Broken Heart / Broken Wholeness

“Broken Heart/Broken Wholeness is an exemplary historical case study that combines meticulous archival research with insightful analysis of an event that had fateful consequences for the Soviet Birobidzhan project. It is also a valuable contribution to Jewish cultural history in the Soviet Union, as it shows how the Soviet Jewish elite sought to play an active role in shaping the reconstruction of Jewish life in the wake of the Second World War. Last but not least, this book tells a dramatic personal story of a Yiddish writer who emerged as a spiritual leader of his people, and who paid for his actions with his life.”

—Mikhail Krutikov, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Studies in Contemporary Jewry

Allan Nadler:

“Kotlerman’s book not only vividly recounts Der Nister’s experiences in Birobidzhan but also provides the first English translations of the powerful, moving essays he composed while travelling on the eshelon from Vinnytsia, as well as a substantial excerpt from the hitherto unexamined six thick volumes of Russian transcripts of the subsequent trumped-up ‘Birobidzhan Affair,’ in which Der Nister, Emiot, Kerler, and others were accused of being Jewish conspirators. … [Kotlerman] clearly demonstrates that Der Nister went from being a reclusive, secretive symbolist who kept as far from politics as he could to being a fearless champion of Soviet Jewish nationalism, while taking on an increasingly public role as a kind of secular tzaddik, who blesses, consoles, and advises all who come to him for counsel.” —Allan Nadler, Drew University, Jewish Review of Books (Summer 2019)

Ayse Dietrich, Middle East Technical University, International Journal of Russian Studies Issue no. 6, Jan 2017:
This book makes a contribution to the study of minorities in general, and Jews in particular, during the early years of the Soviet Union. It is also of use for those interested in issues related to the relationship between writers and Soviet authorities in this period.