story." By tacitly accepting the Nazi-established canon of German literature, we are continuing to abet this crime. The only names of writers in this genre that are at all recognized now are Leopold Kompert and Karl Emil Franzos, but there were many other writers of such stories, some of whom are at least equal to these. One of the best—if not the best—was Nathan Samuely (1847-1921), whose name and works have been forgotten. It is time Samuely and the group of other "ghetto story" writers were restored to the canon of German literature.