The Mindful Act of Translating Poetry from the Shoah. “with love and gratitude for much that was beautiful and unforgettable”1 Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger

Abstract

In spite of all the atrocities committed in the time of the Shoah the human spirit survived. It survived in various ways, one way in particular was through poetry. Poetry encapsulates the human experience and alongside has the power to give a voice to those who cannot speak. 2 This power is particularly important with regard to the victims of the Shoah. One such victim was the Czernowitz poet Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger, who perished at the age of eighteen in the Michailovca labour camp. A collection of her poetry has survived, and with that her voice and experiences survived.