Occupied Words

Hannah Pollin-Galay is Associate Professor of Yiddish and Holocaust Studies in the Department of Literature at Tel Aviv University.

"Occupied Words masterfully assesses how the meaning of the words we use changes based on context...The book emphasizes that we must bear witness to the events happening in the world around us in whatever way we are able. They should impact how we speak, how we act, how we interact with one another. We are changed, whether we like it or not, and our language reflects that." (Jewish Book Council) "Pollin-Galay brings long-overdue attention to the fate of the Yiddish language itself in the Holocaust, seeing it as a victim in its own right. . . .This excellent and important volume is a tribute to those who devoted themselves to preserving, recording and reinvigorating the language of the victims, who passionately threw themselves into their work of trying to recreate a collective culture in Yiddish and who chose to assert the power of Yiddish through creative work in that language." - Miriam Isaacs (Moment Magazine) "Pollin-Galay's dissection...supplies penetrating insights into the mindset of a man enduring extreme suffering and the language such circumstances can beget" - Mark Glanville (Times Literary Supplement) "[W] hen one pays attention to the weight of words in the way Hannah Pollin-Galay does, every word counts." - Avinoam Patt (In geveb) "By studying how Yiddish speakers responded to the Holocaust, Hannah Pollin-Galay takes us into the underground of language. A moving and captivating book about the devastating power of words." (Martin Puchner, Harvard University) "Occupied Words is a landmark in Yiddish scholarship, an unrivaled study of the interplay of language and catastrophe. Anyone interested in the Yiddish language, Jewish folk culture, and Jewish reactions to Nazi persecution should read this book." (Samuel D. Kassow, Trinity College) "An important and original study that makes a significant contribution to the fields of Holocaust, Yiddish, and gender and sexuality studies." (Cecile E. Kuznitz, Bard College) "A profound work without parallel . . . this is an excellent book." (Barry Trachtenberg, Wake Forest University) "In her magnificent study, Pollin-Galay proves wrong the longstanding truism that the Holocaust was so terrible that it could not be described. Survivors fought to talk. Occupied Words offers a trenchant translation handbook - and a powerful window into the world of Holocaust society." (Anna Hajkova, University of Warwick)