LEON VIZENFELD (WIESENFELD)

LEON VIZENFELD (WIESENFELD) (February 7, 1885-March 1, 1971)

            He was born Rzeszów, to devout parents.  He studied in religious primary school and secular subjects with private tutors.  For the first time, in 1901 he came to the United States, worked in various trades and simultaneously devoted himself to education.  He returned to Galicia in 1906 and from there moved to Berlin.  He was back in Rzeszów between 1907 and 1914.  When the Russian army in 1914 occupied Galicia, he left for Prague where he lived until the end of WWI, later returning once again to Rzeszów where he took part in the Jewish community and cultural life.  He went back to the United States in 1920 and settled in Cleveland, and there he remained active in Jewish life until his death there.  He began his writing activities in 1906 with a correspondence piece from Berlin which appeared in Yidisher zhurnal (Jewish journal) in London.  He would later become a regular contributor to this serial publication.  He was a co-founder and editor of Gerekhtikeyt (Justice) in Rzeszów (1907-1908); of the first Yiddish newspaper in Prague, Di proger yidishe tsaytung (The Prague Jewish newspaper), with Max Brod, appearing in both Yiddish and German; and of Idisher folks tsaytung (Jewish people’s newspaper) in Rzeszów (1918-1920).  In America, he placed work in: Forverts (Forward) and Tog (Day) in New York; Brukliner idishe tsaytung (Brooklyn Jewish newspaper), of which he would become editor; Idishe velt (Jewish world) in Philadelphia; and Der idisher vekhter (The Jewish watchman) in Cleveland.  Over the years 1924-1938, he was co-editor of Di idishe velt (The Jewish world) in Cleveland, and later of Di idishe shtime (The Jewish voice) also in Cleveland, which later changed its name to Idisher bilder zhurnal (Jewish pictorial journal).  From 1940 he was editor of Jewish Voice Pictorial in Cleveland, which appeared on Jewish holidays.  He authored the following novels: Dem rebes tokhter (The rebbe’s daughter) and Libe un yikhes (Love and pedigree), which he published serially in Di idishe velt and in other newspaper in America and Canada, and of the theatrical plays, Tsurik tsu got (Back to God) and Libe un yikhes which were staged in the Yiddish theaters of America and Europe.  He was also the author of Tserisene neshomes (Souls torn up), four acts (Vienna, 1919), 56 pp.  He published as well in Polish and English newspapers and journals.

Source: Gershon Bader, Medina veḥakhameha (The state and its sages) (New York, 1934), pp. 86-87.

[Additional information from: Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 237.]