AVROM (ABRAHAM) AYZEN (AJZEN)

AVROM (ABRAHAM) AYZEN (AJZEN) (May 10, 1909-March 5, 1958)

Born in Grabovyets, Lublin region.  He studied in religious schools and senior high school in Krakow.  In 1936 he became a researcher at YIVO in Vilna.  He was in the Vilna ghetto and thereafter in a work camp.  After the war he moved to Mexico and later settled in Canada.  In 1929 he published his first novella in Vokhnshrift far literatur (Weekly writings for literature), the supplement to the Bundist Folks-tsaytung (People’s newspaper) in Warsaw; he contributed to Fraye shriftn (Free writings) of Y. N. Shteynberg; he published essays and novellas in a number of newspapers in Vilna and later in Mexico.  Among his books: Shtam un tsvayg (Trunk and branch), novellas (Vilna, 1936); Mentshn fun geto (People of the ghetto), novella (New York, 1949) for which he was awarded the Zvi Kessel Prize; Dos gaystike ponem fun geto (The spiritual face of the ghetto) (Mexico, 1950).  In 1938 he completed his research work for YIVO: Di yidishe proze in poyln nokh der velt-milkhome (Yiddish prose in Poland after the world war) which is in the YIVO archives.  He used the pseudonym “A. Tones.”  He died in Toronto.

Sources: P. Berman, in Forverts (October 4, 1951) in New York; Y. Berliner, in Der veg (September 1949 and July 1950) in Mexico; A. Golomb, in Literarishe bleter (Warsaw, 1936); D. Tsharni, in Fraye shrift (1936); Shmuel Niger, in Der tog (February 19, 1950); Y. Y. Sigal, in Keneder adler (July 1950).