ZALMEN MAYZNER

ZALMEN MAYZNER (1882-July 1941)

           He was born in Warsaw, Poland, into a family of home-owners.  He received both a Jewish and a general education.  He graduated from a Russian-Polish high school and studied social and political science at Warsaw University.  From his student years, he was active in the revolutionary labor movement in Warsaw.  From 1905 he was in the Zionist socialist party, later a member of the central committee of the Fareynikte (United socialist party) and the secretary-general of the Frayland League in Poland.  He was known by the party pseudonym of “Zalmen Burzhuy.”  He contributed to party and semi-party publications: Di folksshtime (The voice of the people) in Vilna (1906); Der nayer veg (The new way) in Vilna (1907); Di yidishe virklekhkeyt (Jewish reality) in Warsaw (1907); Unzer veg (Our way), Af unzer veg (On our way), and Mit unzer veg (With our way), among others, in Warsaw (1918-1931); Dos fraye vort (The free word) in Berlin (1925); Unzer vort (Our word) in Vilna (1932); Fraye shriftn (Free writings) in London; Dos fraye vort (The free word) in Warsaw (1933-1935); and Frayland (Free land) in Warsaw (1934).  He also placed work in: Der fraynd (The friend) in St. Petersburg-Warsaw; Vilner tog (Vilna day) (until 1939); Di naye shtime (The new voice) in Warsaw (1936-1939), for which he also served as editor; Pyoner (Pioneer) in Warsaw (1937-1939), also its editor; and Vilner togblat (Vilna daily newspaper) (1940); among others.  In September 1939 he fled Warsaw for Vilna, where he was active in YIVO, ORT (Association for the Promotion of Skilled Trades), and aid work on behalf of Jewish war refugees.  In May 1941 the Soviets arrested him, and then the Lithuanian authorities held him in the Lukashker Prison.  In the first days of July, the Germans led him out of prison to Ponar and murdered him there.

Sources: Yivo-bleter (New York) (1945), pp. 13-14; Sh. Katsherginski, Khurbn vilne (The Holocaust in Vilna) (New York, 1947), p. 201; E. Almi, Momentn fun a lebn (Moments in a life) (Buenos Aires, 1948); M. Mandelman, in Lite (Lithuania), anthology, vol. 1 (New York, 1951), p. 1348; Dr. A. Mukdoni, In varshe un in lodzh (In Warsaw and in Lodz), vol. 1 (Buenos Aires, 1955), p. 123; Y. N. Shteynberg archive, YIVO, New York; information from Professor M. Astur, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts.

Khayim Leyb Fuks