Bookvica

[ODESA OCCUPATION] Destskiy Listok [i.e. Children’s Leaflet]

Item #2638

6th of December, 1942. Daily children’s magazine. Edited by Mariya Shakhnazar. Odesa: Tipografia ‘Graiul Romanesc’, 1942. 8 p.: ill. 31x22 cm. Original illustrated covers. Uncut. Slight soiling of the top part of the block. Otherwise in very good condition. In Russian.

Extremely rare issue of the only children’s periodical, that was printed in Odessa in 1942-1944, under the occupation.

Occupation of Odesa has begun in October 16, 1941, under the Rumanian administration the city lived a slightly different life, then other occupied centers of Ukraine. From October 27, 1941, the daily "Odessa Newspaper" began to be published, the first under the occupation regime. It was followed by "Our Days," "The Bell," "Rumor," which covered the social life of the city, the weekly humorous magazine "Laughter," and this edition "Children's Leaflet." Very little printed matter from Odesa is preserved from that period, as in later USSR an edition like this one in private collection could mean an arrest and a jail sentence.
The magazine is filled with prose and verse for the younger audience: most of the articles are written by the local authors, some used pseudonyms: uncle Grisha, A.Radzevich, Yulia Panteleeva, Nataliya Gersaimovskaya. Orest Nomikos (1912 - ?) is an author of the biggest piece in the periodical: the poem ’Skaz pro dobra molodtsa, pro lebedushku i pro krasnu devitsu’, a local Greek poet and electrician, was captured by SMERSH in Romania 25th of October, 1944, half a year after Odesa was liberated. Nomikos was sentenced by the military tribunal of the 5th Air Army to death, but later the sentence was changed to 15 years of hard labor.
On page 7 the reader could practice basic Romanian - this issue is dedicated to the verbs; such language corners were included in each issue of the periodical. Another interesting piece is a closing poem ‘Unsuccessful ball’ by Nataliya Gersaimovskaya. In story, illustrated by the author, Gersaimovskaya tells about the party, organized by a couple of cats, who have invited different animals to participate: mice, pigeon, rats, chicken and sparrows. Each was presented with a dish of choice, but the party was broken by the dog ‘Layka’ who ambushed guests and made everyone flee. The moral of the story is given as Layka saved the guests from the fate of being eaten by cats: as their hospitality was fake and they were getting ready to take advantage of everyone and have a feast of their own. Not reading too much into the story, it’s impossible not to interpret it in the context of the city's life under occupation.

Not in Worldcat.

Price: $950.00

Status: On Hold