The Limits of Holocaust Representation in the Literature of the 1948 Generation: The Case of ‘The Second Stutter’ by Moshe Shamir
Keywords:
Moshe Shamir, ‘The Second Stutter’, ‘The 'Yishuv, The Holocaust, The 1948 GenerationAbstract
Moshe Shamir’s story ‘The Second Stutter’ (1945) has been recently discussed as literary evidence for the Yishuv’s attitude towards the Holocaust and the survivors. Literary scholars, such as Avner Holtzman, Nurith Gertz, and Nurit Govrin, present Shamir’s short story as an indication for a sympathetic attitude towards the survivors and their experiences. However, current readings of the story tend to settle for thematic and contextual aspects of the work, while lacking a thorough and systematic investigation into the text’s poetic qualities, which shaped Shamir’s ability to treat the sensitive material of the Holocaust. My essay suggests the first comprehensive textual analysis of the story, and it formulates the impact of the perspective and poetics of the 1948 generation on Shamir’s attitude towards the survivors and their experiences. My conclusion is that the story manifests strong commitment to representing the Holocaust and the survivors, side by side with patronizing and alienating attitudes. Most importantly, this genuine commitment is heavily confined and undermined by the poetic, ideological, and experiential infrastructure of the Yishuv.
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