Avrom Sutzkever's Art Of Testimony Analysis

In the article, “Avrom Sutzkever’s Art of Testimony: Witnessing with the Poet in the Wartime Soviet Union,” Hannah Pollin-Galay makes the argument that Avrom Sutzkever’s poetry had a large influence on the portrayal of the Holocaust in war-time Soviet Union. Pollin-Galay supports this notion by evaluating Sutzkever’s credibility in the context of expressing Holocaust victim testimonies and addresses the role it played in advancing his influence. Also, Pollin-Galay establishes that Sutzkever’s addition to the literary portrayal of the Holocaust was drastically different than anything that had previously been seen before that time. Furthering this idea, she distinguishes two different criteria that created this meaningful difference: emphasis on dialogue and reciprocity. She evaluates the dramatization of speech and conversation used by Sutzkever, which allowed for a more accessibly genuine portrayal of the Nazi Atrocities that had been occurring prior. Lastly, Pollin-Galay clarifies the importance of Sutzkever’s poetry in the effect it had on not only the general public, but more so, the victims whose stories were previously altered or not appropriately expressed. She stresses that the impact Sutzkever had on his audience was that of great importance.

Pollin-Galay makes the claim that Sutzkever’s poetry had a large impact on the portrayal of the Holocaust in the war-time Soviet Union. Furthermore, she attributes this influence to his method of expressing victim testimonies. In analyzing these stories and evaluating his experience with the Holocaust, she concludes that his experience during those times granted him a distinguishing credibility in expressing other’s experiencing that elevated his influence above others who had previously attempted to do the same. This provides a reason why his work was as impactful as it