AW: [SEELANGS] Grossman question

[Vadim Besprozvanny]

As far as I remember your question was re "поквартальный
уполномоченный". The prefix "по-" makes a big difference
here indicating that this word is tied to "поквартально" which
means "quarterly". I.e., the character was a person-in-charge appointed
quarterly. Actually, the word "уполномоченный" (which is far
from "надзиратель") supports this version. 

VB



> Thanks to the several people who have sent helpful replies.  These lines
> from Wiki do seem to fit the context very well:
> 
> "A Blockleiter (block leader) was the lowest official of the NSDAP,
> responsible for the political supervision of a neighbourhood or city
block
> and formed the link between the NSDAP and the general population. Also
> colloquially known as a Blockwart (block attendant or warden), he was
> charged with planning, spreading propaganda and developing an acceptance
to
> the policies of the NSDAP among the households (typically 40 to 60) in
his
> area.
> It was also the duty of the Blockleiter to spy on the population and
report
> any anti-Nazi activities to the local office. This was helped by keeping
> files on each household (Haushaltskarten). Due to such activities,
> Blockwarts were particularly disliked by the general population. Other
> duties included allocating beds in homes for visiting NSDAP
demonstrators,
> the collection of subscriptions and charitable donations especially for
> Winterhilfe and organising the clearing of rubble after air-raids. It is
> thought that there were nearly half a million Blockleiter.
> Today, Blockwart is a colloquial German insult word for an informer."
> 
> Katarina Peitlova has established that the title ‘kvartal’nyi
> nadziratel’’
> did exist in Tsarist Russia:
> http://www.imha.ru/index.php?newsid=1144523830
> So it seems that this phrase was used to translate the German
> ‘Blockleiter’
> or ‘Blockwart’.
> 
> I think I might translate it as ‘Block Leader’, which somehow sounds
> more
> Nazi than ‘Block Warden’.  (Though either seems ok.)
> 
> Best Wishes,
> 
> Robert
> 
>> Perhaps this is something similar to the German "Blockwart"?
>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockleiter; see the German Wikipedia
entry
>> for a more detailed explanation:
>> http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockleiter),
>> although Olga's definition also seems to fit the bill.
>> 
>> Best
>> 
>> Matthias Neumann
>> 
>> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
>> Von: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
>> [mailto:SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU] Im Auftrag von Robert Chandler
>> Gesendet: Mittwoch, 1. April 2009 23:25
>> An: SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU
>> Betreff: [SEELANGS] Grossman question
>> 
>> Dear all,
>> 
>> This is from his story ‘Stary Uchitel’’, set in 1942, written in
>> 1943.
>> 
>> The town, Berdichev or somewhere similar, has recently been occupied by
>> the
>> Germans.
>> 
>>  Так  шли дни. Агроном стал
>>  поквартальным
>> уполномоченным, Яшка служил в
>> 
>> полиции, самая красивая девушка в
>> городе
>> Маруся Варапонова играла на пианино
>> 
>> в офицерском кафе и жила с адъютантом
>> ком
>> енданта.
>> 
>> 
>> ‘Agronom stal pokvartal’nym upolnomochennym’
>> 
>> I understand that this agronomist is collaborating with the Germans and
>> has
>> been granted some official status, but I’m not clear just what he is
>> doing.
>> Is it that he is responsible for passing on the Germans’ instructions
>> to
>> the
>> inhabitants of a particular part of the town?
>> 
>> There must be a historically correct term for his position.  Can anyone
>> help?
>> 
>> Best wishes,
>> 
>> Robert
>> 
>> 
>>
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