Jacob Glatstein

Yankev Glatshteyn

Written in the form of a suspense novel, Emil & Karl draws readers into the dilemma faced by two young boys--one Jewish, the other not--when they suddenly find themselves without homes or families in Vienna on the eve of World War II. A taut, gripping page-turner, it offers a picture of life during the period and the moral challenges faced under Nazism--and a prescient glimpse of the early days of the Holocaust. Written in Yiddish, it is here translated into English for the first time.

Emil and Karl

The Selected Poems of Jacob Glatstein

This Yiddish and English volume is a collection of works from Glatstein's previous 6, focusing on Jewish fortitude during the Holocaust while honoring those who died.

The Holocaust Poems of Jacob Glatstein

I Keep Recalling

Homeward Bound

Homecoming at Twilight

Jeffrey Shandler

Set in Vienna shortly after the Nazi occupation of 1938, Emil and Karl explores the friendship of two young boys-Karl (a Christian, with Socialist parents) and Emil (a Jew). The boys are inseparable friends whose fathers have been killed, and who have only each other after both their mothers are dragged away by the authorities. Yankev Glatshteyn's novel reflects the climate of fear he encountered on a visit to Europe in 1934. His depiction of how the two young boys survive, and the stories of those who aid them in their plight, adds new depth and insight into our understanding of an oft-depicted time. Emil and Karl is a wrenching story laced with humiliation, horror, love and incredible courage. Initially published in Yiddish, and first published in English in 2006, Emil and Karl has been beautifully translated by Jeffrey Shandler, who has also written an elucidating Introduction.

Jacob Glatstein

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