Chaim-and-Maria (ebook)

The novel, Chaim-and-Maria, is an attempt to remind the public that Adolf Hitler, along with his dedicated butchers, both Germans and non-Germans, did not come from nowhere. Their followers and sympathizers are living among us — just as their predecessors lived among our grandparents and great-grandparents.

The historical novel Chaim-and-Maria was written back in the Soviet Union, in the late 1970s. It challenged the anti-Semitic propaganda that dominated the Soviet media and could not be published due to government censorship. It described events had taken place 150 years before that, in Czarist Russia, in the remote town of Velizh in Vitebsk Province. The Velizh Case is one of about 200 blood libel cases recorded in the history of our civilization. It attracted author’s attention for two main reasons: it was one of the largest and most ridiculous blood libel investigations, and it was almost completely forgotten.

The bitter irony of the title is clear to Russian readers, but it should be explained here. There is a common field flower, violet (Viola tricolor L.). In Russian, it is called Ivan-da-Mariaand is a symbol for love. By replacing the typical Russian male name, Ivan, with the typical Jewish name, Chaim, the title parodies the symbolic meaning of the beautiful flower.

What kind of love story is developing between Chaim and Maria? There is no other way to figure it out, but to read the novel.

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The first Russian edition appeared in the United States in 1986. The book was also translated into Hungarian and published in Budapest in 1990. It came out in Russia only in 2006.

Chaim-and-Maria is the second book by Mr. Reznik in English translation. The first was a nonfiction account, The Nazification of Russia, 1996.

This book was prepared for publication in cooperation with Bagriy & Co., Chicago, IL