YEHUDE-YUDL GERTLER

YEHUDE-YUDL GERTLER (April 18, 1895-1967)

            He was born in Chentshin (Chęciny), Poland.  He later moved with his parents to Lodz, studied there in a Talmud-Torah, and began to work at age twelve.  He emigrated to Canada and lived in Montreal, where he became a hat maker and was active in the Labor Zionist party.  After WWI he moved to New York, worked in the hatter trade, spent several semesters at the Jewish teachers’ seminary, and then became a business agent for the hat makers’ union.  He began publishing articles in the union organ, The Headgear Worker, edited by Y. M. Burish.  He also contributed to Veker (Alarm) and Idisher kemfer (Jewish fighter) in New York, later moving to Chicago where he placed pieces in the magazine Shikago (Chicago) in which he also published poetry.  He became a worker-editor of the daily newspaper Yidisher kuryer (Jewish currier), under the editorship of Dr. Mortkhe Kats, and he also edited the weekly literary page, where he often wrote reviews of new books.  Among his pen names: Yud-Ger and A. Baron.  With the discontinuation of the newspaper, he became the Chicago director of the campaign for Histadrut (trade union organization) in Israel.  He was living in Chicago and died in Philadelphia.