MEYER ZAYDSHNUR

MEYER ZAYDSHNUR (1896-June 9, 1958)

            He was born in Vilna, Lithuania, into a prominent family.  He received a Jewish and a general education, graduating from a Russian high school.  From his early school years, he was active in the Zionist movement.  He was later a merchant and was involved with community work.  He was a member of the Jewish community administration, one of the leaders of the Strashun Library, and similar positions.  In the winter of 1940, when the Bolsheviks seized Vilna, he was arrested as a Zionist leader and exiled deep into Siberia to a labor camp.  In August 1941 he was released and until the summer of 1945 he lived in Uzbekistan.  He later returned to Poland, where until 1947 he was among the leaders of the general Zionist movement.  Afterward he left for Israel, from there moved to France, and was in the leadership of the Zionist Federation and of the Confederation for Europe and North Africa; he was also a cofounder of the free union of former deportees and internees and of the Jewish literary association, as well as general secretary and presidium member of the Jewish community of Eastern European Jews in Paris.  While still young, he wrote essays on community and Zionist matters.  He later cofounded and contributor in Vilna to: Idishe tsaytung (Jewish newspaper) (1919-1921), Di tsayt (The times), and Vilner almanakh (Vilna almanac), among others.  After the war he wrote for such journals as: Iḥud (Unity) and Dos naye lebn (The new life) in Lodz; Tsienistishe shtime (Zionist voice) and the monthly Der veg (The way) in Paris.  He was also on the editorial board of Bleter vegn vilne (Pages on Vilna) (Lodz, 1947).  He also used such pen names as: A Vilner and Zet.  He died in Paris.

Sources: A. Pekler, in Pinkes fun yekopo (Records of Yekopo [Yevreyskiy komitet pomoshchi zhertvam voyny—“Jewish Relief Committee for War Victims”]) (Vilna, 1931), p. 951; Vilne (Vilna), anthology edited by Y. Yeshurin (New York, 1935), see index; Y. Yonasovitsh, in Dos naye lebn (Lodz) (July 12, 1947); N. Z., in Unzer vort (Paris) (July 11 and 13, 1958); M. L., in Tsienistishe shtime (Paris) (June 20, 1958).