KHAYIM ROZENSHTEYN (CHAIM ROZENSZTEIN)

KHAYIM ROZENSHTEYN (CHAIM ROZENSZTEIN) (July 22, 1898-November 16, 1966)

            A playwright, translator, and journalist, he was born in Novidvor (Nowy Dwor), near Warsaw, the husband of actress Rokhl Holtser.  After graduating from public school, he lived for several years in St. Petersburg, Khzhanov (Chrzanow) in Galicia, Danzig, and Warsaw where he settled in 1929.  From he left for Melbourne in 1939.  He debuted in print in 1930 with an article in Warsaw’s Naye folkstsaytung (New people’s newspaper).  He went on to write for: Literarishe bleter (Literary leaves), Der kritiker (The critic), Kegn shtrom (Against the current), Yedies fun yidishn artistn-farayn in poyln (News of the Jewish artists’ association in Poland), Belgishe bleter (Belgian leaves), Di oystralishe yidishe nayes (Australian Jewish news), Di yidishe post (The Jewish mail), Oyfboy (Construction), and Unzer tsayt (Our time) in New York.  He placed two long pieces on Yiddish theater in Australia in Tsveyter oystralish-yidisher almanakh (Second Australian-Jewish almanac) (Melbourne, 1942) and Drite oystralish-yidisher almanakh (Third Australian-Jewish almanac) (Melbourne, 1967).  In book form: Di katastrofe, a drame in fir aktn akht bilder (The catastrophe, a drama in four acts [and] eight scenes) (Warsaw: Kultur-lige, 1931), 110 pp.; Drite zayt medal, a komedye in dray aktn (Three-sided medal, a comedy in three acts) (Melbourne, 1943), 80 pp.; Megile borekh trask, a burlesk in 5 bilder (The scroll of Borekh Trask, a burlesque in five scenes) (Melbourne, 1945), 83 pp.  He translated (some staged but none published): P. Renal (?), Keyver fun umbakantn zelner (Grave of the unknown soldier); Louis Verneuil, Froy advokat (Lady lawyer); A. Dvidzhinski (?), Froyds khaloymes teorye (Freud’s theory of dreams); Karel Čapek, Muter (Mother [original: Matka); V. A. Somin (?), Atentat (Assassination); Vasilii Vasil’evich Shkvarkin, A fremd kind (Someone else’s child [original: Chuzhoi rebenok]); Dario Niccodemi, Der shotn (The shadow [original: L’ombra]); Anton Chekhov, Yubiley (The festivities [original: Yubilei]); Gabriela Zapolska, Di moral fun madam dulska (The morals of Madame Dulska [(bilingual) original]: La morale de Madame Dulska, or Moralność pani Dulskiej); Alexandre Dumas, Kamelyan dame (Lady of the Camellias [original: La Dame aux Camélias]); Noël Coward, Vikend (Weekend [original: Hay Fever]); Robert Emmet Sherwood, Dos meydl fun vaterlo (The girl from Waterloo [original: Waterloo Bridge]).  He authored the pamphlets: Af di umvegn fun sotsyalistishn bavustzayn (On the byways of socialist consciousness) (Melbourne, 1941), 16 pp.; Der arbeter-klas un di itsike milkhome (The working class and the present war) (Melbourne, 1941), 24 pp.; and In likht fun faktn (In light of facts) (Melbourne, 1942), 30 pp.  He died in Melbourne.

Sources: Y. Kahan, in Der landsman (Melbourne) 8 (1966); H. Bergner, in Folk un land (New York) (October 1967); Yeshurin archive, YIVO (New York).

Berl Cohen