History Literature / ShtetlDays

''[[https://www.tor.com/2011/04/14/shtetl-days/ Shetel Days]]'' is a 2011 AlternateHistory novella by Creator/HarryTurtledove.

* AllJewsAreAshkenazi: The actors all play Ashkenazim. This is justified since this is a recreation of a shtetl in Eastern Europe, where almost all Jewish people were Ashkenasim.

* LivingIsMoreThanJustSurviving: A recurring theme is that, even in the hyper-paranoid security state of the Reich, plenty of people skirt or lightly break the rules in ways that can get them thrown in jail or killed on the spot, because life isn't worth living otherwise.

* GoneHorriblyRight: The Nazis recreated the shtetl so well, the actors are starting to identify with their fake Jewish identity than their Aryan "roots."

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Literature/InThePresenceOfMineEnemies'' by the same author. Both stories deal with a secret "Jewish" community in a world ruled by Nazis, albeit from completely different angles. The protagonists of ''Enemies'' are crypto-Jews hiding from the Reich by pretending to be Aryans; however, the "Jews" in ''Shetl Days'' are ethnic Germans who have adopted Jewish traditions and culture and are HiddenInPlainSight as certified Aryans whose job is to pretend to be Jewish.

* NoWomansLand: Downplayed. The Nazi-ruled world is clearly very patriarchal. Even in the mid-21st Century it's taken for granted that the wife does all the [[StayInTheKitchen cooking and cleaning]]

* CreatorCouple: InUniverse, Veit and Kristina are married and work together, playing a Jewish couple. Apparently most of the couples in the park are married in real life too, as it supposedly enhances their perfromances.
* DyeingForYourArt: Kristina[=/=]Bertha shaved off her natural blond hair for the role of an Orthodox Jewish woman, and presumably the other actresses at the park did too.

* ProperlyParanoid: The Judaised actors are well aware that they'll be executed if they get caught, so they're very careful not to arouse suspicion. Veit and Kristina fast on [[UsefulNotes/JewishHolidays Yom Kippur]]; but they turn on their oven for as long as it should take to cook something, sit at the table and talk for an appropriate amount of time and wash their perfectly clean dishes, so anyone who listens in or checks their utility usage won't see anything unusual.

* RayOfHopeEnding: The story ends with the Nazi Reich still more or less in charge, but Harlan's own infatuation with his Jewish identity over his Aryan "identity" implies that the Reich's foundation is not nearly as steady as it seems.

* AllJewsAreAshkenazi: Justified, since this is a recreation of a shtetl in Eastern Europe.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Literature/InThePresenceOfMineEnemies'' by the same author. Both stories deal with a secret "Jewish" community in a world ruled by Nazis, albeit from completely different angles. The protagonists of ''Enemies'' are crypto-Jews hiding from the Reich by pretending to be Aryans; however, the "Jews" in ''Shetl Days'' are ethnic Germans who have adopted Jewish traditions and culture and are HiddenInPlainSight as certified Aryans whose job is to pretend to be Jewish.

* CreatorCouple: InUniverse, Veit and Kristina are married and work together, playing a Jewish couple.

* AllJewsAreAshkenazi: Justified, since this is a recreation of a shtetl which was
* AlternateHistoryNaziVictory: Exaggerated. The Nazis have gained so much hegemony that they've achieved the Final Solution in every part of the globe, although their exact reach isn't specified.

* CreatorCouple: InUniverse, Veit and Kristina are married and work together playing a Jewish couple.

** The Holocaust was apparently achieved around the world.

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Obviously, the Nazis who have exterminated the world's Jews, wiped out the gypsies, and enslaved the Poles. The [=SS=] officer is even enraged to hear a little bit of Yiddish.

* TheThemeParkVersion: InUniverse Wawolnice is basically a recreation of a pre-UsefulNotes/WorldWarII shtetl replete with the stereotypes of Jewish life.
* YiddishAsASecondLanguage: Veit and the other actors not only speak fluent Yiddish in their roles but pepper in casual conversation.

* AlternateHistoryNaziVictory: Exaggerated. The Nazis have gained so much hegemony that they've achieved the Final Solution in every part of the globe, although their reach isn't specified.

* RageAgainstTheMachine: It's implied Veit's embrace of his Jewish identity stems from a distaste toward the Nazi Reich. At several points, he muses about [[CreativeSterility how boring and lame the culture of the Reich is]].

The year is 2041. A century after [[AlternateHistoryNaziVictory the victory of the German Reich in the War of Retribution]], throughout the former Polish lands, mock shtetls (Jewish villages) are set up to demonstrate. One actor who plays the role of Jakub Shlayfer, grinder of the village of Wawolnice, finds himself identifying with his role more than with his Aryan identity

* BecomingTheMask: Veit and his fellow actors go from playing Jewish caricatures.

* BecomingTheMask: Veit and his fellow actors go from playing Jewish caricatures

''Shetel Days'' is a 2011 AlternateHistory novella by Creator/HarryTurtledove.

Set a century after [[AlternateHistoryNaziVictory the victory of the German Reich in the War of Retribution]], throughout the former Polish lands, mock shtetls (Jewish villages) are set up to demonstrate. One actor who plays the role of Jakub Shlayfer, grinder of the village of Wawolnice, finds himself identifying with his role more than with his Aryan identity

Set a century after [[AlternateHistoryNaziVictory the victory of the German Reich in the War of Retribution]], throughout the former Polish lands, mock shtetls (Jewish villages) are set up to demonstrate. One actor who plays the role of Jakub Shlayfer, grinder of the village of Walnowice, finds himself identifying with his role more than with the Reich he serves.

*