JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

dutch literature
FROM THE 19th CENTURY TO WORLD WAR II. The 19th and
early 20th centuries saw a gradual entry of a growing number
of educated Jews into most walks of Dutch life. Jews went
into law, medicine, commerce, and the fine arts. They entered
journalism, the theater, and the entertainment industry. The
advent of liberalism and socialism profoundly influenced Jewish
intellectuals. Jewish writers reflected upon social inequality
and depicted scenes of squalor and misery in the poorer
Jewish communities and working-class neighborhoods of the
major cities. Also, many explored Jewish self-hatred, assimilation,
and, to an extent, Zionism.
The first writer of Portuguese-Jewish descent to contribute
to Dutch literature proper was the poet Isaac da *Costa,
who at first worked for Jewish emancipation but converted
to the Reformed Church in 1822 under the influence of the
poet William Bilderdijk. Da Costa was active in the Protestant
Réveil movement, which strove for a deepening of religious
experience. His works include a collection of poetry, De
Chaos en het Licht (“Chaos and Light,” 1850–53); the biblical
drama Hagar (1848); and studies on various Jewish themes.
Da Costa’s friend Abraham Capadose (1795–1874), who also
converted, was another early contributor to Dutch literature.
He wrote several conversionist works, including Rome en Jeruzalem
(1851). Other 19th-century authors were the satirist
Mark Prager Lindo, the poetess Estella Hijmans Hertzveld,
and the novelist Arnold Aäron Aletrino.
Herman *Heijermans, who is generally considered the
most important playwright of his time, wrote naturalistic
works reflecting the struggle with Jewish identity and social
involvement. His many outstanding books include the novel
Diamantstad (“Diamond City,” 1904); Ghetto (1898), a drama
of Amsterdam Jewish life; and a play about the life of fishermen,
Op hoop van zegen (“The Good Hope,” 1900), which
is generally considered one of the best plays ever written
in Dutch. The Sephardi author Israël *Querido wrote a number
of novels on “ghetto” life, as well as several biblical works.
His brother, the publisher Emanuel Querido (1871–1943),
was also an author. Other writers of the time were Samuel C.
Goudsmit; Willem Schürmann (1879–1915), the author of the
“ghetto” play De Violiers (1912); and the anti-assimilationist
rabbi Meyer de Hond (1873–1943), author of Kiekjes (“Snapshots,”
1926).
Jewish national feelings dominate the works of M.H. van
Campen and a few other writers. A.B. Kleerekoper (1850–1943),
who was a minor Hebrew poet, wrote a Dutch adaptation of
Song of Songs, Het Hooglied Zangen van Liefde (1903). A. van
Collem (1858–1933), the first president of the Dutch Zionist
Organization, wrote Russische melodieën (1891), the story of
a pogrom, and the lyrical poem God (1930). Outstanding for
his religious poetry was Jacob Israël de *Haan, a controversial
figure who was assassinated in Jerusalem. His collection Het
Joodsche Lied (“The Jewish Song,” 2 vols., 1915–21) is among
the finest religious poetry of modern times. De Haan’s sister,
the novelist Carry van *Bruggen, whose writing was mainly
autobiographical, often dealt with the rift between Jewish par-
ents and children. Sebastian Bonn (1881–1930) wrote some
fine poems in both Dutch and Yiddish on Jewish and socialist
themes, notably those collected in Gewijde Liederen (“Sacred
Songs,” 1926). The literary critic and poet Victor Emanuel
van *Vriesland published an essay on Jewish literature, De cultureele
noodtoestand van het Joodsche volk (1915). An important
impressionistic poet was Herman van den *Bergh. The
Catholic convert Herman de Man (1898–1946) wrote regional
novels such as Het wassende water (“Rising Water,” 1926).
Jewish themes play a large part in the works of the novelist
and literary critic Siegfried Emanuel van *Praag. Among his
books were Jerusalem van het Westen (“Jerusalem of the West,”
1961), an account of vanished Amsterdam Jewish life, and the
monograph De West-Joden en hun letterkunde sinds 1860 (“The
Western Jews and Their Literature Since 1860,” 1926). The novelist
Maurits *Dekker wrote on Jewish and socialist themes, his
works including Brood (“Bread,” 1933) and De laars op de nek
(“The Jackboot on the Neck,” 1945), an account of the German
occupation of Holland. Another writer with strong socialist
leanings was David de Jong (1898–1963), whose collection of
poems, Eenzame opstandigheid (“Lonely Revolt,” 1925), displays
deep melancholy. Dola de Jong (1905–2003), who settled
in New York and Los Angeles, wrote the novel En de akker is
de wereld (“And the Field Is the World,” 1947).
EARLY POSTWAR PERIOD. World War II and the Holocaust
are generally seen as the watershed in Dutch history. Since
1945, all Jewish novelists, poets, and playwrights have in one
way or another reflected on the Holocaust. Some have published
their prewar memoirs, others have written about their
experiences in hiding or in the Nazi death and concentration
camps. A younger generation has taken on the subject of the
wartime and postwar experiences of their relatives. This contemplation
has taken shape in many different genres. Some
authors pursued careers in academia, commerce, journalism,
or the stage before turning to writing fiction. Others were already
well-established writers when they finally found the
courage to give an autobiographical account of their wartime
experiences.
War journals are headed by the world-famous diary of
Anne *Frank, Het Achterhuis (1946; The Diary of a Young Girl,
1952). Others are Brieven uit Westerbork (“Letters from Westerbork,”
1961) by Etty Hillesum (1914–1943), whose letters and
diaries were rediscovered and reprinted in the 1970s, with dazzling
commercial success. The diary In Depot (1964) by Philip
Mechanicus (1899–1944) was also rediscovered by a younger
audience in the 1970s and again in the 1990s.
Jacob *Presser wrote prose and poetry inspired by World
War II experiences, and the two-volume historical study Ondergang.
De vervolging en verdelging van het Nederlandse Jodendom
1940–1945 (1965; Ashes in the Wind: The Destruction
of Dutch Jewry, 1969). The prominent Zionist and lawyer Abel
*Herzberg wrote factual stories on the Bergen-Belsen concentration
camp, such as Amor Fati (1946) and Brieven aan mijn
kleinzoon (“Letters to My Grandson,” 1964).
70 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 6