Auction 093 Kodesh books, Rabanic manuscripts, Zionism, Erez Israel. Judaica, archaeology and Jewish art
Apr 5, 2016
3 Shatner Center 1st Floor Givat Shaul Jerusalem, Israel

The auction has ended

LOT 35:

'Tsveyuntsvantsik: 22 Poems by Yechiel De-Nur' (Feiner), the Lost Book of Ka-Tsetnik. Warsaw, 1931.

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Start price:
$ 9,000
Estimated price:
$12,000 - $14,000
Buyer's Premium: 20%
VAT: 17% On commission only
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'Tsveyuntsvantsik: 22 Poems by Yechiel De-Nur' (Feiner), the Lost Book of Ka-Tsetnik. Warsaw, 1931.
"Burn it like all who were dear to me and my world were burned in the Auschwitz crematoria" (Yechiel De-Nur in a letter to the National Library).
The book of poetry of the author Yechiel De-Nur, the Auschwitz survivor known by his pen name Ka-Tsetnik, which the author tried to destroy in every possible way in order to leave no remnant of his character before the Holocaust. Apart from the copy before us there is only one other known complete copy in the world, apart from the copy which De-Nur destroyed in the National Library. Kultur-Lige Publications, Warsaw 1931.
62 pages, [1], 17x11.5 cm. An illustration on the last page by the artist Yitzchak Broyner.
Yechiel De-Nur (Feiner) (1909-2001) is known as one of the greatest authors who wrote about the Holocaust, and in its wake, chose the literary pen name Ka-Tsetnik, after the KZ - concentration camps. As he said: "This is not a literary name. I do not see myself as an author who writes works of literature. This is a chronicle from the planet of Auschwitz... time there is not as it is here, on Earth." Ka-Tsetnik became famous when he collapsed while giving testimony in the Eichmann Trial. He is one of the few who experienced Auschwitz and survived. 
As part of his world view that the pre-Holocaust world is lost and has moved to another planet, De-Nur wanted to actively destroy all remnants of that world, including this book which he wrote before the Holocaust. In a letter to the director of the National Library (a copy of it is enclosed) De-Nur relates that when he was informed in 1953 that a copy of the poetry book  Tsveyuntsvantsik was found, he destroyed it, saying that it belongs to "the author who was destroyed in Auschwitz." Later, when he found a copy displayed in a class exhibition case in the National Library, he found a way to destroy that as well. It is interesting that when an additional, third copy was found in the National Library, De-Nur did not destroy it but rather ripped it to shreds and returned the pieces to the library, writing: "As a sign and witness I enclose here remnants from "the book." Please burn them as all who were dear to me and my world were burned in the Auschwitz crematorium." 
Enclosed are the letter and additional material on De-Nur's attempts to destroy the book. The catalog of the National Library, item 31V 5304, confirms the above details.
New cover. Stains and water damage, reinforced tears on the title page. Inscriptions in pen on page 10 and the adjacent pages. A corner is missing on the last page. Without the wrapper and the author's picture. Fine condition.     

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