Esther R. Hautzig ( he, אסתר האוציג, born October 18, 1930 – died November 1, 2009 in America) was a Polish-born American writer, best known for her award-winning book ''
The Endless Steppe
''The Endless Steppe'' (1968) is a book by Esther Hautzig, describing her and her family's exile to Siberia during Second World War, World War II.Vilna, Poland (present-day
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
, Lithuania). Her childhood was gravely interrupted by the beginning of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the conquest in 1941 of eastern Poland by
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
troops. Her family was uprooted and deported to
Rubtsovsk
Rubtsovsk (russian: Рубцо́вск, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Altai Krai, Russia, located on the Aley River (Ob River, Ob's tributary) southwest of Barnaul. Population: 167,000 (1975); 111,000 (1959); 38,000 ...
,
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
, where Esther spent the next five years in harsh exile. Her award-winning novel ''The Endless Steppe'' is an autobiographical account of those years in
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
. After the war, when she was 15, she and her family moved back to Poland, although in her heart, Esther wanted to stay. Hautzig reportedly wrote ''The Endless Steppe'' at the prompting of Presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson, to whom she had written after reading his articles about his visit to
Rubtsovsk
Rubtsovsk (russian: Рубцо́вск, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Altai Krai, Russia, located on the Aley River (Ob River, Ob's tributary) southwest of Barnaul. Population: 167,000 (1975); 111,000 (1959); 38,000 ...
.
Personal life and death
Rudomin met
Walter Hautzig Walter Hautzig ( he, ולטר האוציג; September 28, 1921 – January 30, 2017) was a pianist born in Vienna, Austria.
Biography
The Austrian-born American pianist and teacher, Walter Hautzig, studied at Public and High School in Vienna, and t ...
, a concert
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...
, while en route to America on a student visa in 1947. They married in 1950, and had two children,
Deborah
According to the Book of Judges, Deborah ( he, דְּבוֹרָה, ''Dəḇōrā'', " bee") was a prophetess of the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible. Many scholars ...
, a children's author, and David. She died on November 1, 2009, aged 79, from a combination of congestive heart failure and complications from Alzheimer's disease.
Hautzig helped to discover and eventually publish the master's thesis in mathematics written by her uncle Ela-Chaim Cunzer (1914-1943/44) at the University of Wilno in 1937. Cunzer was taught, among others, by
Antoni Zygmund
Antoni Zygmund (December 25, 1900 – May 30, 1992) was a Polish mathematician. He worked mostly in the area of mathematical analysis, including especially harmonic analysis, and he is considered one of the greatest analysts of the 20th century. ...
. Cunzer died in a concentration camp.
Works
Many of Hautzig's works are books about everyday life for pre-adolescent and early adolescent children. They encourage exploration and activity.
Her ''Four languages'' books are written in English, Spanish, French, and Russian.
She maintained deep connections with the expatriate Yiddish literary community. She corresponded with
Chaim Potok
Chaim Potok (February 17, 1929 – July 23, 2002) was an American author and rabbi. His first book ''The Chosen'' (1967), was listed on ''The New York Times’'' best seller list for 39 weeks and sold more than 3,400,000 copies.
Biography
H ...
and wrote the introduction for a new edition of Israel Cohen's cultural history of Vilna (Vilnius)
.
Hautzig's book ''The Endless Steppe'' has appeared in dozens of editions and has been translated into many languages, including Catalan, Dutch, Danish, English (Braille), French, German, Greek, Indonesian, Japanese, Sinhalese, and Swedish.
Everyday life
* ''Let's cook without cooking''. New York: Crowell, 1955.
* ''Let's make presents. 100 gifts for less than $1.00''. New York: Crowell, 1962.
* ''At home: A visit in four languages''. Illustrated by Aliki Brandenberg. New York: Macmillan, 1968.
* ''In the park: An excursion in four languages''. Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. New York: Macmillan, 1968.
* ''In school: Learning in four languages''. Illustrated by Nonny Hogrogian. New York: Macmillan, 1969.
* ''Let's make more presents: Easy and inexpensive gifts for every occasion''. Illustrated by Ray Skibinski. New York: Macmillan, 1973.
* ''Cool cooking: 16 recipes without a stove''. Illustrated by Beth Peck. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company, 1973
* ''Life with working parents: Practical hints for everyday situations''. Illustrated by Roy Doty. New York: Macmillan, 1976.
* ''A gift for mama''. Illustrated by Donna Diamond. New York: Puffin Books, 1981.
* ''Holiday treats''. Illustrated by Yaroslava. New York: Macmillan, 1983.
* ''Make it special: cards, decorations, and party favors for holidays and other special occasions''. Illustrated by Martha Weston. New York: Macmillan, 1986.
* ''On the air: Behind the scenes at a TV newscast''. Photographs by David Hautzig. New York: Macmillan, 1991. ''Also available in Braille.''
Culture and history
* ''The endless steppe: A girl in exile''. New York: Scholastic Book Services, 1968.
* Peretz, Isaac Leib. ''The case against the wind, and other stories''. Translated (from Yiddish). With Leon Steinmetz. New York: Macmillan, 1975.
* Peretz, Isaac Leib. ''The seven good years and other stories''. Translated. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1984.
* ''Remember who you are: Stories about being Jewish''. New York: Crown Publishers, 1990.
* ''Riches''. Illustrated by Donna Diamond. New York: HarperCollins, 1992. ''Also available in Braille''.
* ''A picture of grandmother''. Illustrated by Beth Peck. New York: Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2002. ''Also available in French''.