A CAT IN THE GHETTO: FOUR NOVELETTES (Kiddush Hashem)

Novelettes by Rachmil Bryks, 1952

Rachmil Bryks's A Cat in the Ghetto: Four Novelettes, published in its original Yiddish in 1952, was translated into English by S. Morris Engel in 1959. Preceding the introduction is a letter from Eleanor Roosevelt, who states: "This work was difficult for me to read." Indeed, the situations are very graphically portrayed by Bryks; unique to his writing, however, is that the foundation of faith and rays of hope constantly shine through. Whereas many Holocaust writers portray those who take for themselves and who are extraordinarily cruel in their own struggle for survival, Bryks introduces the reader to those whose humanity is never lost under the most extreme circumstances. The songs of A Cat in the Ghetto have also been immortalized at the back of the collection, and the score has been added by Bryks. This is certainly an unusual tactic by an author, but it provides the reader with the actual sounds of the ghetto. Included in the song collection are the sarcastic "Rumkowski Chayim" and "Our President Chayim," which "honor" the head of the Judenrat of the Łodź ghetto; the hopeful "I am Going Home"; and the saccharin-hawker's melody "Saccharin."

The first novelette, A Cat in the Ghetto , centers around Schloime Zabludovitch, who has a cat in his possession. It is said in the ghetto that whoever turns in a cat will receive bread in return. Bryks's humor in this novelette is somewhat surprising considering that the ghetto is a sea of emaciated beings who dream of only simple staple items to keep them alive, if only just to the next day. Zabludovitch realizes, however, that what he has heard about bread for cats is just a rumor. In the end, truth triumphs over falsehood, and the pureness of the human heart conquers suspicion and distrust.

A Cupboard in the Ghetto reflects the truly inventive nature of man when faced with horrific circumstances. Ersatz food and imaginatively created sugar treats mark the desperation of those determined to lead lives of dignity in a world of despair. "It's true, we are dying out because of hunger, but we have not become wild beasts … On the outside we look like corpses, but inside we have preserved the image of God," Mr. Bluestein states in this novelette. The small triumphs in life are what carry the Jews forward and instill in them the determination to succeed in surviving past the expectations of those who continuously place roadblocks in their paths.

Sanctification of God's Name is the longest novelette in the collection. Again, the steadfastness of faith in the approaching Russian army and the belief that good will come to the Jews permeate this work. Despite the disappointment in their fellow man, the Jews remain believing that they will be liberated shortly and must only endure a short time of torture at Auschwitz. But the reader soon realizes that liberation is sometimes only possible by marching willingly to one's own death. It is this willingness to march that marks the victory of the inmates over their keepers.

Berele in the Ghetto is a fine representation of how quickly small children must enter an adult world in the ghetto in order to survive. Berele, a nine-year-old boy who has lost his entire family, begins life as an adult as soon as the last member of his family disappears. His admirable determination to survive and his ability to organize unionist strikes by the other children carry him way beyond his years. As Sol Liptzin stated in the introduction to the collection: "It is such children, of whom alas only a pitiful remnant survived, that are today helping to rebuild the Jewish people as a significant moral force on the world scene."

—Cynthia A. Klíma