DIANA TURKOV-BLUMENFELD

DIANA TURKOV-BLUMENFELD (April 1, 1903-September 4, 1961)

            The wife of Yonas Turkov, she was born in Warsaw.  She graduated from middle school and drama school in Warsaw.  Until 1939 she acted in Yiddish theater in Poland and elsewhere.  She lived afterward in the Warsaw Ghetto and on the Aryan side.  From 1948 she was in the United States.  She translated from Polish and German a series of plays which were produced on the Yiddish stage in various countries, such as: Der tog fun dayn tsurikker (The day of your return) by Zofja Nałkowska [original: Dzien jego powrotu (The day of his return)]; and Froyds teorye fun khaloymes (Freud’s theory of dreams) by Antoni Cwojdziński [original: Freuda teoria snow]; Orem vi a kloyster moyz (Poor as a church mouse) by L. Fodor [original: Arm wie eine Kirchenmaus]; and Di moyer (The wall) by Lampel; among others.  From books she translated, the following were published: Helena Szereszewska’s Tsvishn tseylem un mezuze (Between a cross and a mezuzah [original: Krzyż i mezuza]) (Buenos Aires: Dos poylishe yidntum, 1959), 390 pp.; Pola Apenszlak, Dr. yanush kortshak, byografisher roman (Dr. Janusz Korczak, biographical novel) (Buenos Aires, 1960), 386 pp.  She died in New York.

Sources: Max Weinreich, in Vilner tog (Vilna) (December 20, 1938); B. Mark, in Yidishe shriftn (Warsaw) (April 1960); P. Shteynvaks, in Tsien (New York) (July 1960); Y. Botoshanski, in Di prese (Buenos Aires) (December 24, 27, 1960); M. Shenderay, in Di idishe tsaytung (Buenos Aires) (December 26, 1960); Y. Okrutni, in Di idishe tsaytung (January 7, 1961); Dr. Shloyme Bikl, in Tog-morgn-zhurnal (New York) (March 26, 1961); obituary notices in Forverts (New York) and Tog-morgn-zhurnal (September 5, 1961); Bikl, in Tog-morgn-zhurnal (September 28, 1961); D. Denk, in Forverts (October 22, 1961).

Khayim Leyb Fuks