MEYER HURVITS

MEYER HURVITS (September 22, 1913-July 28, 1983)

            He was born in Berezin (Berezino), Minsk district, Byelorussia, to parents who were active Bundists—his father, Shoyel Hurvits, later also became a writer in the United States.  After his father left for America in 1914, he stayed with his mother and the family in Russia during the years of WWI.  In 1922 they all made their way to join his father in America.  He attended public school in New York, simultaneously a Workmen’s Circle school as well.  He studied in high school in Youngstown, Ohio, where his worked as a teacher in the local Workmen’s Circle school.  He later attended the Jewish teachers’ seminary and the Workmen’s Circle’s teacher course in New York.  He worked at various occupations.  In 1941 he left to serve in the American army, volunteering to be a parachutist in the 82^nd Parachutist Division, experienced a long war road from North Africa through Italy, France, England, Belgium, Holland, and to Germany.  In September 1945 he returned home and worked as a reporter for Forverts (Forward), later for Morgn-zhurnal (Morning journal), and he worked as a teacher in a Workmen’s Circle school in Brooklyn; he later worked in a post office in New York, subsequently as a librarian for the federal government.  He started his writing activities with children’s impressions and letters from the army—published in the children’s corner of Frayhayt (Freedom), Kinder-zhurnal (Children’s journal), Kinder-tsaytung (Children’s newspaper), and Yungvarg (Youth).  He later published such bibliographic and other works in Yivo-bleter (Pages from YIVO) as: “Yidishe oysdrukn in amerikaner english” (Yiddish expression in American English) in 1934 and “Perets in english” (Peretz in English) in 1937.  He also wrote for: Yidishe shprakh (Yiddish language) in 1947; and Argentiner yivo shriftn (Argentinian YIVO writings), a bibliography on Jewish colonization in Argentina; Yidisher bukh-almanakh (Yiddish book almanac), a bibliography of Yiddish translations of English-language literature.  He also contributed to: Kultur un dertsiung (Culture and education), Idisher kemfer (Jewish fighter), and Forverts, reportage pieces from the war front over the course of three years, among other serials.  His war reportage essays were later published in book form: Iberlebungen fun a yidishn parashutist (Experiences of a Jewish parachutist), with a foreword by Nokhum Khanin, published by the education department of the Workmen’s Circle (New York, 1948), 298 pp.  He also published in English in army newspapers, The Call from Workmen’s Circle, and American Speech, among others.  He also wrote under the pen name “M.-H. Alperovitsh.”  He died in New York.

Sources: A. Leyeles, in Tog (New York) (March 20, 1948); Y. Kisman, in Forverts (New York) (April 25, 1948); Sh. D. Zinger, in Kultur un dertsiung (New York) (April 1948); Zinger, in Der veker (New York) (September 15, 1948); M. Shveyd, in Der fraynd (New York) (May 1948); V. Stern, in The Call (New York) (September 1948); J. S. (Yankev Shatski), in Jewish Bookland (New York) (January-February 1949); Shmuel Niger, in Tog (July 24, 1949); A. Mukdoni, in Morgn-zhurnal (New York) (November 20, 1949); G. Aronson, in Tsukunft (New York) (January 1951).