KHATZKL NADEL

KHATZKL NADEL (1905-1968)

            He was born in Kovno and spent his childhood years in the town of Krok (Krak).  He was a Soviet Russian bibliographer who also assembled literary anthologies.  He always kept firmly to the Party line.  He began work as a librarian in 1922 and from that point as a bibliographer as well.  From 1925 to 1935, he led the Yiddish division of the Korolenko State Library in Kharkov.  His bibliographic booklet on anti-religious literature had on its title page the following sub-heading: “Guide to anti-religious literature for libraries, schools, clubs, anti-religious circles, and propagandists.”  From 1928 to 1948, he published a large number of bibliographies in the Soviet Yiddish journals: Ratnbildung (Soviet education), Prolit (Proletarian literature), Di royte velt (The red world), and Shtern (Star), and the newspapers Eynikeyt (Unity) and Der emes (The truth).  His own writings and edited works would include: Lenin in der yidisher poezye, zamlung (Lenin in Yiddish poetry, anthology) (Kharkov: Tsentral-farlag, 1928), 36 pp.; Af yidishe felder, lider-zamlung (On Yiddish fields, poetry collection), an anthology of Soviet Yiddish poetry with an foreword by Y. K. (Kharkov: All-Ukrainian Association for the Agricultural Settlement of Jewish Workers, 1928), 42 pp.; with Y. Elyovitsh, Onvayzer fun retsenzyes un kritishe artiklen (1922-1928) (Guide to reviews and critical articles, 1922-1928) (Kharkov: Central State Library, 1929), 72 pp.; Literatur vegn der natsyonaler frage un yidisher erd-aynordenung in ratn-farband (Literature on the nationality question and the Jewish land classifications in the Soviet Union), “Bibliographic guide for propagandists as well as activists and circles of the Association for the Agricultural Settlement of Jewish Workers” (Kharkov: All-Ukrainian Association for the Agricultural Settlement of Jewish Workers, 1930), 56 pp.—a bibliographic selection of books, pamphlets, and articles in Yiddish, Russian, and Ukrainian (the book also includes a section on Jewish colonization abroad); Antireligyeze literatur, onvayzer fun antireligyezer literatur far biblyotekes, shuln… (Anti-religious literature, guide for anti-religious literature for libraries, schools,…), with a foreword by M. Fayngold (Moscow-Kharkov-Minsk: Tsentrfarlag, 1931), 70 pp.; Lenin un di kinder, kinstlerishe zamlung far kinder (Lenin and the children, artistic collection for children) (Kharkov: State publishers for national minorities of the USSR, 1934), 151 pp.; Birebidzhan (Birobidzhan), a collection of poems and stories concerning Birobidzhan, edited by Rivke Rubin (Moscow: Emes, 1936), 201 pp.; with Peysi Altman, Antireligyeze kinstlerishe zamlung (Anti-religious artistic collection) (Kiev: State publishers for national minorities of the USSR, 1939), 304 pp.; Stalin (Stalin), literary collection (Kiev, 1939), 763 pp. + 5 pictures, mostly translated from Russian and other languages; Sholem-aleykhem, fargesene bletlekh (Sholem-Aleykhem, forgotten pages), compiled by N. and Y. Mitlman (Kiev: State publishers for national minorities of the USSR, 1939), 336 pp.; Sholem-aleykhem, oysgeveylte briv (Sholem-Aleykhem, selected letters), compiled by N. and Y. Mitlman, with a foreword and annotations by them (Moscow: Emes, 1941), 322 pp.  Nadel published separate bibliographies for Sholem-Aleykhem in Soviet Yiddish journals and special collections: “Sholem-aleykhem in ratnfarband far di yorn 1917-1936” (Sholem-Aleykhem in the Soviet Union for the years 1917-1936), Farmest (Challenge) in Kiev-Kharkov (1936), pp. 153-61; “Der bester denkmol” (The best monument), a more extensive bibliography of Sholem-Aleykhem’s works, published in the Soviet Union in Yiddish, Russian, Ukrainian, Byelorussian, and Uzbek-Yiddish [?] for the years 1921-1931, in Sholem-aleykhem (Sholem-Aleykhem) (Kiev, 1940), pp. 199-222.  A bibliographic work by him was also published in Sovetish heymland (Soviet homeland) in Moscow (March-April 1962).  He died in Kharkov.

Sources: M. Shteynberg, Yunger boykland (?) (Kharkov, 1928); A. Borukhov, “Af a baratung vegn biblyografye-vezn” (At a conference on bibliographic guides), Eynikeyt (Moscow) (August 9, 1947); Chone Shmeruk, comp., Pirsumim yehudiim babrit-hamoatsot, 1917-1961 (Jewish publications in the Soviet Union, 1917-1961) (Jerusalem, 1961), see index.

Yankev Birnboym

[Additional information from: Chaim Beider, Leksikon fun yidishe shrayber in ratn-farband (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers in the Soviet Union), ed. Boris Sandler and Gennady Estraikh (New York: Congress for Jewish Culture, Inc., 2011), p. 245.]