Food and Memory in Lili Jaffe’s diary

Abstract

This article discusses, in the book O que os cegos estão sonhando? (2021) (What are the blind dreaming of?), representations of food in the activation of memory and in the preservation of emotional bonds despite the trauma. With the core being Lili Jaffe's diary (1926-2020) written after her imprisonment in Auschwitz, the book also symbolizes the encounter between generations, including texts from her daughter, Noemi Jaffe, and her granddaughter, Leda Cartum. In the diary, the survivor describes hunger and the poor quality of the “ration” distributed to the prisoners, as well as her work in the Auschwitz kitchen, where food, exchanged for clothing or smuggled to hungry Jews establishes relationships of camaraderie and subversion. Dietary difficulties change dramatically after the liberation of the prisoners. In their status as war exiles, Lili and her “camp sisters”2 are presented with all sorts of candy in European cities, which they can eat until they feel nauseated. Whether in deprivation or excess, food is crafted both as a trigger for the creation of language and as a cultural asset, transcending political oppressions, the struggle for survival, differences and cultural affiliations. Ultimately, in its preparation and sharing, it takes shape as a way to keep Jewish commensality alive.