OSKAR TUNIS

OSKAR TUNIS (1890-September 1939)

            He was born in Lemberg, eastern Galicia.  He was an active leader in the Labor Zionist “Hitaḥdut” party in Galicia.  He was a founder of the Union of Business Employees and Private Clerks in Lemberg and of other trade union associations.  He was a well-known speaker in both Yiddish and Polish.  He debuted in print with articles on labor issues and Zionism in Der yudisher arbayter (The Jewish worker) in Lemberg (1907), and from that point he contributed work to such Lemberg newspapers as: Togblat (Daily newspaper), Der morgn (The morning), Nayer yidisher arbeter (New Jewish worker) for which he served as editor from 1921 to 1927, and the Polish-language Chwila (Moment); as well as Dos naye vort (The new word) and Folksvort (People word) in Warsaw (1939); among others.  He died in the Nazi bombing during the first days of September 1939, at the time of the German invasion of Poland.

Sources: Biblyografishe yorbikher fun yivo (Bibliographic yearbooks from YIVO) (Warsaw, 1928), p. 11; information from Pinkhes Shteynvaks in New York.

Khayim Leyb Fuks