PEYSEKH YUDITSH

PEYSEKH YUDITSH (October 7, 1887-December 25, 1967)

            He was born in Brusilov (Brusyliv), Ukraine.  Until age fifteen he studied in religious primary school and yeshiva, later becoming a carpenter.  For a time he was active in the Bund.  In 1909 he emigrated to the United States, and until 1915 worked in his trade, while at the same time remaining active in the trade union and socialist movement.  From 1923 he was an active leader in the Jewish Communist movement in New York.  He was chairman of the leftist writers’ union “Proletpen” (Proletarian pen).  He wrote correspondence pieces about Jewish workers’ lives for the Bundist Folkstsaytung (People’s newspaper) in Vilna (1906-1907).  He later published articles on labor issues in the organ of the Jewish Socialist Federation, Di naye velt (The new world) in New York (1914-1922).  From 1923 he was a regular contributor to the Communist Frayhayt (Freedom)—later, Morgn-frayhayt (Morning freedom)—in New York, in which he published impressions, stories, and reportage pieces and also directed the division “Fun arbeter-lebn” (From workers’ lives).  He was also a regular contributor to the Communist monthly Der hamer (The hammer) in New York (1926-1939), for which he mainly wrote on union issues.  He also placed work in Yidishe kultur (Jewish culture) in New York, Naye prese (New press) in Paris, Folksshtime (Voice of the people) in Warsaw, and other serials.  In book form: Untern ayzn, kapitlen fun arbeter-geshikhte un shilderungen fun arbeter-lebn in amerike (Under the iron, chapters from labor history and depictions of workers’ lives in America) (New York, 1954), 272 pp.  He died in New York.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 1; A. Pomerants, in Morgn-frayhayt (New York) (September 25, 1931); Pomerants, in Proletpen (Kiev) (1935), p. 207; L. Finkelshteyn, in Der tog (New York) (December 10, 1932); R. Yuklson, in Yidish kultur (New York) (June-July 1957).

Khayim Leyb Fuks