Sven-Erik Rose Wins 2026 Eva Reichmann Book Prize
In awarding the Eva Reichmann Book Prize to Sven-Erik Rose, the jury praised his outstanding analysis of literary texts by Yiddish-language authors in the ghettos of Warsaw, Vilna, and Lodz. In his thought-provoking book, Rose invites readers to reflect together with these Yiddish authors on cultural production in the midst of genocide. His work offers a unique, fresh, and compelling insight into the history of the Holocaust and how we understand it. The jury was impressed by how Rose systematically incorporates the literary voices of murder victims into the controversial debate about the culture of remembrance, which in turn defines the limits of what we remember. By adopting a radically victim-centered perspective, Rose shows us that ghettos are not only places of death and murder, but also of cultural production. As he rightly points out, cultures and societies shape the commemoration of victims based on the institutional, financial, and political resources at their disposal. In his prize-winning work, Rose counters this by focusing on the untold stories of Yiddish writers.
Making and Unmaking of Literature in the Warsaw, Lodz, and Vilna Ghettos was published in 2025 by Brandeis University Press as part of The Tauber Institute Series for the Study of European Jewry.