Arnold Zweig (1887–1968) is one of the most respected and read German-speaking writers of the 20th century, which only a few Germanists remember today, whose works surprise with a very current pronunciation. The article addresses the issue of scientific and social interest in the works of this German-Jewish writer over several decades, while looking at the national and ideological conditions of this reception in terms of historical experience.

Intertidal zone of four gravel beaches in Hornsund Fjord (West Spitsbergen) were investigated in order to study macrofaunal distribution and diversity in these poor habitats. A total of 12 macrofaunal taxa were found in the collected material. The most frequent and the most abundant taxon was Lumbricillus sp. (Oligochaeta). The next most numerous group were juvenile Gammarus spp. juv. The fauna included also polychaetes, molluscs and other crustaceans. The diversity measured with Shannon-Weaver index was low and varied from 0 to 1.4. The analysis revealed that there were no statistically important differences in macrofaunal distribution among stations in fjord. However there were significant differences among various tidal mark zones and high patchiness in animals abundance at each station. Also species composition, density and biomass were diversified along the tide level profile.