The video A Conversation with Aharon Appelfeld is available to watch at the top of the page.
Aharon Appelfeld, an Israeli novelist and Holocaust survivor, won the Israel Prize for Fine Literature in 1983. Before delving into his riveting life story, we warmly encourage you to watch the enriching interview with Appelfeld at the top of the page, giving you a more intimate look into the mind of this acclaimed author. During this in-depth conversation at his home in Israel, Appelfeld candidly reflected on his literary writing. “Since I was a child, the Holocaust was like a fairytale,” he shared, offering a poignant perspective on a universally acknowledged horror.
Appelfeld was merely seven years old when World War II broke out. Tragically, when he was just nine, his mother was brutally murdered in the street. He and his father were then forced into labor camps in Transnistria, from which Appelfeld managed to escape. He then lived in the forest for three years, surviving by working odd jobs for peasants and hiding his Jewish identity by maintaining silence during that time. Eventually, he joined the Soviet army, serving as a cook. Post-war, a thirteen-year-old Appelfeld made his way alone to Israel, two years prior to Israel’s independence. It wasn’t until 1960, nearly two decades later, that he reunited with his father, whose name he found on a Jewish Agency list of Holocaust survivors.
Despite his limited formal education, Appelfeld quickly mastered Hebrew and began writing short stories and novels, drawing inspiration from his childhood memories and experiences. His literary works mainly focus on Jewish life in Europe before, during, and after World War II. In the video interview, Appelfeld shares why he believed it was essential to write about the everyday person during the Holocaust. He explores themes of love, disappointment, and pain, seeking to help readers identify with the human side of the victims. “The horror discourages us; we can hardly understand the death of one child. How can we understand the death of thousands of people?” he probed. In his narratives, Appelfeld consciously avoids dwelling on the grim brutality of the Holocaust, instead striving to explore the circumstances without compromising the inherent humanity of the characters.
The video Conversation with Aharon Appelfeld was created as part of a video art project by Shachaf Dekel, inspired by Appelfeld’s writings. The video art When Time Comes was inspired by the book Badenheim 1939 by Aharon Appelfeld – click here to watch. The video art Maria Gross was inspired by the book The Story of a Life by Aharon Appelfeld – click here to watch.
