Aharon Appelfeld Quotes, born February 16, 1932, in Czernowitz, Bukovina (now Ukraine), was an Israeli novelist and Holocaust survivor whose works, including Badenheim 1939 and The Story of a Life, explore the lingering impact of the Holocaust with poetic restraint. Orphaned at nine after his mother’s murder and surviving labor camps, he immigrated to Israel in 1946, mastering Hebrew to craft over 40 works of fiction and nonfiction. His awards include the Prix Médicis Étranger and the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. These 15 quotes—sourced from his books, interviews, and posts on X—reflect his profound thoughts on memory, survival, literature, and humanity, capturing his gentle yet piercing spirit.
15 Aharon Appelfeld Quotes
- “The Holocaust is a central event in many people’s lives, but it also has become a metaphor for our century. There cannot be an end to speaking and writing about it.” (Interview, BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “Over time I learned that objects and animals are true friends. In the forest I was surrounded by trees, bushes, birds, and small animals. I was not afraid of them.” (The Story of a Life, 2004)
- “When you have no language, everything is confused, and you fear things you don’t need to fear.” (The Story of a Life, 2004)
- “I always felt that fiction was the way to the deepest truths.” (Interview, The New Yorker, 2018)
- “Since they were unable to liberate themselves from the old words and the fear, they prowled the streets and cast their angry shadows.” (Badenheim 1939, 1978)
- “Every place where people live, suffer, endure, is a holy place.” (Post on X, @Halpern_G, 2022-11-19)
- “When you meet someone, it’s a sign you were meant to cross their path, that you’ll receive something you lacked.” (Post on X, @Halpern_G, 2021-12-28)
- “You don’t buy experience at the pharmacy. You acquire it through games over time.” (Interview, BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “My paintings are not about what is seen. They are about what is known forever in the mind.” (Interview, BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “The writer in western civilization has become not a voice of his tribe, but of his individuality.” (Interview, Poem Hunter, 1989)
- “I could not even be a witness, I didn’t remember the names of people or places, only darkness, sounds, and movements.” (The Story of a Life, 2004)
- “We will milk the cow but we will not slaughter it.” (Blooms of Darkness, 2010)
- “Language is an instrument in the hands of thought; you must express yourself clearly and precisely.” (Blooms of Darkness, 2010)
- “The past itself is a very poor material for literature. Literature is a burning present, an aspiration to transcend time.” (Interview, Goodreads, n.d.)
- “Survivors won’t touch my books. Too painful. But children whose parents told them nothing—they come with a great hunger.” (Interview, The New Yorker, 2018)
Aharon Appelfeld’s quotes weave memory, pain, and hope into a tapestry of profound insight, urging readers to confront the past with courage and seek truth through art. Which one stirs your soul? Drop it in the comments and keep his literary legacy thriving!
Emma Thompson
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