Jurka Vićbič: A Question of Alternative Biography

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Jurka Vićbič (2 [15] June 1905–4 January 1975) was a prolific Belarusian poet, writer, regional historian, and journalist. A person of turbulent destiny as a déclassé element in Soviet Belarus and Russia due to his gentry origin, he lived through World War II in Nazi-occupied Belarus. The writer then emigrated to the West but remained deeply attached to his motherland, Belarus. This is reflected in the many Belarusian themes in his literary works, from describing the misery of day-to-day life in Belarusian villages and townships to political subjects, including the suppression of the Belarusians by the Russian and Polish regimes. As such, Jewish themes were naturally prominent in Vićbič’s writings. Belarus was the only country in the world where Yiddish was a state language (1919–1938). Vićbič’s works accord deep sympathy to this largest ethnic minority in Belarus, which suffered the same poverty, indignity, and oppression as the rest of the Belarusian population before and after the Bolshevik takeover. Like most of his countrymen and émigrés of his times, Vićbič considered anti-Semitism to have been brought to Belarus by foreign powers. However, because of his personal circumstances during World War II, some critics stigmatize him as a Judeophobe while others regard him as a Judeophile. Since this topic has been the key controversy in discussions of his life and works, Vićbič’s position merits a thorough examination. The present study demonstrates that Vićbič’s literary legacy from different stages of his life points to his unwavering respect and sympathy for all of his Belarusian countrymen, irrespective of their ethnicity and faith.