Introduction to the Projected Anthology Auschwitz

Born in Brzozów, Poland, Avraham Levite was a Yiddish writer about whose life few details are known. He received a traditional religious education before leaving his yeshiva to become involved in Yiddishist and Zionist politics. He is primarily known as the author of the introduction to an anthology of literary writing and reportage entitled Auschwitz that was intended to document life in the camp. Although the contents of this anthology were never uncovered, the introduction is noted for the remarkable circumstances of its creation as well as for its seeming awareness and anticipation of the complexities of Jewish memory and history after the war. The text was long included in the standard curriculum on the Holocaust in Israeli public schools.