The Old Guard - Couverture souple

Lurczyński, Mieczyslaw

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1438430825 ISBN 13 : 9781438430829

Editeur : Excelsior Editions, 2010

Synopsis

A brutal and unflinchingly honest portrayal of the effects of concentration camp life on the human psyche.

Brutally and unflinchingly honest in its depiction of the effects of concentration camp life on the human psyche, Mieczyslaw Lurczyński's The Old Guard is one of the earliest works of Holocaust literature and one of the few works written by a non-Jew who was also a survivor of the camps. Begun during his imprisonment on fragments and scraps of paper and completed immediately after the war, in 1945, the play is based on Lurczyński's experiences in Buchenwald and its subcamp in Eschenhausen, SS-kommando Hecht. The action takes place in the Block Elder's room at Hecht, where the prisoners who hold privileged positions in the camp-old-timers from Auschwitz, Majdanek, and other camps-play cards, drink moonshine, and steal from one another. The play's hero, based on the pre-war Polish actor Fryderyk Jarosy, who was also interned at Hecht, attempts to uphold the values of Western civilization in this depraved environment, an impossible task that ultimately leads to his death at the hands of the Camp Elder. As Lurczysnki writes in his preface, the play contains no great atrocities: "The focus, rather, is on internal experiences and on depicting pained, sick, desparate, and resigned psyches, on depicting the methods by which people were turned into beasts, and beasts into freaks of nature." Available for the first time in English, The Old Guard is an important and compelling work of Holocaust literature that stands on a par with the work of Tadeusz Borowski and Primo Levi.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

A brutal and unflinchingly honest portrayal of the effects of concentration camp life on the human psyche.

Brutally and unflinchingly honest in its depiction of the effects of concentration camp life on the human psyche, Mieczysław Lurczyński’s The Old Guard is one of the earliest works of Holocaust literature and one of the few works written by a non-Jew who was also a survivor of the camps. Begun during his imprisonment on scraps of paper and completed immediately after the war, the play is based on Lurczyński’s experiences in Buchenwald and its sub-camp in Escherhausen, SS-Kommando Hecht. The action takes place in the Camp Elder’s room at Hecht, where the prisoners who hold privileged positions in the camp—old-timers from Auschwitz, Majdanek, and other camps—play cards, drink moonshine, and steal from one another. The play’s hero, based on the prewar Polish actor Fryderyk Jarosy, who was also imprisoned at Hecht, attempts to uphold the values of Western civilization in this depraved environment, an impossible task that ultimately leads to his death at the hands of the Camp Elder. 

“Available for the first time in English, The Old Guard is a remarkable work of Holocaust literature that stands on a par with the work of Tadeusz Borowski and Primo Levi.” — Antony Polonsky

Biographie de l'auteur

Mieczysław Lurczyński (1908–1992) was born in St. Petersburg to middle-class Polish parents, and established himself in interwar Poland as a painter and poet. He joined the Home Army after the German Occupation and in February, 1943, was arrested and sent first to Majdanek, then to Buchenwald, and finally to SS-Kommando Hecht. In 1949 he moved to Paris, where he had a successful career as a painter and writer. Alicia Nitecki is Professor of English at Bentley College. She has translated several books and is the coauthor(with Jack Terry) of Jakub’s World: A Boy’s Story of Loss and Survival in the Holocaust. Gerald W. Speca is Senior Lecturer in the English Department at Bentley College, where he teaches courses in drama, screenwriting, and acting. His previous students include Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Excelsior Editions
• Date d'édition: 2010
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1438430825
• ISBN 13: 9781438430829
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 116
• Éditeur: Speca Gerald W
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: GPSR Kontakt; gpsr@libri.de; ; Europaallee 1; Bad Hersfeld; 36244; Allemagne