The Christian Science Monitor reported today that Soviet plans for publication of books in the Yiddish language were for “foreign consumption” only. Publication, in Yiddish for the first time in 11 years, the paper said, will involve only classic works like those of Sholem Aleichem, but not the writings of contemporary Jewish authors.
The Kremlin’s decision to permit some publications in Yiddish, the Christian Science Monitor states, appeared to be a direct outcome of the recent visit to the United States of Anastas I. Mikoyan, First Deputy Premier of the USSR.
The newspaper said that some delegates to the recent Soviet Communist Party Congress in Moscow, coming from countries where there are large numbers of Yiddish-speaking, Jews, were informed of the new switch in party line when they came to the Congress. Mr. Mikoyan had returned to Moscow just before the Congress convened and reportedly told ranking Communist leaders in Russia that people abroad did not accept his explanation that Russian Jews were thoroughly assimilated and therefore had no desire for publication of Yiddish literature.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
