Shush! Growing Up Jewish under Stalin: A Memoir [Hardcover]

Emil Draitser (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 2008

Many years after making his way to America from Odessa in Soviet Ukraine, Emil Draitser made a startling discovery: every time he uttered the word "Jewish"--even in casual conversation--he lowered his voice. This behavior was a natural by-product, he realized, of growing up in the anti-Semitic, post-Holocaust Soviet Union, when "Shush!" was the most frequent word he heard: "Don't use your Jewish name in public. Don't speak a word of Yiddish. And don't cry over your murdered relatives." This compelling memoir conveys the reader back to Draitser's childhood and provides a unique account of midtwentieth-century life in Russia as the young Draitser struggles to reconcile the harsh values of Soviet society with the values of his working-class Jewish family. Lively, evocative, and rich with humor, this unforgettable story ends with the death of Stalin and, through life stories of the author's ancestors, presents a sweeping panorama of two centuries of Jewish history in Russia.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hunter College Russian professor Draitser recalls a post-WWII Odessa youth blighted by a pernicious and pervasive anti-Semitism that made him ashamed of being Jewish—so ashamed that decades after arriving in America, he still whispered references to things Jewish. A bewildered and reluctant observer of the rise of Russian chauvinism as the Cold War erupted, Draitser remembers how gangs of youngsters hunted Holocaust survivor children and permanently maimed his seven-year-old cousin; the discovery of his beloved Pushkin's hateful characterizations of Jews left him confused and disgusted with himself. He recalls the clouds of suspicion surrounding his mother's friend, a pediatrician, when Jewish doctors were targeted with trumped-up charges of sabotage in the 1950s Doctors' Plot. His parents' yearning to connect to their heritage is movingly portrayed: Draitser's father saved the peel from an Israeli orange, and his mother traveled to the boonies to surreptitiously purchase Passover matzos. This painful and acutely observed memoir will resonate with many readers; unfortunately, it ends with Stalin's death. How Draitser and his parents made their way to America and how they fared here are unexplored. 22 b&w photos. (Sept.)
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Review

A wonderfully evocative memoir that captures the experience of a Jewish family in Soviet Odessa with poignancy and humor. --East European Jewish Affairs

A first-rate memoir [which] affords us an intriguing glimpse of a distinctive world long gone . . . 1948 Odessa, as described by Draitser, uncannily recalls Orwell's 1984 London . . . Yet, [it] is far from a gloomy read.  --The Jerusalem Report

Written with warmth and passion... An unprecedented glimpse into what life was like for Jewish people living under Stalin. . . . A well-wrought and compelling account of one man's unforgettable life. --History In Review

More than the commentary, the unforgettable drama--and the answer to the racism--is the celebration of Jewish family life and the richness of Yiddish, from the curse words to the endearments. --Booklist

"Whimsical, heartfelt and candid."--Kirkus Reviews

"This painful and acutely observed memoir will resonate with many readers."--Publishers Weekly

"Speaks volumes about the steep price of decades of institutionalized anti-Semitism, and. . . the difficult journey. . . out from under its shadow."--J Jewish News Weekly of N Cal

"Sharp and eloquent. . . . This is a must-read for all of us so as to better appreciate the freedoms we have. . . . We should be thankful to Prof. Draitser for having written this book."--The Jewish Star

"[A] remarkable memoir."--Choice

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (September 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520254465
• ISBN-13: 978-0520254466
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,212,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Odessa, Ukraine, Emil Draitser has published both fiction and nonfiction since 1964. His work appeared in leading Soviet journals (Youth, Literary Gazette, and Crocodile) under his pen name "Emil Abramov." He began his writing career as a freelancer contributing satirical articles for Soviet newspapers and magazines. Eventually, he was blacklisted for criticizing an important official, prompting him to leave for the United States.

He immigrated to Los Angeles, where he earned a Ph.D. in Russian literature from UCLA. In 1986, he took a job at Hunter College in New York City, where he continues to teach. Besides twelve books of artistic and scholarly prose, Emil Draitser's essays and short stories have been published in the Los Angeles Times, Partisan Review, North American Review, Prism International, and many other American and Canadian periodicals. His fiction has also appeared in Russian, Polish, and Israeli journals.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Identity, January 12, 2009

By 

Aaron Ginsburg (Sharon, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shush! Growing Up Jewish under Stalin: A Memoir (Hardcover)

Emil Draitser's Shush! gives a first-person voice to the many Jewish emigres from what we know as the former Soviet Union. Having spoken to some of these emigres I've learned that what they take for granted we can only imagine. But with the help of Shush! and similar books (and they are few and far between) we can get a clearer picture.

Much of what we know about life under Stalin comes from the survivors of members of the Soviet elite which was gradually consumed by Stalin's orders. Their stories are history with a capital H. However, history does not just belong to historical figures, but to all of us. Shush! tells the story of a family with out those connections, a family that was mostly able to stay under the radar screen. The family offered a refuge, which vanished when one left the apartment and went to school or work or shopping...

But this is also the story of growing up and finding one's identity. Emil struggled to create an identity in the face of unremitting anti-Semitism and Russification. Russia's culture with its literary and other heavyweights was seductive for good reason. Emil's Jewish identity was hidden by the Soviet system at every turn. Until Emil left the Soviet Union, he knew almost nothing about his Jewish background. American Jew's face a similar struggle to hold onto to their Jewishnesses in the face of American culture compounded by ignorance or superficial knowledge of their own heritage. This struggle for learning who we are applies to all of us.

Although there is nothing new about cultures swallowing each other up, when a culture disappears a tear is shed.

Shush! is a universal story about how the past and present speak to each other. And the fact that it can be written is a sign of hope. Thank you, Emil Draitser!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Growing up . . Despite Stalin, September 14, 2008

By 

Therese M. Malhame (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shush! Growing Up Jewish under Stalin: A Memoir (Hardcover)

Imagine a young Jewish boy now an adult, who still utters the word "Jewish" only sotto voce. The subtitle of Emil Draitser's heartwarming and heartbreaking memoir Shush! Growing up Jewish Under Stalin explains why. Multiply the ordinary difficulties of childhood and adolescence exponentially to comprehend what happened to Jewish families (not to mention others) in Russia. Certainly this book will strike a chord with readers who have had similar experiences. And perhaps these readers with direct experience of the atrocities of the Stalinist regime will need as much courage to read it as the author must have had to write it--people are generally inclined to relegate painful memories to the past and avoid resurrecting them.

It has obviously taken the author years to sort through the dire circumstances of his childhood and to reclaim his identity and roots--an affirmation of the strong values that somehow survived and a credit to his parents and extended family. In circumstances that could justifiably bring out the worst in people, what shines through in this family are pride, dignity, and principles.

Draitser's visual and well-paced writing balances the sad with the humorous. His descriptions of his parents' mannerisms made me laugh out loud. But then, the opposite effect occurs; for example, there's a photo of a young couple--the author's aunt and uncle, the parents of three small children--looking bright-eyed, and, one imagines, forward to life--and suddenly you read that the entire family perished!

I am not Russian or Jewish. I was not raised in a repressed society or discriminated against. But this book has a much broader appeal--don't be fooled by the title. It also reminds us how profoundly marked we are by our childhood impressions, and evokes anyone's painful first days as a young school pupil. Jewish, Russian, black, white, Asian, whatever--kids are mean! My mother occasionally packed leftover "ethnic" food in our lunch boxes. This never failed to attract the attention and derision of the kids sitting nearby eating their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We begged our mother to please stop packing the stuff. It's no fun being the brunt of jokes.

This is a fine memoir, well-written and courageous--an inspiring book for readers of all backgrounds and ages.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and Insightful Portrait of Persecution, November 7, 2008

By 

Mr. Truthteller (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shush! Growing Up Jewish under Stalin: A Memoir (Hardcover)

This is an eye-opening memoir. It is a compelling story. It provides a rare insight into not just the tragedy of the persecution of the Jewish people in the Soviet Union after World War II (and for centuries before by the Russians), but also gives a rare glimpse into the often bitter harshness of post-World War II life in the Soviet Union under Stalin's regime. Must reading.