YASHE BRONSHTEYN (1897-1937)
Born in Byelsk, Byelorussia, he studied at Moscow University—at the
Institute for Red Professors and elsewhere.
He was a leading Soviet Jewish literary critic; and he was a scholarly
leader in the Jewish section of the Byelorussian Academy of Sciences (Institute
of Jewish Proletarian Culture). He was
also a teacher of literature in a non-Jewish high school. In 1936 he assumed the professorial chair in
Yiddish literature and language in Minsk.
He received an honorary decoration.
He took over a high governmental position as a member of the central
executive committee of Byelorussia. He
wrote articles about important Soviet Jewish writers, as he did as well
concerning Avrom-Uri Kovner and the pioneering worker-writers in the United
States. He published seminal works in Shtern
(Star) in Minsk, Prolit (Proletarian literature) in Kharkov, and Tsaytshrift
(Periodical writing), among other serial publications. He was the editor of numerous books and a
contributor to Shtern, Tsaytshrift, and other serials and
anthologies. He was arrested in 1937 as
an “enemy of the people,” together with Izzy Kharik and Khatskl Dunets, and
thereafter no one has heard anything from them [both were executed in 1937]. Among his books and longer works: Atake,
literarishe-kritishe artiklen (Attack, literary critical articles) (Minsk,
1930), 334 pp.; “Der stiln-kamf inem peryod fun militarishn komunizm” (The
style struggles during the period of military Communism), Prolit (Kharkov)
(November-December 1929), pp. 62-87 (February 1930), pp. 22-77 (March-April
1930), pp. 108-22, and (May 1930), pp. 66-82; “Avrom-Uri Kovner,” Prolit
(May 1930), 211-43; “Literarish-kritishe sakhaklen” (Literary critical summing
up), Tsaytshrift 5 (Minsk, 1931), pp. 295-312; Problemen fun
leninishn etap in der literatur-kentenish (Problems of the Leninist stage
in literary knowledge) (Minsk, 1932), 105 pp.; “Sakhaklen fun 15 yor kamf far
maksizm-leninizm in literatur-kentenish” (Accounting from fifteen years of
fighting for Marxism-Leninism in literary knowledge), Literarish-lingvistisher
zamlbukh (Literary-linguistic anthology) (Minsk, 1932), pp. 3-45; Farfestikte
pozitsyes (Published positions) (Moscow, 1934), 290 pp.; Sheferishe
problemen fun der yidisher sovetisher poezye (Creative problems in Soviet
Yiddish poetry) (Minsk, 1936), 95 pp. He
also wrote prefaces to many volumes, including: L. Katsovitsh’s In yene teg, a pyese in 3 aktn (In those days, a play in three acts) (Minsk,
1927); Sovetishe vaysrusland, literarishe zamlung (Soviet Byelorussia, a
literary collection) (Minsk, 1935); Yanka Kupala’s Lider (Poems) (Minsk,
1936).
Sources:
Daniel Tsharni, “Di yidishe literatur in ratnfarband” (Yiddish literature in
the Soviet Union), Literarishe bleter (February 4, 1927); Sh. Epshteyn, “Di
yidishe proletarishe literatur un di proletarishe shrayber-organizatsyes”
(Jewish proletarian literature and proletarian writers’ associations), Di
royte velt (Kharkov) (March 1930); B. Brogin (Froym Oyerbakh), “Stalins
letste rede in der yidish-sovetisher literatur” (Stalin’s last speech in Soviet
Jewish literature), Morgn-zhurnal (New York) (January 13, 1932); Max
Erik, “Vegn kh. bronshteyns atake” (On Comrade Bronshteyn’s Atake),
in Farn leninishn etap in der literatur-kritik (Toward the Leninist
stage in literary criticism) (Kiev, 1932); Erik, “Vegn kh. bronshteyns bukh atake”
(On Comrade Bronshteyn’s book Atake), Farmest (Khakov) (January
1933); Shmuel Niger, “A rakhmones af leninen” (A pity for Lenin), Tsukunft
(New York) (November 1934); D. Kurland, “Vegn bukh atake” (On the book Atake),
Afn visnshaftlekhn front 5-6 (Minsk, 1934), p. 176; Dr. A. Mukdoni, “Bikher
un shrayber” (Books and authors), Morgn-zhurnal (New York) (January 30,
1935); B. Glazman, “An ovnt in moskve” (An evening in Moscow), Idisher kemfer
(October 4, 1940); H. Vaynraykh, “Yashe bronshteyn, vos iz fun im gevorn?” (Yashe
Bronshteyn, what became of him?), Unzer shtime 674 (Paris, 1949); Al.
Pomerants, “Edelshtot in der yidish-sovetisher literatur-kritik” (Edelshtot in
Soviet Yiddish literary criticism), in Dovid edeshtot gedenk-bukh (Dovid
Edelshtot memory book) (New York, 1952), pp. 540, 541, 544, 547.
Aleksander Pomerants
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