FRID VAYNINGER (FREED WEININGER)

FRID VAYNINGER (FREED WEININGER) (July 29, 1915-December 4, 1988)

            He was born in Czernowitz, Bukovina.  In his youth he was brought to the village of Mamoyevits, where his father was a lessee.  He was orphaned at age four on his father’s side and moved with his mother to Czernowitz where they lived an impoverished life.  He studied in religious primary school and in a public school.  Because of his political activities, he was barred from entering the sixth class in high school.  He was active in the youth organization of Hashomer Hatsair (Young guard) and Yugnt Bund (Youth Bund) in Czernowitz.  He served in the Romanian army, from which in early 1940 he escaped to Yugoslavia, and through Italy he made his way to the United States.  He lived for a time in New York and worked as a teacher in Workmen’s Circle schools.  He began painting in 1944.  He visited Cuba where he displayed his paintings.  From that point he had exhibitions in New York, Argentina, and elsewhere as well.  He was secretary of the Yiddish Pen Club in New York.  He began writing poetry in German in 1930, and from 1933 he was writing in Yiddish.  He published in: Tshernovitser bleter Czernowitz pages) in 1934; Oyfgang (Arise) in Sighet-Marmației; Shoybn (Glass panes) in Bucharest; Literarishe bleter (Literary leaves) in Warsaw; Tsukunft (Future), Inzikh (Introspective), Idisher kemfer (Jewish fighter), and Zamlbikher (Anthologies)—in New York; Kiem (Existence) in Paris; Di prese (The press) and Der shpigl (The mirror) in Buenos Aires; Der nayer moment (The new moment) in Brazil; and elsewhere.  His publications include: Nartsisn, tsvelf sonetn (Daffodils, twelve sonnets) (Czernowitz, 1937), 12 pp., under the pen name “M. Fried”; Ovnt baym prut, sonetn un lider (Evening at the Prut River, sonnets and poems) (New York, 1942), 96 pp.; A pastukh in nyu york, sonetn un lider (A shepherd in New York, sonnets and poetry) (Buenos Aires, 1951), 124 pp.  In 1962 he received his masters’ degree in psychiatric social work from Wayne State University in Detroit.  He made aliya to Israel in 1968.  He wrote there for Goldene keyt (Golden chain), Letste nayes (latest news), and Bay zikh (On one’s own).  He went on to write: Baym prut, la plata, un yardn, sonetn un lider (By the Prut, La Plata, and Jordan [Rivers], sonnets and poetry) (Tel Aviv: Peretz Publ., 1966), 155 pp., for which he won the Bimko Prize; In groysn droysn, lider (In the great outdoors, poetry) (Tel Aviv, 1974), 219 pp.; Oysyes, verter, strofn, lider (Letters, words, stanzas, poetry) (Tel Aviv: Leivick Publ., 1981), 140 pp.; Erev ayin, lider (On the eve of ayin, poetry) (Jerusalem, 1985), 153 pp.  He also translated Rose Ausländer’s poems Shotns in shpigl (Shadows on the mirror [original: Schatten im Spiegel]) (Tel Aviv, 1981), 89 pp., into Yiddish

            Vayninger’s original name had been Moyshe Fridman.  He died in Israel.

Sources: Y. Shvarts (Itshe), in Tshernovitser bleter (December 10, 1937); N. Y. Gotlib, in Keneder odler (Montreal) (September 22, 1942); A. Tabatshnik, in Tsukunft (New York) (October 1942); Y. Botoshanski, in Di prese (Buenos Aires) (September 6, 1950); Sh. Rozhanski, in Idishe tsaytung (Buenos Aires) (April 8, 1951); Yankev Glatshteyn, in Idisher kemfer (New York) (June 1, 1951); A. Leyeles, in Der tog (New York) (September 22, 1951); Shloyme Bikl, in Tsukunt (October 1951); Bikl, Shrayber fun mayn dor (Writers of my generation) (New York, 1958); Y. Berliner, in Der veg (Mexico City) (February 15, 1952).

[Additional information from: Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), cols. 239, 543.]