Ethical Implications of German-Hebrew Homophony: Analyzing Dan Pagis’ “Sealed Railcar” Cycle

Abstract This paper explores the complex interplay of German and Hebrew in the context of Israeli literature, focusing on Dan Pagis’ “Sealed Railcar” cycle of poems (1970). It delves into the historical background of how German became a repressed language in Israel, and the impact of the Shoah on this linguistic repression. The study introduces the concept of interlingual homophonic hermeneutics as a methodological approach to uncovering hidden German subtexts within Hebrew texts. Specifically, it analyzes the iconic poem “Written with Pencil in a Sealed Railcar” to reveal a German-Hebrew homophonic subtext and the profound ethical questions it raises.