Podcast Summary: New Books Network

Episode: Vladka Meed’s "On Both Sides of the Wall"

Date: March 6, 2026
Host: Alex Weiser (YIVO Institute for Jewish Research),
Interviewer: Prof. Samuel Kassow
Guest: Stephen D. Mead (translator, son of Vladka Meed)

Overview

This episode features a deep and moving discussion on the new translation of "On Both Sides of the Wall," the 1948 Yiddish memoir by Warsaw Ghetto resistance fighter Vladka Meed. Translator (and son) Stephen D. Mead joins historian Samuel Kassow to explore Vladka’s legacy — as a resistance courier, chronicler, and survivor. Beyond the history, the conversation dwells on questions of resilience, memory, and what it meant (and means) to resist.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Vladka Meed: Her Background & Importance

• Vladka Meed’s emergence as a resistance leader:

  • Entered the war as a teenager, with no guidebook for survival or resistance.
  • Stephen Mead (04:03): “Every morning she got up again and she did whatever appeared to be the necessity of the moment of taking care of people and staying alive.”

• Historical significance:

  • Vladka’s survival was extremely rare: less than 2% of Warsaw’s Jews survived German occupation.

How Did Vladka Survive?

• Intellect and Nerve:

  • Exceptional memory; “she had balls of steel... She was impermeable to showing fear” (Stephen Mead, 06:06).
  • Bundist youth upbringing cultivated community and purpose.
  • "The glue that kept them all together" (Stephen Mead, 07:21).

• Skill at "passing" as Polish:

  • Mastered Polish language and mannerisms — a rare and remarkable capacity among Jews from Yiddish-speaking backgrounds (Samuel Kassow, 09:36).

The Bund: Second Family after Tragedy

• Community as survival:
  • Trusted role models and tight-knit networks, especially after losing her family to Treblinka.
  • Admiration flowed mutually between Vladka and senior Bundist leaders (Stephen Mead, 08:43).

Memoir's Reception & Stephen's New Translation

• Book’s first impact:

  • Serialized in the Jewish Daily Forward; Yiddish edition (1948); English translation in 1971.

• Why a new translation now?

  • The 1971 English version, "lost so much of its original power" (Stephen Mead, 14:22).
  • Aim: Recover Vladka’s full voice, intent, and the nuance of “resistance” — not just in arms, but everyday dignity and mutual support.

• Expanded content:

  • Added stories, testimonies, and humor cut from earlier editions; new chapters on the pre-1942 years and postwar return to Poland (Stephen Mead, 39:35).

The Many Faces of Resistance

• Redefining 'resistance':
  • Emphasis on “cultural resistance” before armed conflict.
  • Lectures about Yiddish culture as acts of spiritual endurance (Samuel Kassow, 17:29).
  • Critical of postwar narratives that lionized armed fighters and dismissed the suffering, courage, and agency of ‘ordinary’ Jews.

Notable Quote:

“The real story of resistance was this struggle on the part of ordinary Jews to keep it together and to keep their dignity and to resist the German attempts to dehumanize them.”
— Samuel Kassow (17:42)

Bundism and Changing Attitudes Toward Israel

• Evolving worldviews:
  • From rejection of Zionism (“duikkeit”—serve where you are) to a softer, pluralist position after years of involvement with Israel and Holocaust education there (Stephen Mead, 20:34).
  • Maintained critical and supportive elements toward Israel, even in complex times (22:32).

Lessons for Today

• Complex realities faced by Jews:

  • The Holocaust imposed existential uncertainty and forced impossible choices.
  • Ordinary activities (holding jobs, securing food) became resistance for most (Stephen Mead, 23:02).
  • For most, “your job was to stay alive and to keep your own family alive... it didn’t look like a John Wayne movie” (14:22).

• Takeaways for modern readers in troubled times:

  • Empathy for those in impossible situations, the importance of dignity and solidarity, and refusal to judge from the safety of distance (23:02).

Why Did the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Happen?

• Contextualizing the uprising:
  • Unlike other ghettos, Warsaw’s traditional leadership was destroyed, leading to a collective sense of urgency and anger — and facilitating unity between “fighters” and civilians (Samuel Kassow, 26:59).
  • The physical infrastructure (bunkers) and support from non-combatants were essential: “the uprising was a real union between the fighters... and ordinary Jews.”

Reflections on Polish Society

• Painful disappointments:
  • Profound disillusionment with lack of help from the wider Polish and international community.
  • Honor given to “small acts of compassion” between Jews, set against prevailing indifference and danger from outside (Stephen Mead, 33:02).

Personal Moments and Humor

• How Vladka met her husband (Benjamin Meed):
  • Vivid anecdote of meeting him in 1942 while establishing her new courier identity — engaging mix of danger, suspense, and humor (Stephen Mead, 35:52).
  • “It is not great drama, and it’s not a massive battle, but... even in that situation, she can see the irony.” (Stephan Mead, 37:36)

New Material and Additions in This Edition

• Previously omitted stories/artifacts:
  • Stories from oral/video histories included as new chapters, marked as such.
  • Episode with baby chicks at a train station: Vladka uses humor and wit to ward off Nazi suspicion (Stephen Mead, 39:35).
  • Reflections on postwar Poland and the shadow of loss.

Mechanics of Smuggling and Passing

• Strategies for survival:
  • Continuous performance — “you are pretending every minute of the day that you’re somebody else” (Stephen Mead, 43:59).
  • Gender: Women could sometimes “pass” more easily than men due to physical differences.
  • Extreme danger for anyone helping Jews; entire Polish families risked execution for providing shelter.

The Uprising: Political Unity and Division

• Cross-ideological cooperation:
  • Bundists, Zionists, right-wing revisionists, communists — joint effort but also persistent tensions.
  • Disputes after the war about “who deserves credit” for the uprising; echoed in postwar commemorations and memory battles (Kassow and Mead, 50:22–51:45).

Personal Legacy and Trauma

• Growing up as Vladka’s son:
  • Parents radiated pride and an aversion to defeatism; seldom discussed the trauma directly with their children.
  • Yet, Holocaust memory suffused their home and community ties (Stephen Mead, 52:16).
  • Vladka remained an activist and educator throughout her life; worked to transmit memory and lessons across continents.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On resistance and survival:

  “She did it. Whether she did it perfectly or made mistakes. Every morning she got up again...” — Stephen D. Mead (04:03)

• On courage:

  “Although we are trying to be polite, she had balls of steel.” — Stephen D. Mead (06:06)

• On ordinary resistance:

  “The real story of resistance was this struggle on the part of ordinary Jews to keep it together and to keep their dignity...” — Samuel Kassow (17:42)

• On Polish passing:

  “She was able to really speak like a Pole, to act like a Pole, to pass like a Polish woman. And that really is remarkable.” — Samuel Kassow (09:36)

• On writing the new translation:

  “I wanted to go back to this book and fix it up. Because I thought that the writing...was really not doing justice to my mother’s gifts...” — Stephen D. Mead (14:22)

• On Jewish solidarity and outside indifference:

  “It was a huge disappointment to her...to see how little everybody else in the world cared about what would happen to the Jews...” — Stephen D. Mead (33:02)

• A personal touch:

  “He stands just in his bedclothes, his curly hair sticking out in every direction. He’s not looking his best. He seems startled for a moment, but then he smiles and offers his hand.” — Stephen Mead reading Vladka’s description of meeting Benjamin Meed (36:49)

Additional Topics & Audience Q&A

• Original vs. new translation: Added context and stories not present in earlier versions, especially about pre-uprising years and postwar journeys (39:35).
• Life as a courier: “You are pretending every minute of the day that you’re somebody else in a hostile environment.” (43:59)
• Bundist vs. Zionist/Revisionist tensions: Ongoing disputes about legacy, credit, and commemorations — even in postwar New York (50:22).
• Postwar activism: Vladka spent her life on Holocaust education and activism, traveling worldwide and instilling pride and memory in her family and broader community (54:05).

Closing Thoughts

This episode is not only a tribute to Vladka Meed but also a meditation on the many forms of courage, dignity, and defiance against dehumanization. The new translation of "On Both Sides of the Wall" aims to restore Vladka’s full voice — as a fighter, witness, visionary, and mother. Her story, and the stories of those she represents, refuse easy categories of heroism or passivity; their complexity is their testimony.

For further exploration:
The new edition is available for pre-order via YIVO with a special discount.