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This seems an appropriate moment to bring attention to one of Teffi's many brilliantly sharp attacks on antisemitism. I quote from Edythe Haber's excellent biography: TEFFI: A LIFE OF LETTERS AND OF LAUGHTER, pages 73-74: "In January, 1915, Teffi volunteered as a nurse at a St. Petersburg military infirmary and recorded her impressions [...] sometimes in fictionalized or semi-fictionalized form. “Two Natures,” [...] satirizes society ladies who volunteer at an infirmary. Anna Pavlovna, the patroness, informs her assistants of two new arrivals, one very pleasant – a recipient of a St. George’s medal -- and the other very unpleasant – a Jew. She has the decorated soldier placed in a prominent place and offered all possible comforts, and the ladies are in ecstasy over the “astonishing grandeur of the Russian soul.” When they discover that the soldier is a Jew, however, Anna Pavlovna at first berates the orderly for placing him in the spot reserved for the medal recipient, but when she is informed that they are one and the same, she can only babble: “This soldier, you see, has two natures. . . . We gave cigarettes to the St. George recipient and a Jew is smoking them! We placed a bed of honor for the St. George recipient and a Jew is sprawled out on it!..” As always, Teffi stands out both her wit and for her wisdom. Best Wishes, Robert ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the RUSSIAN-STUDIES list, click the following link: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=RUSSIAN-STUDIES&A=1 This message was issued to members of www.jiscmail.ac.uk/RUSSIAN-STUDIES, a mailing list hosted by www.jiscmail.ac.uk, terms & conditions are available at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/