Chana Blanksztejn

1922 poster promoting Chana Blaksztejn for member of parliament of the Second Polish Republic

Chana Blanksztejn (floruit 1920s) was a Polish-Jewish writer and journalist, predominantly active in Vilna (now Vilnius, Lithuania). Noted for her significant contributions in literature and journalism, Blanksztejn was also recognised for her zealous advocacy of women's suffrage. In the 1922 Polish legislative election, she entered as a candidate from the Jewish Democratic People's Block, a wing of the Folkspartei, although she did not secure a win.

Literary Work

Blanksztejn's literary oeuvre includes a posthumous collection of short stories titled "Fear and Other Stories", initially written in Yiddish and published in 1939. These tales provide a glimpse into the waning period of Eastern European Jewish culture and portray a modern outlook on the world, with the primary settings in Vilna and several locations across Europe, often against the backdrop of World War I and the Russian Civil Wars. The stories resonate with Blanksztejn's feminist and activist ideologies, exploring themes encompassing female independence, equality, and fulfilling work.

Later, this collection was translated into English, bringing to light the life and work of a widely admired woman whose memory was on the brink of obscurity. This translation is considered a significant act of cultural recovery, particularly in association with feminist translation. The themes addressed in these stories are diverse and are quintessential to Yiddish and interwar literature, highlighting panic and desperation, poverty, female education and professionalisation, and the complexities of romantic relationships.

References

• Ellen Kellman (2007). Piotr Paziński (ed.). "Feminizm i literatura. Rola Chany Blanksztejn w międzywojennym Wilnie" [Feminism and Literature: The role of Chana Blanksztejn in inter-war Wilno]. Midrasz (in Polish) (10). Warsaw: Stowarzyszenie Midrasz: 27–36. ISSN 1428-121X.