HERSH-LEYZER KROY

HERSH-LEYZER KROY (December 25, 1900-December 29, 1956)

            He was a journalist, born in Lodz.  In the early 1920s, he was part of the Lodz literary circle “Yung-yidish” (Young Yiddish).  He was active among the Labor Zionists.  In late 1939 he fled to Vilna and later to Kovno.  In 1940 he arrived in the land of Israel.  Initially, he was writing poetry, stories, and literary articles in Lodz’s Gezangen (Songs), S’feld (The field), Trit (Steps), and Shveln (Thresholds), among other serials.  Later, he confined himself to general and party journalism in: Lodzer tageblat (Lodz daily newspaper), Warsaw’s daily Dos vort (The word; later, Dos naye vort [The new word], of which he was an editorial board member), the weekly In kamf (In battle), and Unzer frayhayt (Our freedom).  He edited the afternoon edition of the Kovno daily newspaper Dos vort, entitled Dos vort baytog (The word daytime), in early 1940 and the Parisian daily Unzer vort (Our word) over the period 1950-1953.  He also wrote in Hebrew.  His pen name: Ben-Moyshe.  He died in Tel Aviv.

Sources: Getzel Kressel, Leksikon hasifrut haivrit (Handbook of Hebrew literature), vol. 2 (Merḥavya, 1967); Kroy, Ketavim nivḥarim (Selected writings) (Tel Aviv, 1959), pp. 9-19; Y. Shpigl, in Letste nayes (Tel Aviv) (June 16, 1959); Khayim Leyb Fuks, Lodzh shel mayle, dos yidishe gaystiḳe un derhoybene lodzh, 100 yor yidishe un oykh hebreishe literatur un kultur in lodzh un in di arumiḳe shtet un shtetlekh (Lodz on high, the Jewish spiritual and elevated Lodz, 100 years of Yiddish and also Hebrew literature and culture in Lodz and in the surrounding cities and towns) (Tel Aviv: Perets Publ., 1972), p. 98.

Berl Cohen