Nitzotz

Nitzotz Synopsis

Under the brutal conditions of the Dachau-Kaufering concentration camp, a handful of young Jews resolved to resist their Nazi oppressors. Their weapons were their words. Beginning with the Soviet occuption of Kovno, the members of Irgun Brith Zion circulated an underground journal, ""Nitzotz"" (""Spark""), in which they debated Zionist politics and laid plans for postwar settlment in Palestine. When the Kovno ghetto was destroyed, several contributors to ""Nitzotz"" were deported to the camps of Dachau. Against all odds, they did not lay down their pens. ""Nitzotz"" is the only known Hebrew-language publication to have appeared consistently throughout the Nazi occupation anywhere in Europe. Its authors believed that their intellectual defiance would insulate them against the dehumanizing cruelty of the concentration camp and equip them to lead the postwar effort for the physical and spiritual regeneration of European Jewry. Laura Weinrib presents this remarkable document to English readers for the first time. Along with a translation of the five remaining Dachau-Kaufering issues, the book includes an extensive critical introduction. ""Nitzotz"" is a testament to the resilience of those struggling for survival.