KHATZKL NADEL

KHATZKL NADEL (1905-1968)

            He was a Soviet Russian bibliographer and literary critic, born in Kovno and spent his childhood years in the town of Krok (Krakes). He always kept firmly to the Party line. He began work as a librarian in 1922, and from that point he worked in the field of bibliography and literature. From 1925 to 1935, he led the Yiddish division of the Korolenko State Library in Kharkov, replenishing book funds, assembling catalogues, and publishing articles on bibliography and bibliographic guides. 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, the majority of his bibliographic and literary research work appeared 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). He also brought out a number of articles in the Moscow journal Sovetish heymland (Soviet homeland). He died in Kharkov.

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 Yoysef 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: Central Publishers, 1931), 70 pp., with a supplement in Russian and Ukrainian on literature concerning the Jewish religion; Lenin un di kinder, kinstlerishe zamlung far kinder (Lenin and the children, artistic collection for children) (Kharkov: Ukrainian State Publishers for National Minorities, 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: Ukrainian State Publishers for National Minorities, 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 Yisroel Mitlman (Kiev: Ukrainian State Publishers for National Minorities, 1939), 336 pp.; Sholem-aleykhem, oysgeveylte briv (Sholem-Aleykhem, selected letters), compiled by Y. Mitlman, with a foreword, commentary, and annotations (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-Aleichem 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-Aleichem’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).

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.]