English
Polish
Willy – a Real or an Imaginary Friend? Reflection on the Polish and Italian Translation of “Szukajcie w popiołach” (Look in the Ashes)
Anna Szwarc-Zając
redakcja@holocaustresearch.pl Bioabsolwentka Università di Genova, doktorantka na Uniwersytecie Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu, obecnie pracuje jako tłumacz języka włoskiego
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0729-1619
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań
Zagłada Żydów. Studia i Materiały, No. 8 (2012), pages: 403-418
Publication date: 2012-12-02
Abstract
The article attempts to present two radically different interpretations of the book Szukajcie w popiołach. Papiery znalezione w Oświęcimiu (Look in the Ashes. Papers Found in Auschwitz) by an unknown author. The conflict aroused during the translation of the notes when the Italian translation editors questioned the Polish thesis that Willy, i.e. the letters’ addressee, was invented by the author. I tried to find out which party of the dispute was right. To that end I analyzed the text juxtaposing it with other texts e.g. with those of Sonderkommando members.
Another aspect included in the text is the instruction as to how the reader should read the book in order to fully understand the author’s message. Lastly, I wanted to discuss the problem faced by a translator who undertakes to work on a translation while using the target text instead of the source text
Keywords
letter, Łódź ghetto, death camp, life in Litzmannstadt Ghetto, Sonderkommando, Rumkowski, Aesopian language, translator, translation, translator’s choices, the original, source text
License
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