Okupacja a przekład

Abstract

OCCUPATION AND TRANSLATION: TRANSLATORS OF GERMAN-LANGUAGE LITERATURE AND THEIR TRANSLATIONS, 1939–1945The text examines the situation of translators of German-language literature in occupied Poland between 1939 and 1945, highlighting the dramatic conditions faced by individuals who had previously been engaged in fostering intercultural dialogue between Poland and the German-speaking world, but who, after the outbreak of war, were confronted with terror and German crimes. It discusses the Nazi cultural policy, which aimed at asserting the dominance of German culture, destroying Polish cultural institutions, and prohibiting translations of serious literary works. Despite these restrictions, many translators — often working in secret — continued their efforts, treating translation as a form of resistance, a way to preserve humanistic traditions, or a means of coping with the trauma of occupation. Numerous distinguished translators, such as Napierski, Hulewicz, and Berman, were killed early in the war. Others, including Weintraub and Kragen, continued to translate under extreme conditions, leaving behind a testament to spiritual resistance and fidelity to literature.