# Vera Hacken

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**Vera Hacken** (Russian: Вера Хакен, Yiddish: װעראַ האַקען‏‎; May 18, 1912 – November 2, 1988) was an American writer, translator, playwright, and theatrical director, born in [Odessa](/source/Odessa).

## Early life

**Vera Yakovlevna Altman** was born in Odessa, Russian Empire,[1] the daughter of Yakov Altman and Mani Altman. Her family was Jewish; her father was a doctor. She was raised in [Chernivtsi](/source/Chernivtsi).[2] She studied with director [Max Reinhardt](/source/Max_Reinhardt) in Vienna,[3] and with writer [Eliezer Steinbarg](/source/Eliezer_Steinbarg).[4][5]

## Career

Altman taught school, worked as an editor, directed plays, and wrote in Yiddish and German[5] while living in Chernivtsi, [Alma-Ata](/source/Almaty), [Tashkent](/source/Tashkent), [Bucharest](/source/Bucharest), and [Munich](/source/Munich). She moved to the United States in 1951.[1] In New York, she was a director for the Folksbine Jewish Theater.[6] Her plays were also produced in Latin America.[3] Her stories appeared in *[Tsukunft](/source/Tsukunft)* and *Afn Shvel*. Her poetry was collected in *Dine Roitkop* (1978), and her memoirs were published in *Der Meteor* (1980). She also translated Yiddish stories into German in *Die Bücher der goldenen Pawe* (6 volumes, 1980s).[7] She also wrote for television with Peter Goode.[8] "My great desire is to be discovered by my new home land, America," she told an interviewer in 1957. "I think I can work many years as a playwright and a stage director."[3] She was a mentor to young Jewish writers.[9]

## Publications

- *Ḳinder-yorn: yugnṭ yorn miṭ Eliezer Shṭaynbarg* (1969), also known as *Kinder- und Jugendjahre mit Elieser Steinbarg*[4][10]
- *Die Bücher der goldenen Pawe* (6 volumes, 1980s)[7]
- *Sṭantsye Grafsḳaya: dertseylungen, eseyen, lider* (1990, posthumous collection)[11]

## Personal life

Altman married psychiatrist and composer [Emanuel Hacken](/source/Emanuel_Hacken).[3] They had a son, George. In the United States, the Hackens lived on the grounds of the [Rockland State Hospital](/source/Rockland_Psychiatric_Center) while her husband was the hospital's deputy director.[1] Hacken and her husband became United States citizens by [naturalization](/source/Naturalization) in 1956.[12] She died in [Cliffside Park, New Jersey](/source/Cliffside_Park,_New_Jersey) in 1988, aged 76 years. Several books of her poetry and other writings were published posthumously.[11]

## References

1. Pollack, Chana (September 11, 2014). ["Throwback Thursday: Yiddish Novelist Takes On Stalin's Terror"](https://forward.com/life/205511/throwback-thursday-yiddish-novelist-takes-on-stal/). *The Forward*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210804182242/https://forward.com/life/205511/throwback-thursday-yiddish-novelist-takes-on-stal/) 2021-08-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-09-19.

1. Congress for Jewish Culture. ["List of Yiddish Women Writers: Vera Haken"](https://congressforjewishculture.org/people/5064/Haken-Vera-May-18-1912). *congressforjewishculture.org*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20251102171649/https://congressforjewishculture.org/people/5064/Haken-Vera-May-18-1912) 2025-11-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-10-30.

1. ["City's Color, Beauty Inspire a New American Playwright; She Likes Poughkeepsie"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/poughkeepsie-journal-citys-color-beaut/183988962/). *Poughkeepsie Journal*. 1957-01-27. pp. 1C. Retrieved 2025-10-30. – via Newspapers.com.

1. Hacken, Vera; Steinbarg, Elieser; Kostka, Jürgen (2014). *Kinder- und Jugendjahre mit Elieser Steinbarg* (in German). Rimbaud. ISBN 978-3-89086-417-4. [OCLC 855556675](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/855556675)

1. Hirsch, Marianne & Spitzer, Leo (2010-01-19). [*Ghosts of Home: The Afterlife of Czernowitz in Jewish Memory*](https://books.google.com/books?id=wXOY4i6gaDUC&dq=Vera+Hacken&pg=PA91). University of California Press. pp. 90–91. ISBN 978-0-520-94490-9.

1. Wilken, Jeanette (1952-12-22). ["Folksbine Stages Fine 'Sambatian'"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-folksbine-stages-fine-sambat/183989967/). *Daily News*. p. 581. Retrieved 2025-10-30. – via Newspapers.com.

1. Hacken, Vera. *Die Bücher der goldenen Pawe* (in German). Stuttgart: Ed. Weitbrecht in K. Thinemanns Verl. [OCLC 935990400](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/935990400)

1. Library of Congress Copyright Office (1954). [*Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series*](https://books.google.com/books?id=NDQhAQAAIAAJ&dq=Vera+Hacken&pg=RA2-PA25). p. 25.

1. Agosín, Marjorie (1999). [*Uncertain Travelers: Conversations with Jewish Women Immigrants to America*](https://books.google.com/books?id=XEzSqJnsJrMC&dq=Vera+Hacken&pg=PA173). UPNE. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-87451-945-7.

1. האקען, ווערא (1969). *קינדער־יארן: יוגנט־יארן מיט אליעזר שטיינבארג* (in Yiddish). [תל אביב]: ‏י. ל. פרץ. [OCLC 19313103](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19313103)

1. Hacken, Vera; Andrée, Othmar; Andrée, Othmar (2020). [*Stanzje Grafskaja Novelle*](https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:101:1-2020011722371130185980) (in German). Epubli. ISBN 978-3-7502-6959-0. [OCLC 1197345986](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1197345986)

1. ["32 to Become Citizens in Naturalization Court"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/poughkeepsie-journal-32-to-become-citize/183990201/). *Poughkeepsie Journal*. 1956-06-08. p. 7. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20251102170617/https://www.newspapers.com/article/poughkeepsie-journal-32-to-become-citize/183990201/) 2025-11-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-10-30. – via Newspapers.com.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Vera Hacken](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Hacken) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Hacken?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.