Krig in Shpanyen (The War in Spain): S.L. Shneiderman's Yiddish Reportazh from the Spanish Front

• In Event: Nationalism, Liberation, and Internationalism in the Global Yiddish Public Sphere

Abstract

The life of Sh. L. Shneiderman (1906-1996), an important—if little studied—figure of 20th century modern Polish Jewish history, interwar modernism, and global Yiddish writing, became known as the first Yiddish “war reporter” for his coverage of the Spanish Civil War. Born in Kazimierz na Dolny on the banks of the Vistula, Shneiderman combined a commitment to the politics of the Left Poalei Zion with a deep sensitivity to the historical rootedness of Jews in Polish lands, that is to a diaspora nationalism engaged with the liberationist ethos that shaped so much of the Yiddish street in the interwar years. His writings cover a wide swath of genres: poetry, reportazh, memoir, travelogue, and journalism; all are shaped by the innovative modernist literary conventions of his day. This paper will examine Shneiderman’s Krig in Shpanyen: Hinterland, written in 1938 on route to Africa for another assignment. In Spain, Shneiderman had been the official correspondent for five Yiddish dailies and four Polish-Jewish dailies, illustrating his international reach. The book, accompanied by photographs by his (famous) brother-in-law “Chim” (Dawid Szymin), co-founder of Magnum Photos, is characterized by both a utopian optimism and a realistic wariness of the twin perils of Nazism and Soviet Communism. It became a significant text engaging Yiddishist Jews in the global struggle against fascism and racist Judeophobia.

Author

• Nancy Sinkoff, Rutgers, The State U of New Jersey