Life and Fate

Vasily Grossman

1960

Never, before the war, had Viktor thought about the fact that he was a Jew, that his mother was a Jew. Never had his mother spoken to him about it—neither during his childhood, nor during his years as a student. Never while he was at Moscow University had one student, professor or seminar-leader ever mentioned it.

Never before the war, either at…

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Creator Bio

Vasily Grossman

1905–1964

Vasily Grossman was born in Berdichev, Ukraine, to an assimilated Jewish family. He attended university in Moscow and worked as a chemist; however, he became a writer, often exploring Jews and social issues. During World War II he served as a front-line newspaper correspondent. He was also a member of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, and contributed, with Ilya Ehrenburg, to Chernaia kniga (The Black Book), outlining Russian anti-Jewish policies. After the war, Grossman continued not to be shy about expressing his views on Soviet antisemitism, and he refused to be censored.

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