A grave in the air
A homage to Anatoly Kuznetsov
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
When he was twelve years old, Anatoly Kuznetsov witnessed the massacre at Babi Yar. He survived the German occupation and the war, and during the early 1960s, he wrote his fact-based novel Babi Yar. In the Soviet Union, the text was altered by the censors. It was only after Kuznetsov emigrated that it became possible to publish the book in the original version. With only the desire to tell the truth in mind, he ignores all ideological and historical taboos. He testifies to what happened at Babi Yar, unflinchingly identifying the crimes of the totalitarian National Socialist and communist regimes. He also asserts the right of the individual to a life of dignity. Kuznetsov’s work is an unknown classic.
(Osteuropa 1-2/2021, pp. 197–203)