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08 May 2025

Terror, triumph and resistance: Women in the Yugoslav Partisans, 1941-1945

8 May 2025 marks 80 years since the surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allied Forces and the celebration of victory in Europe. Jubilant crowds thronged the streets of cities across the continent, but the guns did not fall silent until 25 May, when the Partisans triumphed at the now forgotten Battle of Odžak. This last European battle of the Second World War took place in Yugoslavia, where victory over fascism came at a terrible cost: the country lost over ten percent of its population, and the material damage was on an equally vast scale. For Britain, VE Day was the culmination of a storied resistance to the Nazi juggernaut – its ‘finest hour’ – which saw the island as a beacon of freedom as the swastika cast its long shadow across occupied Europe. Yet four years earlier, while London burned in the Blitz, resistance was brewing in a remote southeastern corner of the continent, which would turn the tide of the war and persist until that final hard-won victory on 25 May.

Black and white photograph of a young partisan woman wearing a military cap
A partisan girl from Kozara mountain, winter 1943. Illustration from Jelena Batinić, Women and Yugoslav partisans...(Cambridge, 2015) YC.2015.a.8652

The Axis powers (Nazi Germany, followed by Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria) invaded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia beginning in April 1941 and the country was plunged into crisis as rival factions took shape. In July 1941 Yugoslav Communist party leader Josip Broz ‘Tito’ called on Yugoslavians to unite irrespective of their ethnic and religious differences and mount a national war of liberation against the invaders, appealing to their historic tradition of opposing foreign occupation. Thus was born the Yugoslav Partisan movement, which grew from an irregular guerilla operation to become the most significant and successful anti-fascist resistance movement in wartime Europe.

Map showing the partition of Yugoslavia in 1941

The partition of Yugoslavia, 1941. Illustration from Jozo Tomasevich, War and Revolution in Yugoslavia...(Stanford, 2001) m02/11817

The success of the Partisans, who fought in desperate conditions and won victories against overwhelming odds, could not have been secured without the mass participation of women, one of the most remarkable phenomena of the Second World War. It is estimated that nearly two million women participated in the Partisan movement, including about 100,000 in combat roles, of whom 70 percent were under 20. 25,000 of these female soldiers were killed, and tens of thousands were wounded. Away from the front, women were active as underground fighters in occupied cities, as medical personnel and army suppliers, as political activists and as members of the national liberation committees. There are few, if any, instances in recent history where women were so deeply involved both politically and militarily in defeating an occupying enemy and establishing a new state.

Black and whit photograph of a young partisan woman in uniform carrying a rifle and a grenade

A partizanka on the move. Illustration from Barbara Jancar-Webster, Women & Revolution in Yugoslavia...(Denver, 1990) 90/14790

The British Library contains key works exploring this astonishing yet undeservedly neglected aspect of the war. Jelena Batinić’s pioneering 2015 study, Women and Yugoslav partisans : a history of World War II resistance (Cambridge, 2015; YC.2015.a.8652) investigates female Partisan participation through the lens of gender, South Slavic culture, and its intersection with war. Batinić draws on primary sources and on the slim body of partizanka scholarship, including the first English-language study on the subject, Barbara Jancar-Webster’s Women & revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945 and the 2011 Serbian-language study Partizanke kao građanke : društvena emancipacija partizanki u Srbiji, 1945-1953 (‘Female partisans as citizens: social emancipation of partisan women in Serbia, 1945-1953’) by Ivana Pantelić (Belgrade, 2011; YF.2012.a.25362). The British Library holds other key Yugoslav-era sources on the subject, including Dušanka Kovačević’s Women of Yugoslavia in the National Liberation War (Belgrade, 1977; X.529/35030) and Žene Srbije u NOB (‘Women of Serbia in the National Liberation War’) (Belgrade, 1975; LB.31.b.20477).

Black and white photograph of a woman addressing a crowd
Meeting of the Antifascist Front of Women, Dalmatia, 1943. Illustration from Dušanka Kovačević, Women of Yugoslavia in the National Liberation War

Batinić begins by surveying Yugoslavia in 1941, a patriarchal peasant society with the highest rates of female illiteracy and maternal mortality in Europe, and explores how young peasant women, who formed the bulk of partizankas, were recast as central actors in that most quintessentially masculine of activities, military combat. Following Tito’s landmark decision in February 1942 to admit women as frontline combatants – the first army of its day to officially do so - Partisan leaders recruited women through an unlikely combination of communist ideology about female emancipation and the rich tradition of freedom-fighting lore from South Slavic epic poetry, itself a product of local resistance to centuries of Ottoman occupation. This way, argued Batinić, Partisan leaders sanctioned women’s role as warriors and presented themselves as bearers of the ‘great heroic tradition of the Yugoslav peoples’. This tradition was by no means exclusively male – Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro had a long history of women participating in liberation struggles. Then there was the blunt reality that for many women, taking up arms and going ‘into the woods’ was, for all its hardships, preferable to living in terror in the occupied towns, because it offered the possibility of autonomy and of self-defense.

Black and white photograph of a brigade of women partisans sitting on a hillside
Fourth Montenegrin Proletarian Brigade, Bosnia, 1942. Illustration from Jelena Batinić, Women and Yugoslav partisans

Women’s dramatic entry into the political and military fray of Yugoslav society led to the formation in June 1942 of the Yugoslav Antifascist Front of Women (AFW), one of the largest and most active women’s mass movements in the region. The AFW undertook activities crucial to the war effort: supplying Partisan units on the move, providing care for orphans, and coordinating operations between the liberated and occupied territories. From 1944, partizankas were gradually withdrawn from the front line and transferred to political or administrative functions, although women remained active in most units until the final liberation.

Magazine cover with a drawing of two female soldiers on either side of a male soldier
Cover page, 1st edition of ‘The Vojvodina Woman at War’. Issued by the Vojvodina Antifascist Front of Women, January 1944. The slogan reads ‘death to fascism, freedom to the people!’. Illustration from Bosa Cvetić, Žene Srbije u Narodnooslobodilačkoj borbi (Belgrade, 1975) LB.31.b.20477

Partisan life was physically and mentally gruelling, testing the very limits of human endurance. A partizanka and doctor, Saša Božović, recalled typhus victims rolling in the snow to relieve their high fevers, before hauling supplies to their comrades up icy mountain paths. Detachments would come upon villages which had been burned to the ground, sometimes with the families locked inside the houses, and find themselves caring for children who emerged from the smouldering ruins. Wounded soldiers had to be rescued from the battlefield under enemy fire, children were murdered in front of their parents. Yet survivors above all recalled the sense of camaraderie, conviction and solidarity which pulled them through the horror.

Black and white photograph of soldiers travelling in the snow
A partisan column in the snow, Macedonia. Illustration from Dušanka Kovačević, Women of Yugoslavia in the National Liberation War

Black and white photograph of a thatched wooden hut

A makeshift partisan hospital in a peasant hut, Serbia. Illustration from Bosa Cvetić, Žene Srbije u Narodnooslobodilačkoj borbi

Pregnancy and motherhood were also part of the female Partisan experience, often in heart-rending circumstances. Saša Božović’s march through the mountains of Herzegovina in the winter of 1941 claimed the life of her three-month old daughter, who died of exposure and starvation. Partizanka Đina Vrbica was ordered to kill her own baby, after giving birth on the battlefield, as the infant’s crying was making an ambush impossible. The order was later withdrawn as the female officer charged with the task was too distraught to comply; this left Vrbica to struggle through the wilderness with a rifle in one arm and an infant in the other. She finally left the baby in the care of a local family but was killed in battle when she returned in search of her. Many partizanka casualties were reported to be pregnant when they were killed, despite a ban on Partisan marriages and penalties imposed for sexual relations among the rank and file.

Black and white photograph of a group of women with baskets of herbs
Kosovar women bringing medical herbs for a hospital. Illustration from Dušanka Kovačević, Women of Yugoslavia in the National Liberation War

Blacks and white photograph of children sitting at wooden benches and being served food

A children’s care centre in liberated Croatia, 1942. Illustration from Dušanka Kovačević, Women of Yugoslavia in the National Liberation War

For most of the war, Hitler and his collaborators refused to recognise the Partisans as legitimate belligerents, and their troops acted accordingly, shooting hostages and treating combatants, prisoners and civilians alike with brutality. Partizankas were not spared the atrocities inflicted on their male counterparts and suffered additional indignities, including sexual violence. 17-year-old Lepa Radić, who was hanged by the Nazis in 1943, and many other young women who were tortured and executed became celebrated martyrs and icons of partizanka fortitude and defiance, with many achieving the status of National Hero. They were dragged to death behind vehicles, thrown into disused wells, stretched on the rack, and worse. Survivors later recalled the virtually unprintable details of the tortures they withstood at the hands of their captors. Žene Srbije u NOB, a haunting Yugoslav-era compendium about women in the war, features short biographies and portraits of fresh-faced smiling teenagers, their hair set in victory rolls, with details of their war activities, and if known, their fate. The same girls sometimes appear a page later, as corpses hanging from lampposts, or with features mutilated beyond recognition.

Black and white photograph of a young partisan woman with a military cap and a medal

Milka Travar, company commander and machine gunner of the First Proletarian Brigade. Illustration from Dušanka Kovačević, Women of Yugoslavia in the National Liberation War (Belgrade, 1977) X.529/35030

The partizanka story has a personal resonance. My grandmother, Savka Korov (1926-2004), fled her occupied home village in northern Serbia as a 16-year-old and followed her elder brother into the Partisan ranks in 1942, enlisting in the Second Proletarian Brigade and changing her name to Slavica to conceal her identity and prevent reprisals against her family. She endured bitter winters in the rugged mountains of Herzegovina, surviving bouts of typhus and frostbite, and saw active combat at the Battle of Sutjeska (May-June 1943), one of the region’s deadliest battles, where over 15 percent of troops were female. Sutjeska was a crucial moment for the Partisans, whose success in thwarting better-equipped Axis forces with over six times as many troops and losing nearly one third of their own troops, turned the tide of the war in Yugoslavia and won them unconditional support from Churchill and the Western Allies. It marked the last major Axis offensive against the Partisans and saw British Special Operations Executive (SOE) soldiers parachuted into Montenegro at the height of hostilities at Churchill’s behest to make official contact with Tito. The only trace of this carnage in my grandmother’s later years was a scar on her forehead where a bullet had whistled past, separating her from death by mere millimetres. Like her, many had endured the same hardships; unlike her, not all had the fortune to witness the defeat of fascism and to rebuild their lives. She christened her firstborn son after the war Slobodan, meaning ‘free’, symbolic of the collective sense of hard-won liberation which defined her generation.

Black and white photograph of a woman carrying a large Yugoslav flag
Women’s meeting in Montenegro, with the Yugoslav flag. Illustration from Dušanka Kovačević, Women of Yugoslavia in the National Liberation War

Batinić goes on to explore the changing fortunes of the partizanka in the (ex)-Yugoslav collective memory – from her iconic status in the early post-war era to virtual oblivion and trivialisation from the 1990s onwards. The demise of socialism and the collapse of Yugoslavia condemned many of its founding icons, including the partizanka, to the proverbial scrap-bin of history, victims of the collective identity crisis which plagued post-Yugoslav society. In the West, as an historical figure, she is obscure and unacknowledged. Yet the partizanka deserves a different and better fate. Irrespective of her ideology, religion or ethnicity, the resilience, sacrifice and extraordinary contribution of a lost generation of young women, many of whom paid the ultimate price to halt the fascist juggernaut, deserves recognition, celebration and most of all, respect.

Black and white photograph of a group of partisan women

Partizankas and organisers of the AFW in Macedonia. Illustration from Dušanka Kovačević, Women of Yugoslavia in the National Liberation War

Savka Andic, Acquisitions South

Further reading:

Vladimir Dedijer, The war diaries of Vladimir Dedijer. (Ann Arbor, 1990). YC.1991.b.425

Ben Shepherd, Terror in the Balkans: German armies and partisan warfare. (Cambridge, Mass, 2012). YC.2012.a.9950

Lydia Sklevicky, Konji, žene, ratovi. (Zagreb, 1996). AFŽ Arhiv, https://afzarhiv.org/items/show/720.

Heather Williams, Parachutes, patriots and partisans: the Special Operations Executive and Yugoslavia 1941-1945. (London, 2002). m04/17827

Posted by European Studies at 10:29 AM in Bosnia and Hercegovina , Croatia , Germany , History , Macedonia , Montenegro , Serbia , Slavonic , Women's histories | Permalink

17 April 2025

████ is ████. Navigating the Minefield of (Self-)censorship in Putin's Russia

In Russia, attitudes towards homosexuality ebbed and flowed, ranging from benign toleration in the wake of the October Revolution, through stigmatisation and criminalisation of same-sex (particularly male) desire in the Stalin era, to state-sponsored and politically motivated homophobia fostered by the current Russian regime. In the last decade, pro-Kremlin media outlets have peddled the idea of LGBTQ rights as a product of the decadent West and a tool of hybrid warfare posing a threat to national security and the Russian way of life. Much ink has been spilled over the censorship of LGBTQ content in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, where progressive authors are deemed ‘foreign agents’ and books referencing ‘non-traditional sexual relationships’ are sold wrapped in plastic and labelled with an adult content warning. While the picture is bleak, the country’s independent publishers attempt to challenge the regime by exposing and, ultimately, circumventing state censorship. This blog highlights works centred on LGBTQ experiences that attracted swathes of readers and caused a stir among Russian lawmakers.

Since the early 2010s, Russia’s stance on LGBTQ issues has been radically conservative. The legal enshrinement of compulsory heterosexuality and the systematic oppression of queer people began with the notorious anti-LGBTQ law, which severely restricted the ability to speak and educate about sexuality and gender issues. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin’s regime has tried to frame the conflict as a re-enactment of the Great Patriotic War, portraying Russia as a bulwark of tradition and vilifying the proponents of LGBTQ rights, secularism, and multiculturalism as modern-day fascists. Soon after Russian tanks rolled across Ukraine’s borders, the Kremlin initiated another ruthless crackdown on the LGBTQ community. This time around, the law introducing a complete ban on ‘gay propaganda’ was prompted by a teenage romance novel set at a Young Pioneer camp.

Photograph of two black book covers side by side. They feature purple Cyrillic text and an ‘18+’ age restriction label

Covers of Leto v pionerskom galstuke and O chem molchit lastochka by Kateryna Sylvanova and Elena Malisova redesigned to comply with anti-LGBTQ laws in Russia. In order to draw attention to the censorship of literature, the publisher labelled the covers with Article 29.5 of the Russian Constitution. The Article reads: “The freedom of mass media shall be guaranteed. Censorship shall be prohibited.” Awaiting shelfmarks

Leto v pionerskom galstuke (‘Summer in a Pioneer Tie’), co-authored by Kateryna Sylvanova and Elena Malisova, is a lyrical coming-of-age novel about the clandestine relationship between two men who met at a summer camp in Soviet Ukraine in the 1980s. The book is not sexually explicit. Instead, the authors tenderly describe the experience of falling in love for the first time. Initially published in 2021 on a fan-fiction website, it was discovered by Popcorn Books, an imprint specialising in queer fiction. The book proved a runaway success, selling over 200,000 copies in its first year of publication. In 2022, it became the target of a witch hunt after the militant nationalist writer Zakhar Prilepin called for the publishing house to be burned down. The novel and its sequel, O chem molchit lastochka (‘What the Swallow Won’t Say’), were hastily withdrawn from sale. The authors were declared ‘foreign agents’ and forced to flee the country.

As the term ‘propaganda of non-traditional relations’ remains undefined in the legislation, writers and editors have found themselves forced to guess what the unwritten rules are. For fear of charges for the violation of the draconian law, some publishers scrambled to censor LGBTQ themed literature ahead of the implementation of the new law in December 2022. One notable example was Max Falk’s debut novel Vdrebezgi (‘Shattered’), released by LikeBook in October 2022. With the author's consent, the publisher took the precaution of painting over approximately 3% of the text that contained descriptions of an intimate relationship between two men. The decision to visibly redact the ‘controversial’ sections rather than omit them was also made to draw public attention to state censorship without technically defying it. Despite these efforts, the novel was withdrawn from sales shortly after its publication.

Book cover featuring two young men embracing affectionately behind a shattered glass pane. The cover is labelled with an ‘18+’ age restriction label

Cover of Vdrebezgi by Max Fal'k. Awaiting shelfmark

Censorship has been equally pronounced in translated literature. Translated works are rarely acquired for the British Library's Russian Collection. However, we collect and preserve books targeted by the regime as they document the struggle for human rights and freedom of speech in Putin's Russia.

In April 2024, the publishing holding AST announced that several books capturing LGBTQ experiences were pulled from its website to comply with anti-gay propaganda laws, including Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life (‘Malen’kaia zhizn’), Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles (‘Pesn’ Akhilla’), James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room (‘Komnata Dzhovanni’), and Michael Cunningham’s A Home at the End of the World (‘Dom na kraiu sveta’). Furious at having to withdraw titles, AST released Roberto Carnero’s biography of the openly gay Italian film director Pier Paolo Pasolini with whole pages relating to his sexual orientation demonstratively inked out. The publisher sarcastically remarked that the redactions made the book ‘interactive’ as they allowed the reader to decide for himself whether to seek out the censored material through alternative channels. The initial print run of 1.500 copies sold out immediately, and another one was ordered to keep up with the demand.

Photograph of two book covers side by side. Cover on the left is marked with an ‘18+‘ age restriction label and features a photograph of a man looking upwards with his hands clasped near his face. Cover on the right shows a black and white photograph of a man looking to the left in profileCover of Pazolini. Umeret’ za idei, the Russian translation of Roberto Carnero’s book Pasolini: ‘Dying for One’s Own Ideas (Awaiting shelfmark). On the right, cover of the Italian original Morire per Le Idee: vita letteraria di Pier Paolo Pasolini (Milano, 2010) YF.2011.a.2102

Photograph of an open book with text on both pages obscured by thick black horizontal bars. The only uncensored line reads: ‘Liubov' posle Amado mio‘
Censored pages from Pazolini. Umeret’ za idei by Roberto Carnero. Awaiting shelfmark

Photograph of an open book displaying two pages of Italian text

Pages from Morire per Le Idee: vita letteraria di Pier Paolo Pasolini by Roberto Carnero (Milano, 2010) YF.2011.a.2102

The blacked out sections of Carnero’s novel, totalling some 70 out of 400 pages, deal with Pasolini’s private life. However, a cursory reading of the Italian original reveals that the content is far from being obscene or scandalous. The heavy-handed redactions, prompted by the passages of law hostile to the LGBTQ community, had turned the book into a celebrated object of art, a powerful attribute of performance. 

With its opaque formulations, the anti-LGBTQ legislation gave rise to a culture of fear and self-censorship. The books featured in the blog transgress the boundaries of censorship and generate meanings, bringing LGBTQ struggles back into the light. They also illuminate the simple truth: Love is Love. 

Hanna Dettlaff-Kuznicka, Curator of Slavonic and East European Collections

References/Further reading:

Chris Ashford, Research handbook on gender, sexuality and the law (Cheltenham, 2020) ELD.DS.519753

Radzhana Buyantueva, The emergence and development of LGBT protest activity in Russia (Basingstoke, 2022) ELD.DS.736424

Laurie Essig, Queer in Russia: a story of sex, self, and the other (Durham, NC, 1999) 99/31881

Dan Healey, Russian homophobia from Stalin to Sochi (London, 2018) YC.2018.a.1153

Jon Mulholland, Gendering nationalism: intersections of nation, gender and sexuality (Basingstoke, Hampshire, 2018) ELD.DS.412134

Conor O'Dwyer, Coming out of communism: the emergence of LGBT activism in Eastern Europe (New York, 2018) m18/.11529

Dennis Scheller-Boltz, The discourse on gender identity in contemporary Russia: an introduction with a case study in Russian gender linguistics (Hildesheim, 2017) YC.2019.a.6769

Valerii Sozaev, Nasha istoriia: zametki i ocherki o LGBT v Rossii (Saint Petersburg, 2018) YP.2019.a.5058

Valerie Sperling, Sex, politics, and Putin: political legitimacy in Russia (Oxford, 2015) YC.2015.a.3806

Galina Yuzefovich, Weapons of the Weak: Fighting Literary Censorship in Contemporary Russia

Posted by European Studies at 12:16 PM in Banned books , LGBTQ+ , Publishing and printing , Russia , Slavonic | Permalink

28 March 2025

Historic maps of the Slovene lands

Slovene Lands is a geographical term that describes the territories in Central and South-East Europe inhabited by the Slovenes since the sixth century AD. The Slovene Lands included Carniola, the southern part of Styria, the southern part of Carinthia, Istria, Gorizia and Gradisca, Trieste, Istria and Prekmurje.

Each Slovene land was a feudal unit. Carniola, Styria and Carinthia were duchies, Gorizia a county, Istria a margravate and Trieste a town. All the Slovene lands were ruled by the Habsburgs except those on the western and eastern borders which were controlled by Venice and Hungary respectively.

The historic maps presented in this blog are from the Topographical Collection of King George III.

Coloured map of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola detailed with hand-drawn borders. It includes a decorative title cartouche with French text, indicating the region's historical connections and administrative divisions
A 1697 French map of the Duchies of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola as the hereditary lands of the Habsburg Crown in which were included the Counties of Celje and of Gorica, and Windic March. A copperplate engraving, hand colour in outline. Maps K.Top.90.53. (Image from the British Library's Flickr account)

Carniola (in Slovene Kranjska) where about the half of Slovenes lived was ruled by German ecclesiastical and lay princely houses in succession until 1335 when it became a Habsburg province. Raised to the status of Duchy in 1364 as a Hereditary Land of the Habsburg monarchy it became integral part of the Austrian Empire in 1804, and from 1867 a constituent part of Austria-Hungary until 1918. The capital of Carniola was Ljubljana which is the capital of Slovenia today.

Black-and-white map featuring a decorative cartouche with Italian text at the lower left corner. Pencil inscription located along the bottom edge, below the main map area, reads ‘Stiria, Carinthia, Carniola’

A 1686 Italian map of the Duchies of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola and the other hereditary entities that made up part of the Austrian Circle. A copperplate engraving. Maps K.Top.90.54. (Image from the British Library's Flickr account)

Styria (Štajerska) and Carinthia (Koroška) became Habsburg Crown lands in 1282 and 1355 respectively. Most inhabitants of the two duchies were ethnic Germans but there was a strong Slovene minority. After the First World War, part of southern Styria including Maribor, Ptuj, Velenje and Celje, and a small part of southern Carinthia, were ceded to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

Map of the Duchies of Carniola, Styria, Carinthia, and surrounding areas. The map is hand-coloured with distinct borders and includes two decorative cartouches with French text at the bottom left and right corner

A map produced in Amsterdam between 1696 and 1708 showing part of the Austrian Circle comprising the Duchies of Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and other hereditary states of the Habsburg Crown. A copperplate engraving, hand colour in outline. Maps K.Top.90.56. (Image from the British Library's Flickr account)

Map of the Duchies of Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and adjacent states, including the Kingdom of Hungary and Croatia. The map is hand-colored with distinct borders and includes two decorative cartouches with French text at the lower left and right corner

A 1709 French map showing part of the Austrian domain comprising the Duchies of Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and other hereditary states of the Habsburg Crown. A copperplate engraving, hand colour in outline. Maps K.Top.90.57. (Image from the British Library's Flickr account)

Map of the Duchy of Carniola, Windic March, and Istria with hand-colored regions. It features a highly ornate cartouche with Latin text. The cartouche is framed by two seated figures: a woman in elegant clothing on the right, and a bearded man in armour on the left. There is an inset with a landscape view at the top right corner, and a small inset map at the bottom right corner

A German map produced around 1720 showing the Duchy of Carniola, Windic March and Istria. A copperplate engraving, hand colour in outline. Inset at upper right shows a view of Ljubljana, the capital of the Duchy of Carniola. Inset at lower right is Cerknica Lake (In Slovene Cerkniško jezero) Maps K.Top.90.72. (Image from the British Library's Flickr account)

Map of the Duchies of Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, and the County of Celje. The map is hand-colored with distinct borders. It features a decorative cartouche with four coats of arms flanking a Latin inscription

A map produced in Amsterdam between 1726 and 1750 showing the Duchies of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola with the County of Celje which comprised the Austrian Circle. Inset at lower left features the coats of arms of the four areas. A copperplate engraving, hand colour in outline. (Image from the British Library's Flickr account) Maps K.Top.90.55.

Historic map of the Slovenian Lands and Regions with detailed topography, hand-colored borders delineating regions, and a cartouche with Slovenian text at the lower right corner
Map of the Slovenian Lands and Regions, produced and published in Vienna in 1864 by Peter Kozler (1824-1879) a jurist, geographer and politician. A copperplate engraving, hand colour in outline. Maps 27730.(7.)

Kozler also compiled the Directory of cities, towns and places in Slovene and German as an appendix to the map of Slovenia (1864). The first 1852 edition of the map is available from the Slovenian Digital Library.
 

Milan Grba, Lead Curator South-East European Collections

Posted by European Studies at 10:00 AM in Digitisation , Maps , Slavonic , Slovenia | Permalink

27 February 2025

From the Track to the Page: the Legacy of Zdeněk Koubek and Lída Merlínová.

One of the many reasons books are so alluring and continue to enchant us with their magic is that, while immersing ourselves in fantastical fictional worlds, we can still see aspects of ourselves in the characters – whether we identify with them, reject them, or simply observe their journeys. Unfortunately, while queer representation has become more common in contemporary literature and popular culture, this was not always the case.

Ludmila Skokanová, later known under her literary pseudonym Lída Merlínová – a female Merlin – grew up in Czechoslovakia at a time when LGBTQ+ voices were scarce in literature. As she entered adulthood and realized that her dreams and desires did not conform to widely accepted norms, she had little literary representation to turn to. The years of the First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938) saw the emergence of the so-called ‘Czech New Woman’ – a generation of women who gained voting rights, access to education, and the right to divorce. However, despite these progressive steps, Czechoslovak law still criminalized homosexual acts. Against this backdrop, Merlínová, a journalist, singer and dancer who was part of the queer scene, wrote Vyhnanci lásky (‘Exiles of Love’; Prague, 1929), the first Czech novel to explore same-sex love. She preferred the term ‘invert’ over ‘lesbian’, reflecting the language and perceptions of the time.

Cover of 'Zdenin světový rekord' with a photograph of Zdenek Koubek in running vest and shorts

Cover of Lída Merlínová, Zdenin světový rekord: sportovní román (Prague, 1935) [Awaiting cataloguing] 

Merlínová was a prolific author, although not all of her works focused on queer themes. Unfortunately, very few copies of her books remain available today, as many were lost or destroyed due to censorship during the communist era. However, we recently acquired a rare copy of Zdenin světový rekord: sportovní román (‘Zdena's World Record: A Sports Novel’, the first and only edition of a fictionalized biography of Zdeněk Koubek. Koubek, originally known as Zdena Koubková, won two gold medals at the 1934 Women’s World Games in the 800-meter sprint before announcing in 1935 that he would be living as a man.

Facsimile of a note signed 'Zdenka Koubková'

Page from Zdenin světový rekord: sportovní román with a facsimile of a note signed ‘Zdenka Koubková’

Interestingly, Merlínová’s book was published just before Koubek’s public announcement. The book includes a facsimile of an approving note signed Zdenka Koubková, still in the Czech grammatical form indicating female gender. In this note, Koubek endorsed Merlínová’s retelling of his story, recognizing its appeal to both professional athletes and the general public. Shortly after the book’s release, Koubek’s announcement made global headlines, sparking discussions in major publications such as TIME and the New York Times. Contemporary sports magazines debated the science behind gender transitions, and Koubek became a symbol of shifting gender perceptions and the growing recognition of gender fluidity.

Following his transition, Koubek retired from women’s sports and pursued various ventures, including Broadway performances and media appearances, although he never competed in men’s track events. His story remains a powerful reflection of the evolving conversations around gender identity and sports.

Meanwhile, Lída Merlínová outlived her supportive husband, Cyril Pecháček, and spent the rest of her life in Prague with her female partner, Kvĕta Lukáčovská. In 1962, same-sex acts were decriminalized in Czechoslovakia, a country that, at the time, encompassed both Czechia and Slovakia. After the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, Czechia and Slovakia became independent nations. On January 1, 2025, Czechia passed a bill legalizing same-sex partnerships – granting them rights equal to marriage in all but name. However, Slovakia has yet to adopt similar legislation.

As we celebrate LGBT+ History Month 2025, it is worth looking back and reflecting on the journey of those who paved the way for social change – those who defied norms and showed us the beauty of a diverse world through the lives they led. While we work on making Zdenin světový rekord available to readers, you may want to explore other books in our collection that celebrate the richness of queer culture. 

Olga Topol, Curator Slavonic and East European Collectoions

Further reading:

Melissa Feinberg, Elusive equality: gender, citizenship, and the limits of democracy in Czechoslovakia, 1918-1950 (Pittsburgh, 2006) YC.2013.a.6652

Karla Huebner, ‘Girl, Trampka, or Žába? The Czechoslovak New Woman’, in E. Otto, & V. Rocco (Eds.), The New Woman International: Representations in Photography and Film from the 1870s through the 1960s, pp. 231–251 (Ann Arbor, Mich, 2011) YC.2011.a.7758

Vera Sokolova, Queer Encounters with Communist Power: Non-Heterosexual Lives and the State in Czechoslovakia, 1948-1989 (Prague, 2021) YD.2023.a.153

Mark Cornwall, ‘Exiles of love?: uncovering lesbian voices in interwar Czechoslovakia’, in Journal of Lesbian Studies, 2024 

And check out some of out other blogs on LGBT+ topics:

https://blogs.bl.uk/european/2021/06/i-libertini-same-sex-desire-in-italian-baroque-literature.html

https://blogs.bl.uk/european/2023/02/all-the-strength-i-muster-to-live-queer-voices-from-poland.html

https://blogs.bl.uk/european/2022/02/love-like-any-other-maria-d%C4%85browska-and-anna-kowalska.html

https://blogs.bl.uk/european/2020/04/slovenian-gay-poetry-in-translation-tracing-the-unspoken-by-milan-%C5%A1elj.html

 

Posted by European Studies at 10:00 AM in Czech Republic , History , LGBTQ+ , Literature , Slavonic | Permalink

24 February 2025

Kharkiv

Today, on the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we continue to stand with Ukraine. Kharkiv was one of the first places in Ukraine affected by the war in the first hours of the invasion, and this blog is about Kharkiv and its people.

In 2010, Viacheslav Babeshko (1941-2010), a Kharkiv-born poet, wrote a poem ‘Our Kharkiv’:

Our Kharkiv has risen a long time ago
For peace, goodness, and love.
It’s constantly working and doing research
And looks as beautiful as delightful spring.

And indeed, Kharkiv is a city of students and scientists: almost half of its population have university degrees, and the Kharkiv University, founded in 1804, is the oldest in Ukraine. Three Nobel Prize laureates – biologist Elie Metchnikoff, economist Simon Smith Kuznets and physicist Lev Landau – lived in the city at various times. Photographer Alfred Fedetsky put Kharkiv on the map of cinematography when he shot his documentaries in 1896.

Page from a book with text in Ukrainian a black and white photograph of an 19th-century photographer with his camera and a female model
Page from V. Myslavs’kyi, Istoriia ukrains’koho kino 1896-1930: fakty i dokumenty. T. 1. (Kharkiv, 2018)

The first Ukrainian literary magazines – Khar’kovskii Demokrit (‘The Kharkiv Democritus: The Thousand and First Magazine’, 1816), Ukrainskii vestnik (‘The Ukrainian Herald’, 1816-19), and later Ukrainskii zhurnal (‘The Ukrainian journal’, 1824-25) – were also published in Kharkiv. These titles are not held at the British Library, but they have been digitised by the Central Scientific Library of the Kharkiv National University named after V.N. Karazin.

One of the main contributors to The Ukrainian Herald was a writer whom Ukrainians consider the ‘founding father’ of Ukrainian prose. Hryhorii Kvitka (1778-1843) wrote under the pen name Osnov’ianenko, which referred to the name of his birthplace, Osnova, a village near Kharkiv.

Ukrainian postage stamp from 2003 with a colour portrait of Kvitka-Osnov’ianenko

Stamp featuring Kvitka-Osnov’ianenko (Image from Wikipedia)

As a young boy, Hryhorii knew his namesake Hryhorii Skovoroda, a famous Ukrainian philosopher, poet, and musician who was a frequent guest at his father’s estate. Kvitka-Osnov’ianenko tried a military career and even wanted to be a monk, but found his vocation in social activities and writing: he became one of the founders of the first private professional theatre in Kharkiv and the Institute for Noble Maidens.

Black and white postcard with a photograph of the Institute for Noble Maidens
Kharkiv Institute for Noble Maidens (Image from Wikimedia Commons)

Although he published essays and ‘letters to the editor’ in various periodicals, Kvitka-Osnov’ianenko started his literary career relatively late in life. He was 56 years old when his collection of novellas in Ukrainian was published in 1834. Nevertheless, the book garnered much acclaim. In an immediately published extensive review, the prominent Ukrainian poet, ethnographer, and philologist Osip Bodianskii proclaimed a toast to Kvitka suggesting to praise ‘Pan Hrytsko’ for his bold and picturesque entry to literature “on a dashing Ukrainian horse”.

Apart from Kvitka-Osnov’ianenko, many Ukrainian writers lived and worked in Kharkiv in various periods of their lives. Among them were Petro Hulak-Artemovs’kyi (1790-1865), who laid the foundations of Ukrainian fables and ballads, and Mykhailo Starytsky (1840-1904), famous for his librettos for Ukrainian folk operas, translations, plays and poems.

In the 1920s and early 1930s, Kharkiv was a place where the Vilna Akademia Proletarskoi LITEratury (‘Free Academy of Proletarian Literature’) was established. Young writers and poets aimed to create a new independent Ukrainian literature and culture. They believed that the Soviet state would adopt a radically different approach from the old Russian policy of cultural imperialism. They belonged to the so-called Executed Renaissance – the generation of Ukrainian writers and educational and cultural figures who were executed in Stalin’s purges. One of the leading figures of the generation was Mykola Khvylovy.

Book cover with an image in red on a black background of a man attacking a woman while two children look on
Cover of M. Khvylʹovyĭ, H. Kosynka, O. Slisarenko, Opovidannia (Haĭdenav, [1946]) RB.23.a.33896

Book cover in red and white with a decorative black and white border
Cover of M. Khvylʹovyĭ, Zlochyn (Kharkiv, 1928) YA.1995.a.24647

Contemporary authors from Kharkiv have also made their mark on Ukrainian literature. One of the most translated Ukrainian writers is Serhiy Zhadan who, of course, is writing about the war today.

Book cover with a photograph of a group of musicians playing in a bombed-out building
Cover of S. Zhadan, Sky above Kharkiv: Dispatches from the Ukrainian Front, translated by Reilly Costigan-Humes and Isaac Stackhouse Wheeler (New Haven CT, [2023]) DRT ELD.DS.761929

Among our most recent acquisitions is a new book by Daria Bura ‘The Heroic city of Kharkiv: 28 Stories of the Unbreakable’.

Cover of 'Misto-heroi Kharkiv' with a colour illustration of a man walking a dog against a backdrop of bomb-damaged buildings

D. Bura, Misto-heroi Kharkiv: 28 istorii nezlamnosti (Kharkiv, 2024) Awaiting cataloguing

I would like to take this opportunity to send our support to our colleagues who work at the Central Scientific Library of the Kharkiv National Karazin University, all librarians, academics, the people of Kharkiv and all Ukrainians wherever they are at this moment.

Katya Rogatchevskaia, Lead Curator Slavonic and East European Collections

Posted by European Studies at 10:09 AM in Literature , Russia , Slavonic , Ukraine | Permalink

19 February 2025

For the Love of Books: European Collections at the British Library Doctoral Open Days

On February 14, European Collections featured at Doctoral Open Day themed ‘Global Languages, Cultures and Societies’. Marja Kingma, Curator of Germanic Collections, delivered a presentation introducing PhD students from across the UK and beyond to navigating the collections and identifying resources to support their research. In the afternoon, our curators hosted a show-and-tell session, offering the students a glimpse into the Library's unmatched holdings from continental Europe. The selections ranged from a quirky bottle-shaped Czech book to a Russian glossy LGBT magazine and a modern illuminated manuscript from Georgia. Spoiler alert – love-themed curatorial picks proved crowd pleasers. For those who could not make it, here is a taster of what you might have missed.

Katya Rogatchevskaia, Lead Curator of Slavonic and East European Collections, Olga Topol and Hanna Dettlaff-Kuznicka, Curators of Slavonic and East European Collections, turned the spotlight on minority languages and cultures, giving voice to the Evenks, Sakha, Kashubians, Silesians, and the Gagauz people of Ukraine. It was a revelation to many of the students to learn that Eastern Europe was both linguistically and culturally diverse, with a plethora of languages, ethnicities, and religious traditions across the region.

Cover of 'Evenki i iakuty iuga Dalʹnego Vostoka' with a black and white photograph of a man riding a reindeer

V. A. Dʹiachenko, N. V. Ermolova, Evenki i iakuty iuga Dalʹnego Vostoka, XVII-XX vv. (St. Petersburg, 1994) YA.1997.a.2298.

Cover of 'ōmisorz Hanusik: we tajnyj sużbie ślonskij nacyje' with a black and white illustration of a detective sitting at a bar with a bottle and glass
Marcin Melon, Kōmisorz Hanusik: we tajnyj sużbie ślonskij nacyje (Kotōrz Mały, 2015) YF.2017.a.20547. An interesting example of a crime comedy written in the Silesian ethnolect.

Milan Grba, Lead Curator of South-East European Collections, highlighted a groundbreaking work by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, Srpski rječnik (‘Serbian Dictionary’), which proved very popular among researchers with an interest in linguistics. Title-page of 'Srpski rječnik' with the title in Serbian, German and Latin

Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, Srpski rječnik (Vienna, 1818) 12976.r.6.

It was the first book printed in Karadžić’s reformed 30-character Cyrillic alphabet, following the phonetic principle of "write as you speak." The dictionary contained over 26,000 words and was trilingual, with Serbian, German, and Latin entries. It standardised Serbian orthography but also preserved the nation’s oral tradition. The dictionary’s encyclopaedic entries encompassed folklore, history, and ethnography, making it a pivotal text in both linguistic reform and cultural preservation.

Anna Chelidze, Curator of Georgian Collections, showed the students a contemporary illuminated manuscript created in 2018 by the Georgian calligrapher Giorgi Sisauri. The Art Palace of Georgia commissioned the work especially for the British Library to enrich our Georgian collections. The poem Kebai da Didebai Kartulisa Enisa ('Praise and Exaltation of the Georgian Language') was written in the 10th century by John Zosimus, a Georgian Christian monk and religious writer. It is renowned for its profound reverence for the Georgian language, employing numerological symbolism and biblical allusions to underscore its sacredness.

A manuscript in flowing Georgian script headed by an illuminated design of an angel amid gilded and jewel-like roundels

(Giorgi Sisauri), John Zosimus, Kebai da Didebai Kartulisa Enisa, (2018) Or. 17158

Sophie Defrance, Valentina Mirabella and Barry Taylor, Curators of Romance Language Collections, treated the students to some ... romance.

Sophie Defrance took a tongue-in-cheek approach to the theme by suggesting another way to look at (some) love letters with Le rire des épistoliers.

Cover of 'Le rire des épistoliers' with a painting of a man in 17th-century costume laughing

Cover of Charrier-Vozel, Marianne, Le rire des épistoliers: XVIe-XVIIIe siècle (Rennes, 2021) YF.2022.a.9956

The volume gathers the proceedings of a 2017 conference at the University of Brest on the expression, manners, and importance of laughing and laughter in 16th- and 17th-century correspondence, with examples from Diderot’s letters to his lover Sophie Volland, or from the exchanges between Benjamin Constant and his confidante Julie Talma.

Valentina Mirabella decided to revisit the Boris Pasternak’s timeless love story ‘Doctor Zhivago’. Turns out, the history of the novel’s publication in Italy was nearly as turbulent as the story itself! It was first published in Italian translation as Il dottor Živago in 1957 by Giangiacomo Feltrinelli. Although an active communist, Feltrinelli smuggled the manuscript out of the USSR and resisted pressure against its publication. The demand for Il dottor Živago was so great that Feltrinelli was able to license translation rights into 18 different languages well in advance of the novel's publication. The Communist Party of Italy expelled the publisher from its ranks in retaliation for his role in the release of the book they felt was critical of communism.

Title-page of 'Il dottor Živago' with a list of the number of print runs since its first publication

Cover of the 34th (in the space of just two years!) edition of Il dottor Živago by Boris Pasternak translated from Russian by Pietro Zveteremich (Milano : Feltrinelli, 1959) W16/9272

Barry Taylor drew attention to the epistolary relationship and an electric bond between the Spanish author Elena Fortún (1886-1952) and the Argentine professor Inés Field (1897-1994) with the book Sabes quién soy: cartas a Inés Field (‘You know who I am: letters to Inés Field’).

Cover of 'Sabes quién soy' with a black-and-white photograph of Elena Fortún

Elena Fortún, Sabes quién soy: cartas a Inés Field (Seville, 2020) YF.2021.a.15259

Fortún was the author of the popular Celia books, which followed the heroine from a seven-year-old in well-to-do Madrid to a schoolteacher in Latin America. The books give a child’s-eye-view of the world. They were censored by Franco and the author was exiled, but the books have been re-published by Renacimiento of Seville in the 2000s. Fortún’s novel Oculto sendero (‘The hidden path’) published in 2016 is seen as a lesbian Bildungsroman.

Fortún met Inés Field in Buenos Aires. Now that both women are dead, critics feel free to read the correspondence through the prism of the Bildungsroman.

Ildi Wolner, Curator of East and South-East European Collections, explored the representations of love in art with Agnes’s Hay Sex : 40 rajz = 40 drawings.

Cover of 'Sex: 40 rajz' with a design of an ampersand, its arms ending in the cross and arrow of the symbols for masculine and feminine

Agnes Hay, Sex: 40 rajz = 40 drawings ([Budapest, 1979]) YA.1997.a.2586

Ágnes Háy is a Hungarian graphic artist and animation filmmaker, who has lived in London since 1985. Her unique experimental style of drawing uses simple lines and symbols to convey complex meanings and associations, and this booklet is no exception. Considered rather bold in Communist Hungary at the end of the 1970s, this series of sketches explores the diverse intricacies of gender relations, without the need for a single word of explanation.

A page from 'Sex: 40 rajz' with variants on the male and female gender symbols

Page from Sex : 40 rajz = 40 drawings [Budapest, 1979] YA.1997.a.2586

Susan Reed, Curator of Germanic Collections, shared a fascinating collection of essays examining aspects of the love letter as a social and cultural phenomenon from the 18th century to the present day.

Cover of 'Der Liebesbrief' with a pixellated image of an 18th-century woman reading a letter

Cover of Der Liebesbrief: Schriftkultur und Medienwechsel vom 18. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart, herausgegeben von Renate Stauf, Annette Simonis, Jörg Paulus (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2008) YF.2010.a.14652

The authors scrutinised letters from historical and literary figures including Otto von Bismark, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Rainer Maria Rilke. The book ends with a consideration of how online messaging forms might transform the way we write love letters.

Ela Kucharska-Beard, Curator of Baltic Collections, displayed a mysterious metal box containing a booklet in English and Lithuanian, some photographs, posters and letters.

Metal box containing the publication 'Liebe Oma, Guten Tag'

Vilma Samulionytė, Liebe Oma, Guten Tag, or The Pact of Silence (Vilnius, 2018) RF.2019.a.120

Liebe Oma, Guten Tag, or The Pact of Silence is a moving tribute from the Lithuanian photographer Vilma Samulionyė to her grandmother, a Lithuanian German Elė Finkytė Šnipaitienė. When Vilma’s grandmother took her own life in her 70s, Vilma and her sister Jūrate decided to delve into the family history. Their research resulted in a documentary film, an exhibition, and an artists’ book. Along the way the sisters face taboos, one of them being a chain of suicides in the family.

Facsimiles of handwritten letters and a photograph from 'Liebe Oma, Guten Tag,'

The journey into the family’s German history and their post-war life in Lithuania left them with some unsettling questions. Who was Kazimieras and was he the reason why Ella Fink left her family behind? Throughout the story letters and photographs create a link between the family in the West and in the East, between the living and the dead. 

We hope you have enjoyed this virtual show-and-tell of highlights in our European collections. We look forward to welcoming you to the next Doctoral Open Days in 2026!

Posted by European Studies at 10:00 AM in Austria , Belarus , Belgium , Bosnia and Hercegovina , Bulgaria , Croatia , Czech Republic , Endangered languages , Estonia , France , Georgia , Germanic , Germany , Hungary , International , Italy , Latvia , LGBTQ+ , Literature , Lithuania , Manuscripts , Moldova , Montenegro , Netherlands , Poland , Popular culture , Portugal , Printed books , Rare books , Romance languages , Romania , Russia , Serbia , Slavonic , Slovakia , Slovenia , Spain , Translation , Ukraine , Visual arts | Permalink

30 January 2025

European Collections: From Antiquity to 1800 – Uncovering Rare Books at the British Library Doctoral Open Days

What do a censored Spanish classic, a mathematics textbook from Tsarist Russia, and the first national education textbook from Poland have in common? They are all part of the British Library’s European Collections, spanning from antiquity to 1800. These fascinating books do more than preserve history – they provide valuable insights into the intellectual, political, and cultural dynamics of their era, offering opportunities for research and discovery.

As part of the Doctoral Open Day on 31 January, we are showcasing a selection of remarkable books. Each tells a unique story – of censorship, of scientific progress, of the development of national identity. Here, we explore some of the fascinating books you may encounter during the Doctoral Open Day.

Poland: Enlightening the Nation

In 1773, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth established the Commission of National Education (Komisja Edukacji Narodowej, KEN), the first state-run educational authority in the world. Its goal was to create a modern, secular education system that was accessible to all social classes, moving away from the traditional church-dominated schooling.

Pages with an introduction to ‘Botanika’ and a folding plate with botanical drawings

Krzysztof Kluk 1739-1796, Paweł Czenpiński, 1755-1793, Botanika dla szkół narodowych, etc. (Dzieło, ... podług Prospektu ... Pawła Czenpinskiego, ... przez ... Krzysztofa Kluka ... napisane; od Towarzystwa do Xiąg Elementarnych roztrząśnione, etc.)., w Warszawie 1785 (Warszawa, 1785) 988.d.29.

A prime example of KEN’s publishing efforts is Botanika dla szkół narodowych (‘Botany for National Schools,’ 1785) by Krzysztof Kluk and Paweł Czenpiński. This textbook was designed to teach practical botany, bringing Enlightenment ideas into the classroom. The book was one of many created by KEN’s Society for Elementary Books, which commissioned mathematics, science, and literature textbooks to standardize education across Poland.

Russia: The First Mathematics Textbook

The first Russian textbook on mathematics by Leonty Magnitsky, Arifmetika (‘Arithmetics’), was written in the early Slavonic language and published in 1703. Its first edition of 2,400 copies was extraordinarily large for that time and served as the primary mathematics text for instruction in Russia until the mid-18th century. The book was in effect an encyclopaedia of the natural sciences of its day. It emphasized the practical applications of mathematics, demonstrating how it could be used in various real-life situations, from laying a brick wall to calculating loan interest. The origins of the manual lie in Peter the Great's establishment of the School of Navigation in Moscow, and the subsequent appointment of Magnitsky at the school's helm.

Pages from ‘Arifmetika’ with an illustration of a brick wall and two cube-shaped objects on one page and mathematical formulas on the other

Leonty Filippovich Magnitsky, Arifmetika (Moskva, 1703) 8531.f.16

Hungary: The First Gold-Painted Book

This is the second work published about Hungarian history, although published outside the country. It tells the story of the Magyars from the earliest times to the 1480s and is illustrated with lavish hand-coloured woodcuts, that have retained their brilliance through the centuries. This Augsburg edition, printed on vellum, is the very first printed book in history known for using gold paint.

Cover of ‘Chronica Hungarorum’ with elaborate gold decorations

Johannes Thuróczy, Chronica Hungarorum (Augsburg, 1488) IB.6663

Romania: A Scholar-Prince’s Masterpiece

Among our most treasured Romanian books is Divanul sau gâlceava înţeleptului cu lumea (‘The Wise Man’s Parley with the World’, 1698), written by Dimitrie Cantemir, a scholar, philosopher, and Prince of Moldavia.

Printed in both Romanian Cyrillic and Greek, this was the first secular book published in Romanian. It discusses morality, philosophy, and the human condition, presenting a dialogue between reason and worldly desires.

The copy comes from the collection of Frederick North, Fifth Earl of Guilford, a noted philhellene and collector of early printed Romanian books. The front cover is in its original binding, made of red goatskin over pasteboard. It features a panel design showcasing the coat of arms of Dimitrie Cantemir, with corner tools incorporating floral motifs and bird designs.

Pages from ‘Divanul sau gâlceava înţeleptului cu lumea’ with an illustration of two figures in religious attire standing under ornate arches

Dimitrie Cantemir, Divanul sau gâlceava înţeleptului cu lumea (Iaşi, 1698) C.118.g.2.

Italy: The Beauty of St Mark’s Basilica

A magnificent and exhaustive work documenting the Basilica of St Mark in Venice, undertaken with the support of John Ruskin, following disputed restoration work to the Basilica's south facade in 1865-75. One of 16 volumes, this volume contains 69 hand-coloured engraved plates that painstakingly represent every detail of the floor of the Basilica. Ferdinando Ongania was a publisher and editor who worked with John Ruskin on a project to document the Basilica of St. Mark in Venice. Ongania also ran an antiquarian bookshop in St. Mark's Square and supplied Ruskin with books.

Page from ‘Dettagli del pavimento ed ornamenti in mosaico della Basilica di San Marco in Venezia’ with an illustration of colorful tiles arranged in a complex geometric pattern

Ferdinando Ongania, La Basilica di San Marco in Venezia. Dettagli del pavimento ed ornamenti in mosaico della Basilica di San Marco in Venezia (Venezia, 1881)  Tab.1282.a./ Tab.1283.a.3.

Spain: Censorship and Forbidden Texts

Censorship was an everyday reality in Habsburg Spain, where the Inquisition closely monitored books. Even seemingly harmless works like Don Quixote were subject to scrutiny.

Our copy of the 1650 edition El Parnasso Español, y Musas Castellanas de D. Francisco de Quevedo Villegas was censored according to the Index of 1707, with passages inked out due to their “disrespectful references to the clergy”. Interestingly, Spanish censors had strict rules against religious criticism but showed little concern for nudity or crude humour.

Lost Books: Replacing What Was Destroyed

During World War II, a German bombing raid on the British Museum (where the British Library was then housed) destroyed many books. One of these was Zeeusche spectator over de boedel en het testament van capitein Willem Credo (‘The Zeeland Spectator on the Estate and Will of Captain Willem Credo’, 1734).

After the war, the British Library painstakingly reconstructed lists of lost books, marking them with a ‘D’ for ‘Destroyed’. Now, decades later, we have finally been able to replace this book and restore it to our collections, removing it from the list of war losses.

Title page of ‘Zeeusche spectator’

Gerard Bacot, Zeeusche spectator over de boedel en het testament van capitein Willem Credo onder toezigt van Gerard Bacot Predikant te Koudekerk en syn vrou Paulina Credo nevens een Journaal of DAg-Lyst van een bedroefde reis naa het vermakelyk Alphen (Amsterdam, 1734)

Why These Collections Matter

These books are not only historical artifacts – they are invaluable resources for research. By preserving both original texts and modern scholarship, the British Library provides a gateway to exploring the past. Whether you’re investigating the development of education, scientific advancements, or literary censorship, our European Collections offer a wealth of material to uncover.

If you’d like to explore these fascinating books and more, visit the British Library and discover Europe’s intellectual heritage, from antiquity to 1800! And if you are a new doctoral student whose research interest is more contemporary, why not join us for our session on Global Languages, Cultures and Societies on 14 February.

Posted by European Studies at 10:00 AM in Bulgaria , France , Georgia , Hungary , Italy , Literature , Lithuania , Netherlands , Poland , Rare books , Romance languages , Romania , Russia , Slavonic , Spain | Permalink

24 January 2025

Beyond Traditional Monuments: Commemorating the Lost Jewish Community of Kaunas

For centuries Lithuania was an important spiritual and cultural centre of Jewish life. The biggest Jewish communities were in Vilnius (‘Jerusalem of the North’) and Kaunas, the second biggest city in Lithuania. Before the Nazi invasion in June 1941, around 240,000 Jews lived in Lithuania; only several thousand – around 5% – survived the Holocaust.

In the interwar period Kaunas, a temporary capital of Lithuania, had a flourishing, vibrant and dynamic Jewish community. At one point a third of the inhabitants of Kaunas – 33,000 people – were Jewish. The city had around 40 synagogues and prayer houses, including the Slobodka yeshiva, one of the largest and best known yeshivas in Europe.

Painting of the Old Synagogue in Kaunas

Gerardas Bagdonavičius, The Old Synagogue in the Old Town, 1930. Reproduced in Aliza Cohen-Mushlin, Synagogues in Lithuania: a catalogue (Vilnius, 2010). YD.2011.b.2062

The Jewish educational network consisted of numerous Yiddish and Hebrew schools. There was a flourishing artistic and music scene. The city had a Yiddish and a Hebrew theatre, several daily Jewish newspapers, sports clubs and youth organisations. Jewish political organisations were thriving. Social welfare organisations and charitable societies took care of those less fortunate; the Kaunas Jewish Hospital cared for both Jewish and non-Jewish patients. In 1920 the Central Jewish bank was established in Kaunas, leading a network of 85 Jewish banks.

Black and white photograph of a pillar covered in posters advertising cultural events in Lithuanian and Yiddish

Posters advertising cultural events in Lithuanian and Yiddish, image from Hidden history of the Kovno Ghetto, general editor Dennis B. Klein (Boston, 1997). LB.31.c.9499

Black and white photograph of a football match

Football match in the Kaunas Maccabi Stadium between the Kovas Club of Šančiai and the Maccabi Sports Club, April 25, 1926, image from Žydųgyvenimas Kaune iki holokausto (Vilnius, 2021). YF.2023.a.2399

Black and white photograph of the Jewish Central Bank in Kaunas

Central Jewish Bank. Image from Wikimedia Commons

During the Nazi occupation the Kaunas Jewish community was almost completely destroyed. How to commemorate those who perished in such tragic circumstances?

The 11th Kaunas Biennial, which took place in 2017, explored the theme of monuments. What is a monument? Is our understanding of monuments changing? Is there a need for different kinds of commemoration? During the biennial the participating artists created, among others, a number of site-specific performances and installations referencing Kaunas’ Jewish past.

The artist Jenny Kagan, whose parents survived the Kaunas Ghetto, in her installation Murmuration, using a video projection and LED lighting, evoked the memory of the lost Jewish community. A brightly lit up building of a former Hasidic synagogue (the lights followed the rhythm of street lighting) on closer inspection turned out to be empty and derelict. The emptiness of the building is reminiscent of an empty sky from which starlings, known for their murmurations, quickly disappear, their numbers drastically declining.

Colour photograph of an old synagogue at night, lit from within

Murmuration, from Yra ir nėra = There and not there: (im)possibility of a monument (Kaunas, 2018) [awaiting shelfmark]

Colour photograph of a derelict synagogue door with one panel open at the bottom

Paulina Pukytė curated several performances and installations for the 11th Kaunas Biennial. One of them was At Noon in Democrats’ Square. Every day at noon, from 15 October to 30 November 2017, in the Vilijampolė district of Kaunas, a singer stood facing the empty space which once was Demokratų Square. The singer sang two songs in Yiddish: Yankele and My Yiddishe Mame. The performance lasted 7 minutes.

Colour photograph of a woman singing in a city square

At Noon in Democrats’ Square, from Yra ir nėra

Vilijampolė, also known as Slobodka, on the right bank of the Neris River, was the site of the Kaunas Ghetto where thousands of Jews perished during the Holocaust. On 29 October, 1941, the day of the so called ‘Great Action’, around 27,000 Jews were forced to assemble on Demokratų Square. Men, women and children stood there for hours while a selection took place. Those deemed strong enough to work were temporarily saved; the rest, 9,200 of them, were executed the next day in Fort IX, part of the city‘s fortifications turned into a temporary prison.

At Noon at Democrats Square was a commemoration of those who perished as a result of the ‘Great Action’.

Paulina Pukytė, the chief curator of the 11th Kaunas Biennial, is an interdisciplinary artist, writer, curator and critic, and lecturer at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. She will talk about the (im)possibility of monuments at the Holocaust Memorial Day event, held at the British Library on 27th of January.

Ela Kucharska-Beard, Curator Slavonic and East European Collections

References and further reading:

Paulina Pukytė, Kas yra = Something is (Vilnius, 2021) [awaiting shelfmark] 

 Arūnas Bubnys, Kaunas ghetto 1941-1944 (Vilnius, 2014). YD.2016.a.992 

 Martin Winstone, The Holocaust Sites of Europe : an Historical Guide (London, 2015). YC.2016.a.6368 

 Nick Sayers, The Jews of Lithuania: a Journey Through the Long Twentieth Century (London, 2024)

Posted by European Studies at 10:00 AM in Germanic , Germany , History , Lithuania , Slavonic , Visual arts | Permalink

22 January 2025

Silenced memories: the Holocaust Narrative in the Soviet Union

Monument to children murdered in Babi Yar with bronze figures of a girl with outstretched arms and two seated figure

Monument to children murdered in Babi Yar, Ukraine (image from Wikipedia)

Field of Burial with a triangular memorial stone bearing inscriptons in three languages

‘Field of Burial’ where the ashes of murdered and cremated prisoners were scattered, Maly Trostenets, Belarus (image from Wikipedia)

In 1961, a young Soviet poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko visited the Babi Yar ravine in Kyiv. He was taken there by a fellow writer Anatolii Kuznetsov. A native of Kyiv, Kuznetsov experienced Nazi occupation as a child and knew about the tragedy in Babi Yar firsthand. Both authors were shocked to see that there was no sign in memory of 33,771 Jews who had been murdered by the Nazis just in two days in September 1941. Possibly over 100,000 more people, among them prisoners of war, Soviet partisans, Ukrainian nationalists and Roma people, were killed there in the following months. However, the Soviet authorities were reluctant to collect and disclose records of those crimes. On the same day, Yevtushenko wrote a poem:

No monument stands over Babi Yar.
A drop sheer as a crude gravestone.
I am afraid.
Today I am as old in years
as all the Jewish people.

Cover of  Yevgeny Yevtushenko's collected poems in English with a photograph of the author sitting at his typewriter

Cover of Yevgeny Yevtushenko, The collected poems 1952-1990  (Edinburgh, 1991) YC.1991.b.6558

The poem was published in the influential Moscow newspaper Literaturnaia gazeta (‘The Literary Newspaper’) but was severely criticised by the authorities and Communist Party officials for presenting Jews as the main victims of the fascist Germany.

Immediately after the end of the Second World War, Stalin designed his own antisemitic campaigns such as the prosecution of members of the Jewish Anti-fascist Committee and the Night of the Murdered Poets, the campaign against ‘rootless cosmopolitans’and the so-called ‘doctors’ plot’. Although the campaigns stopped with the death of Stalin, antisemitism in the Soviet Union was strong, and the official party line was not to accept the Holocaust as a concept. Instead, all victims of genocide and atrocities were put together under the ideologically loaded term ‘peaceful Soviet civilians’.

However, in the time of the Khrushchev Thaw artists were hopeful that their voices would be heard in the new political climate. In 1962, Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his Symphony No 13 for bass soloist, bass chorus, and large orchestra with lyrics by Yevtushenko. Although the symphony does not have an official title, it is known as ‘Babi Yar’. Anatolii Kuznetsov tried to publish his autobiographical book also under the title of Babi Yar. The book was seriously cut by censors but was eventually published in 1967. After defecting to the West, Kuznetsov managed to publish the book in full in 1970.

Cover of 'Babi Yar' with an abstract design in orange and black

Anatolii Kuznetsov, Babii Iar: roman-dokument (Frankfurt am Main, 1970) X.900/6037

However, neither Yevtushenko, nor Kuznetsov were the first to write about Babi Yar. Probably the first poem (lost and rediscovered only in 1991) about the murder in Babi Yar was written by a Jewish-Ukrainian poet Liudmila Titova in 1941:

The order was supported by the threat of execution,
They obeyed but were shot.
Not a single candle was lit that night,
Those who could, left and hid in the basement.
The stars and the Sun hid in the clouds
From our world that is too cruel.

Black and White Photograph of Liudmila Titova

Liudmila Titova (image from Wikipedia)

In 1943, another Ukrainian poet and at that time a Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Commissars) of the Ukrainian SSR, Mykola Bazhan,wrote his response:

The grave wind blew from those ravines —
The smoke of mortal fires, the smoking of burning bodies.
Kyiv watched, angry Kyiv,
As Babi Yar was thrown into flames.
There can be no atonement for this flame.
There is no measure of revenge for this burning.
Cursed be the one who dares to forget.
Cursed be the one who tells us: “forgive me...”

Only in 1991 was a Ukrainian Jewish poet, Yurii Kaplan, able to compile a small anthology – Ekho Bab’ego IAra (‘The Echo of Babi Yar’) where he managed to include other pieces of contemporary poetry.

Newspaper article about Babi Yar with photographs and poemsPage from Literatura ta Zhittia, N 2, zhovten’, 2007.

Cover of 'Ekho Bab'ego Iara : poeticheskaia antologiia' with illustration of the Babi Yar ravine
Cover of Ekho Bab'ego Iara : poeticheskaia antologiia (Kyiv, 1991) YA.1996.a.9243

In 1946, Ilya Ehrenburg, a prominent Soviet writer, published a poem under the title of ‘Babi Yar’ about the genocide of his people:

My child! My blush! 
My countless relatives! 
I hear how you call me  
from every hole.

Together with another Jewish Soviet writer Leonid Grossman, Ehrenburg compiled and tried to publish a volume of eyewitness accounts documenting the atrocities during the Holocaust on the Soviet territories occupied by the Nazis.

During the war, frontline soldiers sent Ilya Ehrenburg a huge number of documents found in the territories liberated from the occupiers and told in their letters what they had seen or heard. Ehrenburg decided to collect the diaries, suicide letters, and testimonies related to the Nazis’ extermination of Jews and to publish the ‘Black Book’. A couple of extracts from the book were published in a magazine in 1944. However, after the end of the war, the publication was delayed several times. In November 1948, when the Soviet Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee was closed, the set of the ‘Black Book’ was scattered, the galleys (printer’s proof) and the manuscript were taken away. Ehrenburg’s daughter later gave the manuscript and other documents to the Yad Vashem archives and the book was published in Russian in 1980. However, that was not the full text. The first full Russian edition appeared only in 1991.

Image 5 - Black Book

The Complete Black Book of Russian Jewry : [prepared by] Ilya Ehrenburg and Vasily Grossman, translated and edited by David Patterson ; with a foreword by Irving Louis Horowitz and an introduction by Helen Segall. (London, 2002) YC.2002.b.953

The book documents atrocities that were committed on all occupied Soviets territories, such sites as Fort IX in Kovno (Kaunas), the Rumbula and Bikernieki Forests in Riga and Maly Trostenets near Minsk and Zmiyovskaya Balka near Rostov-on-Don.

Analysing the policy of ‘forgetting the specificity of Jewish suffering’, Izabella Tabarovsky of the Kennan Institute, points out that “by 2006, Yad Vashem, the world’s leading Holocaust Museum and research institution, found it had barely 10-15% of the names of the 1.5 million Jews who had died in Ukraine (in contrast to 90% of European Jews whose names were known)”.

At the Holocaust Memorial Day Fragments of the Past: Holocaust Legacies and Commemoration, Professor Jeremy Hicks will give a talk on ‘ Representations of the Holocaust in Soviet Cinema’, which will examine further the creation of silences and gaps in memories of Holocaust.

Katya Rogatchevskaia, Lead Curator, East European Collections

References/Further reading:

Maxim D. Shrayer (2010). ‘Poets Bearing Witness to the Shoah’ in Studies in Slavic Languages and Literature (ICCEES Congress Stockholm 2010 Papers and Contributions), edited by Stefano Garzonio. PECOB: Portal on Central Eastern and Balkan Europe. University of Bologna. Pp. 59-119.

Ekho Bab’ego IAra: poeticheskaia antologiia, [sostavlenie i vstupitelʹnaia statʹiia IU.G. Kaplana]. (Kyiv, 1991). YA.1996.a.9243

A. Anatoli (Kuznetsov), Babi Yar: a Document in the Form of a Novel, translated by David Floyd. (London, 1970) W67/8178

Izabella Tabarovsky. Don’t Learn from Russians about the Holocaust. Published: February 2, 2017 

Posted by European Studies at 10:00 AM in Belarus , Germanic , Germany , History , Literature , Russia , Slavonic , Ukraine | Permalink

20 January 2025

Through the Eyes of Terezín’s Ghetto Children

The Holocaust stands as one of the most tragic chapters in human history. Yet, through the voices of children who lived through its horrors, we are offered a glimpse into the quiet courage that endured even in the darkest of times.

The diaries of youth, written in ghettos and concentration camps, are personal testaments to the strength of the human spirit. The young writers found ways to express their creativity, and hope, leaving behind a legacy that preserves their voices.

The stories entrusted to paper carried immense emotional weight for the survivors or their families. Many of these diaries remained unpublished for decades, with some only reaching readers in the 21st century. The British Library holds examples of these works, including memoirs and writings of young people from the Terezín ghetto in German-occupied Czechoslovakia.

Black and white drawing of people of all ages huddled into a cramped and candlelit room

In the Living Quarters - a drawing by Bedrich Fritta of the Terezin (Theresienstadt) ghetto, source: Wikipedia, public domain

Terezín, the ‘Model’ Ghetto

Terezín, called by the Germans Theresienstadt, a Nazi ‘camp-ghetto’ in operation from 1941 to 1945, was portrayed by the occupier’s propaganda as a ‘spa town’ for elderly Jews. In reality, it served as a transit hub for deportations to extermination camps such as Auschwitz and Treblinka.

It was a chilling symbol of Nazi deception, serving as a stage for efforts to obscure the true nature of their genocidal actions, including a 1944 Red Cross visit carefully orchestrated to portray the ghetto as humane.

The truth, however, lay in its devastating death toll and its role as a waypoint on the road to extermination.

Despite these dire circumstances, Terezín became a centre of remarkable cultural activity. In the face of oppression, artists, musicians and writers produced works of art, music and literature, while children found ways to express hope and imagination through secret schooling, painting and poetry.

The boy who loved Jules Verne

Petr Ginz, born in Prague in 1928, was a talented young writer, artist and editor. By the time he was a teenager, he had written multiple short stories and novels inspired by his favourite author, Jules Verne. His adventure novel Návštěva z Pravěku (‘A Visit from Prehistory’) where engineer Gérard Guiness and his son Petr confront the mysterious creature Ka-du, reflects his belief in courage and ingenuity. Illustrated by Ginz himself, it is the only surviving novel out of several that he wrote.

Colour painting of a top-hatted man standing in front of a sailing ship

Illustration from Petr Ginz, Návštěva z Pravěku: roman, (Prague, 2007) YF.2008.a.22831

In Terezín, Ginz became the editor of Vedem, a clandestine magazine created by boys in the ghetto. Writing under the pen name ‘Akademie’, he contributed essays, stories and illustrations. The Diary of Petr Ginz 1928-1944, written between 1941 and 1942, provides an account of life under Nazi oppression. It was later published by his sister Chava Pressburger ensuring his voice would not be forgotten.

Cover of The Diary of Petr Ginz with a photograph of Petr superimposed on a page from the diary.

Cover of The Diary of Petr Ginz 1928-1944

Ginz was a prolific illustrator. His linocut, Moon Landscape, created around 1942, depicts an imagined view of Earth from the Moon, reflecting his fascination with exploration and the cosmos. In a tribute, Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon carried a copy of this drawing aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003, symbolically fulfilling Ginz’s dream of reaching the stars. Tragically, both Ginz and Ramon lost their lives prematurely – Ginz perished in Auschwitz at 16, and Ramon died when Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry – but their stories highlight the importance of preserving history and art.

Black and white drawing of a mountain range on the moon, with the Earth in the background
Petr Ginz, Moon Landscape, source: Wikipedia, public domain

The writings and art of Terezín’s children

In 1995, the Jewish Museum in Prague published the anthology Je mojí vlastí hradba ghett? (‘Is the Wall of Ghettos My Homeland?) which features writings and artwork created by children in Terezín. The collection includes texts from Vedem and other works, offering insight into the emotional and psychological worlds of young people living in extreme conditions.

Cover of 'Cover of Je mojí vlastí hradba ghett?' with an abstract design of red and white squares on a black background

Cover of Je mojí vlastí hradba ghett? Básně, próza a kresby terezínských dětí, edited by Marie Rút Křížková, Kurt Jiří Kotouč and Zdeněk Ornest (Prague, 1995) YA.2000.b.2154

The testimony of Hana Bořkovcová

Hana Bořkovcová, a renowned Czech author, also left behind a powerful diary, Píšu a sešit mi leží na kolenou: deníky 1940 - 1946 (‘I Write, and the Notebook Lies on My Lap: Diaries 1940–1946’ (Prague, 2011) YF.2012.a.13806.

Published posthumously in 2011, her writings chronicle her family’s experiences, from their life in Prague’s Jewish community to their deportation to Terezín when she was 16 years old, Auschwitz, and a labour camp in Kurzbach. Her diary concludes with her post-war life, including the birth of her son.

Bořkovcová’s account is striking for its sensitivity and strength. Her observations about life in the Jewish school and among young Zionists offer a rich cultural and social context, making her diary a valuable resource for readers and historians alike.

Documenting the unimaginable

In 2012, Michal Kraus published his diary, originally written in Czech, which was later translated into English and published in 2016 under the title Drawing the Holocaust. His entries are marked by stark realism and are accompanied by detailed drawings. Kraus’s meticulous documentation provides an unflinching account of the brutality of the Holocaust and its impact on those who survived. The diary also reflects Kraus’s struggle to return to a ‘normal’ life after the war.

Cover of 'Drawing the Holocaust' with a child's drawing of prisoners lined up for a roll call

Michal Kraus, Drawing the Holocaust: A Teenager’s Memory of Terezin, Birkenau, and Mauthausen (Cincinnati, 2016) YKL.2016.a.8040

A story saved in the walls

Helga Weissová’s diary is another remarkable testament. Starting at age nine, she documented her life during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. Like Petr Ginz, Helga was sent to Terezín before being deported to Auschwitz and other concentration camps. Her diary is accompanied by her drawings, which vividly depict her experiences. Before her deportation, Weissová entrusted her diary to her uncle, who hid it within the walls of Terezín. After the war, she recovered and expanded it to include her harrowing memories from the camps. Published decades later, her work offers a powerful narrative.

Cover of 'Cover of Helga’s Diary' with a photograph of Helga Weiss superimposed on a facsimile of a notebook cover

Cover of Helga’s Diary: a Young Girl’s Account of Life in a Concentration Camp (London, 2013) YC.2013.a.16374

The importance of remembrance

As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on January 27, 2025, it is imperative to reflect on the significance of these personal narratives. Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp, where over a million people perished. Just like Petr Ginz, many of those who lost their lives in Auschwitz were first imprisoned in Terezín before being transported to their deaths. The diaries of these individuals are not merely archival records; they are powerful reminders of the human capacity for resilience and creativity in the face of adversity. Their writings challenge us to remember the past and to educate future generations about the dangers of hatred and intolerance. By reading and sharing these stories, we preserve their voices and the lessons they left behind for a better, more compassionate world.

Olga Topol, Curator Slavonic and East European Collections

Posted by European Studies at 10:32 AM in Czech Republic , Germanic , Germany , History , Literature , Slavonic | Permalink

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