PINYE BURGANSKI (BURGANSKII)

PINYE BURGANSKI (BURGANSKII) (b. 1903)

One of the most popular authors of Soviet Yiddish textbooks which appeared in numerous editions, he was a distinguished teacher, a founder of schools, and a lecturer in Ukraine.  In the latter half of the 1920s and first half of the 1930s, he was one of the leading figures in Ukraine in the field of Jewish school curricula. For a certain amount of time, he was an inspector in the Jewish section of the Ukrainian People’s Commissariat of Education (Folkombild), one of the editors of the pedagogical journal of Ratnbildung (Soviet education), a bimonthly periodical out of Kharkov (1928-1937) and organ of the Folkombild in Ukraine. He was a member of the editorial collective of the children’s magazine Oktyaberl (Little October) in Kiev (1930-1939), and of the periodical textbook for the third and fourth groups of the workers’ school “Yunge shlogler” (Young shock troops) in Kharkov (1931-1932), and of other pedagogical publications. He published numerous articles in the Yiddish press. His name disappeared with other purged Jewish cultural leaders, and from 1937 nothing of him was reported. His only son, Mark, an officer during WWII, died at Stalingrad.  The letter from the son at the front to his parents, who were evacuated to Alma Ata, was subsequently published in Eynikeyt (Unity) in Moscow.

Among his books: Far antireligyezer dertsiung (Toward anti-religious education) (Kharkov, 1928), 28 pp.; Oys religye (Out with religion), an anthology (compiled together with Avrom Vevyorke) (Moscow, 1929); Ershte trit (First step) (Kharkov, 1930), 124 pp.; Mir boyen (We’re building) (Kharkov, 1931); Tsum politekhnizm (Toward polytechnism) (Kharkov, 1931), 34 pp.; Sotsyalistisher gevet in der politekhnisher shul (Socialist bet on the polytechnical school) (Kharkov-Kiev, 1932), 36 pp.; Oktyaberlekh (Little Octobers), a book to teach the alphabet for first-graders (Kharkov-Kiev, 1932), 168 pp.; Zay greyt, alefbeyz far der onfang-shul (Get ready, alphabet book for primary school) (Kharkov, 1932) and in 1936 the fourth, improved printing appeared; Leynbukh farn ershtn klas fun der onfang-shul (Reader for first grade of primary school) (Kiev-Kharkov, 1933), 108 pp. and in 1937 the fifth, improved edition appeared; Leyenbukh farn ershtn lernyor (Textbook for the first school year) (Kharkov-Kiev, 1933; subsequent editions, 1933-1936);

Sources: A. Hodes, in Eynikeyt (Moscow) (July 4, 1946); E. Spivak, in Shtern 190 (Kharkov, 1933); S. Zhezmer, in Shtern 5 (1933); R. Fish, Shtern 267 (1933); Ratnbildung 5 (Kharkov, 1933).

[Additional information from: Chaim Beider, Leksikon fun yidishe shrayber in ratn-farband (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers in the Soviet Union), ed. Boris Sandler and Gennady Estraikh (New York: Congress for Jewish Culture, Inc., 2011), pp. 42-43.]