Documents

From Nokhem Shtif in Charlottenburg, Berlin, to Max Weinreich in Frankfurt am Main, 19 August 1923. Shtif thanks Weinreich for sending him a list of the books in the remnant of his library left in Vilna but laments that nothing is left of his German-language books. He has learned that "Rokhl" has sold off many of his books. Shtif also mentions the publication of his book Pogroms in Ukraine. Yiddish. RG 107, Letters Collection.

From Tsemaḥ Szabad in Vilna to Abraham Cahan in New York, 12 December 1933. A letter of introduction for Khayim Pupko, a folklorist and esteemed educator, who is being sent to the United States to raise money for the Yiddish-language schools in Vilna, which are in dire financial straits. The dedicated teachers can only be paid a salary that "hardly pays for dry bread." The "tragedy of the German Jews" is playing a not insignificant role in convincing more and more Jews of the importance of Yiddish schools; he hopes Cahan will provide Pupko with as much assistance as possible. Yiddish. Polish letterhead: Dr. Cemach Szabad, Wilno, Styczniowa 8. RG 1139, Abraham Cahan Papers, F133.

Cover of Familien-bibliotek, no. 51, Warsaw, 1900: playscript for Mentshn, by Sholem Aleichem, with notes by the author inserted in Yiddish and Russian. Yiddish and Russian. RG 107, Letters Collection, Box 16, F20.

From Leon Trotsky in Istanbul to Lazar Kling in the Bronx, 9 February 1932, thanking him for books Kling has sent. Trotsky suggests that “foreign” (Jewish and other) workers in the United States will play a crucial role in the forthcoming American revolution. He also states his attitude toward Yiddish, saying that it is as good a language as any other, notwithstanding his use of the term zhargon in his autobiography: back in Odessa when he was growing up, that's what they called it. Trotsky also objects to being called an "assimilationist," saying that he does not even know the meaning of the term. He is, of course, opposed to Zionism. He calls on all Jewish workers in France to learn the French language and French customs so as to stand alongside their non-Jewish peers in the battle of the proletariat. Russian. Typed. RG 107, Letters Collection.

Manuscript of article by Yehudah Leib Zirelson, "Hatsa'at ha-Rav Tsirelson" (Rabbi Zirelson’s Proposal), published in Ha-Pardes, vol. 11 (September 1937), Kishinev. Zirelson addresses the question of what preparations are needed for a “Kingdom of Israel” (Mamlekhet Yisra’el) after two thousand years of exile. He calls upon Agudas Yisroel to examine the issue according to the spirit of the Torah, quoting from Proverbs, the Zohar, the Jerusalem Talmud, and other sources. He compares the redemption of Israel to the dawn whose light breaks slowly, but continues to grow stronger. Hebrew. RG 108, Manuscripts Collection, F69.8.3.

From Jakob Lestschinsky in Vienna to Abraham Cahan in New York, 12 May 1937. Lestschinsky is on a short trip to Vienna in connection with his book about antisemitic attacks and pogroms in Poland, which he says will be published in English and French, and later maybe in Yiddish, under a pseudonym. He sends regards from "the Kautskys," who are in dire financial straits because Karl Kautsky's book Socialists and the War has been banned in Austria. Also, "the elder Kautsky" is 83 years old, not in good health, and is writing his memoirs. Lestschinsky asks Cahan if he would be willing to publish some chapters of Socialists and the War in installments in the Forverts. Lestschinsky expresses his deep desire to be rescued from the Polish "exile": "I dream that I've received a telegram from you, calling me to America. Occasionally, dreams come true." Typed. Yiddish. English and Yiddish letterhead: Jacob Lestschinsky. Correspondent of the "Jewish Daily Forward" in New-York. RG 1139, Abraham Cahan Papers, F91.

From Shmerke Kaczerginski in Łódź, Poland, to (?), n.d. (ca. late 1945–1949). A confidential report on the latest meeting of the Jewish Literary Union in Łódź. Kaczerginski was forced to withdraw his candidacy for the board because of his supposed anti-Soviet views. One former partisan announced that the only reason to promote Yiddish schools would be to serve the non-Polish-speaking children of Jews returning from Russia. Another member came out against high school courses in Yiddish. "You can use all of this, but, of course, don't mention my name." Yiddish. Typed. RG 107, Letters Collection.

Chapter from a longer work by Shimen Horontshik. “Dem altns toyt” (The Old Man’s Death), 1930. Sent by the author in Włocławek, Poland, to the Yiddish literary journal Tsukunft in New York. Note: The manuscript is not in the author's own handwriting (as seen in the note on the last page) and was probably transcribed by a copyist. Yiddish. RG 108, Manuscripts Collection, F23.23.

Poem by Moyshe Altman, “Ovnt khmures” (Evening Clouds), n.d. One of two poems with the same title. A note in different handwiriting at the bottom of the page reads: "When Esther visited us during her stay in Czernowitz." Yiddish. RG 108, Manuscripts Collection, F5.11.

From Yoysef Tunkel in Warsaw to Lazar Kahan in Łódź, 27 December 1911, about the terms and conditions that he, Zalmen Vendrof, Khayim Tshemerinski, and "Kopel" require in order to come to Łódź to perform. They cannot agree to a percentage of the house as payment, but want a minimum of 25 rubles each plus 10 rubles each for travel expenses. He hopes for a speedy reply from Kahan because they need to organize the program and he and Vendrof have also been invited to perform [on the same date?] in Minsk. Yiddish. Russian and Yiddish letterhead: Der Moment, Warsaw, Nalewki no. 38. RG 422, Lazar Kahan Papers, F Tunkel.

From Henryk Erlich in Warsaw to Dovid Eynhorn in Paris, 7 December 1931, saying that he and other Bundist leaders are very pleased with the lyrics to a new Bundist anthem that Eynhorn has sent, at Erlich's request, in honor of the 35th anniversary of the Bund. Now they are trying to decide, in terms of the music, whether a hymn or a march would be more useful. Erlich thinks a march would be better because in recent years, the Bund has engaged in more and more marches in the streets, and "marching to the music and words of Di shvue (The Oath, the Bundist anthem) is very difficult." Yiddish. Polish and Yiddish letterhead: The Bund in Poland, Central Committee, Warsaw. RG 277, David Einhorn Papers, F30.

From Jakob Lestschinsky in Berlin, to Abraham Liessin, editor of the Yiddish-language journal Tsukunft, in New York, 6 November 1923, enclosing a manuscript by Professor Fishel Schneersohn, whose specialty is Russian and German literature, and urging him to publish at least a few chapters in Tsukunft. Schneersohn, who lectures at German pedagogical institutes, is proof "that not all our Jewish scholars have to forsake Yiddish." Yiddish. German and Yiddish letterhead: Jakob Lestschinsky, Correspondent of "Jewish Daily Forward" in New York. RG 201, Abraham Liessin Papers, F652 Lestschinsky.

Resolution of attendees at a meeting of the Hazomir Chorus at the home of its director, Leo Liow, 29 September 1917, to take part in a Hazomir jubilee concert. A proposal for the program is included. Yiddish. RG 1140, Leo Low Papers, F2.

Undated fables by Yehudah Steinberg, including, "The Rat and the Mongoose," "The Repentant Wolf," "The Nightingale," and "The Shofar." Manuscript, Hebrew. RG 107, Letters Collection.

From Meyer Shternberg in Bucharest to J. Gruder in Cernăuţi, (Czernowitz; now Chernivtsi, Ukr.), 4 October 1930 (?), mentioning that Shternberg is enclosing money that Itsik Manger wants passed on to his family via his brother, who may be in Czernowitz, but if not, then they are in Iaşi. Shternberg reports that his brother Yankev has just returned from Riga and that the studio the two of them established is doing badly and will need to be shut down. Yiddish. RG 107, Letters Collection.

Józef Jaszuński, “Der Europeyisher arbeter un di psikhotekhnik” (The European Worker and Psychotechnics), n.d. Yiddish. With the author's stamp on the last page: J. Jaszuński, Elektoralna 30, m. 33. RG 108, Manuscripts Collection, F35.12.

From Itsik Kipnis in Kiev to Yoysef Opatoshu and H. Leivick in New York, 18 January 1934. Kipnis reports that he has just published an article in the Soviet press criticizing his own novel, Khadoshim un teg (Months and Days), for its bourgeois and kulak nationalism. Included in the article was mention of his correspondence with "the foreign writers Opatoshu and Leivick," in which he admitted that he had relied too much on his own judgment instead of that of his "writer comrades" and "our whole proletarian organized society" when depicting the real people on which his characters were based. But he doesn't want them to get the wrong idea: Opatoshu and Leivick are held in great esteem in the USSR. He himself is involved as little as possible with politics and does not always approve of the comrades' attitude toward foreign writers, but what can he do? He is the exception and they are the rule, so he can't make too many waves. He regets the tone of his "al-khet" (confession) and feels sullied by the experience. He asks them to please not judge him too harshly. In a postscript, he acknowledges that he hasn't been writing or publishing lately but says that in the near future a book of his stories, 12 Stories, will be published, as well as some children's literature. Yiddish. RG 436, Joseph Opatoshu Papers, F224.

From Tsemaḥ Szabad in Vilna to Jakob Lestschinsky in Berlin or Prague, 13 February 1933, about a statistical study of fertility rates among Jewish women in the Vilna region before, during, and after World War I. Szabad asks Lestschinsky's advice on finding data and comparative studies. Yiddish. Polish letterhead: Dr. Cemach Szabad, Wilno, Styczniowa 8. RG 339 Jacob Lestschinsky Papers, F72.

From Elkhonen Vogler in Vilna to "Sz. Wielkobroda" (Yehoshue Grosbart) in Warsaw, 3 June 1939. He's been sick but has won the Peretz Prize from the Pen Club, triumphing over his "enemies." (Note: "Wielkobroda" is a joke, a literal Polish translation of the recipient's real name, Grosbart, which means "big beard" in Yiddish.) Yiddish. RG 107, Letters Collection.

Poem by Itsik Manger, “Ikh der trubador” (I, the Troubador), Warsaw, 1931. "I, the troubador, with the wind in my hair / We stand by the dark night-lantern. . . ." Yiddish. RG 108, Manuscripts Collection, F44.4.9.