In one of those weird side quests that seem to happen to me all the time when I start doing research, I am now looking for the original diary that was adapted by Meyer Levin (and others) for the book Kibbutz Buchenwald. Last known location was Afikim where Levin took possession of it, or so he claimed. I was unable to find out if it still exists – if it ever existed, which is another problem with this business.
ChatGPT proved useless as usual (the couple of times that I’ve actually bothered with it), telling me,
I don’t have access to real-time databases or the ability to browse the internet. [Then what are you there for, stupid machine? You are borrowing from Wikipedia all the time!] However, up until my last update in January 2022, there wasn’t readily available information on the current existence or location of the original diary that was adapted for Meyer Levin’s book „Kibbutz Buchenwald.“
If you’re interested in pursuing this further, I recommend reaching out to archives, libraries, or historical societies that specialize in Holocaust literature and documentation. Additionally, contacting scholars or experts in Holocaust studies might provide insights or leads.
If you’re looking for Hebrew sources, you might want to consult Israeli archives, libraries, or universities with Holocaust studies departments. They may have information or resources related to the original diary or Meyer Levin’s work.
Thank you. I would never have thought of that.
Well, sarcasm is wasted on an AI that is programmed to give low-level responses for the laymen. Fact is, there is one book that I still have to check, but I don’t expect much. If its authors knew the whereabouts of the diary, the internet would probably know them. Too bad my Ivrit (modern Hebrew) lessons never amounted to much; that might have helped.
Update 20 April 2024
Well, it turns out I was either too pessimistic or had too high an opinion of the internet. The book I was referring to is Kibbutz Buchenwald: Survivors and Pioneers by Judith Tydor Baumel, and it has (almost) all the relevant information.
So, recently I had written my longest essay for Counter-Currents yet, a three-parter on above mentioned Meyer Levin. During the research, I had stumbled across some inconsistencies in his presentation of the kibbutz. One of my questions was: Might there have been another kibbutz named Nitzanim, since Levin claimed the former Buchenwalders had founded it, but the story didn’t add up? As it turned out, no – not quite. The name was „Netzarim“, and it was shortened to „Netzer“. Which in turn was expanded to Netzer Sereni.
The story then went thus: Kibbutz Buchenwald, or at least its founding members (there were three waves of immigration to Palestine) first went to Atlit. From there, they moved to Afikim where Levin, according to his own words, got access to the kibbutz diary and translated parts of it into English for publication. Kibbutz Buchenwald then moved on to Nachalat Yehudah (today a part of Rishon LeZion) and eventually took over the nearby Schiffon farm which became Kibbutz Netzarim and where Levin met „young Gottlieb“ (probably Avraham Gottlieb, changed his last name to Ahuvia) again. The Buchenwald diary is kept at the Netzer Sereni archive.
There you go, Google. I live to serve.
The only thing I’m wondering now is why Mrs Baumel never mentions Meyer Levin at all. Of course he never played a major role in the history of the kibbutz, but he did publish excerpts from the diary. Shouldn’t that merit at least a line in her book? (Man, I can practically hear Levin going on about being sidelined yet again! His favourite pastime.)
Anyway, another lesson of why you just can’t rely solely on the internet for research. The good old-fashioned ways still have their merits.
Clarissa Schnabel 