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“The Zygelboym Book” compiled by Y. S. Hertz. Title page art by Y. Shloss. 408 pages, pictures. Published with the aid of the Bund members in Mexico, by “Undzer Tsayt,” New York, 1947.^[1]

The conventional amount of reviews and critiques is impossible for a book of this kind, especially one devoted to Zygelboym. In its 408 pages of text, and additional pictures, we must make sure that the compiler included all the material relating to the significant stages of our hero's life, arranged and sorted so as to present us with the most important features of the person who will be known eternally as the martyr Arthur Zygelboym.

The compiler, Y. S. Hertz, seems to have done so in most of the book. His introductory words, presented below, lead us to an elevated, clear place of sanctity and admiration.

“He rose from the depths of the people to the highest peaks of the nation's dreams. He was one of the vanguard who leaped to war first, ready for sacrifice. The pages of this book contain his thoughts and feelings. Let us once again hear his heart beat, let his voice sound again

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and his figure not disappear from our vision. Life breathes once again through his words and deeds.”

Reading the first 29 pages, in which Hertz describes the course of his life, the link to his suicide in London is logical. The last words of his farewell letter, “I cannot be silent. I cannot live while the remnants of the Jewish population of Poland, of whom I am a representative, are perishing,” are a fitting final expression for this son of the nation, whose life was dedicated to the joys and sorrows of his people. When his people were murdered, his own physical existence was impossible; when death and murder reigned, continuing his own life was immoral.

This is clear from his articles, which are assembled in this memorial book under the heading “The Man and the Movement.” The essays radiate the socialist ethic dreamed of by generations and longed for by all those for whom the concept of Socialism is different from the game played by the authorities and the seekers of state or imperial power. The essays delineate Arthur as Bundist, and his socialist heart.

The book also includes Zygelboym's essay for the Yiddish General Encyclopedia, which deals with the Jewish professional movement in Poland. This important essay is written very correctly.^[2]

The most dramatic part of the book is that which describes the first part of the vicious German rule over Warsaw, and the writer's escape abroad through Nazi Germany, of all routes. One reads the 211 pages that delineate the early German occupation with bated breath. In contrast, the account of his flight through Germany is written in a matter-of-fact tone. The descriptions, which are often quite colorful, constitute another book about the beginning of our devastation, and help us to understand the later development of the catastrophe. Most importantly, they tell us about the of the heroes who later gave their lives in the service of heroic resistance and death.

The 69 pages that constitute the most tragic section of the book contain materials and documents under the heading “For the Ears of the World.” They present Arthur's appearance in international forums, his activity as the Bund representative in Poland's government-in-exile in London, and his desperate appeals to the deaf, indifferent world to stop the Nazi crimes

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against the Jews of Poland. These documents sear, for all eternity, the brand of shame onto mankind (in addition to Germany, the cannibal), shame for a period that was one of utter lack of scruples and unbelievable human depravity.

The Arthur Zygelbojm memorial book concludes with a section of poetry and epic poems by Z. Shneour, Arn Glatnz-Leyeles, Zusman Segalovitch, Avrom Nochem Shtentsl, and Władysław Broniewski, as well as a series of pictures. It is a tragic, sacred book.^[3]

Yiddish journalism has often argued about whether Zygelboym's behavior was proper, especially in light of his socialist and Bundist beliefs. His suicide impelled some scholars to see his suicide as the philosophical end to one ideology of Jewish life, rather than excitement and enthusiasm about the future of our history. The book also includes letters, proclamations, and eulogies of people such as Jan Karski, Professor Kot, H. Leyvik, Zygmunt Nowakowski, Marek Orczynski, and others (in addition to Arthur's family).^[4] It is these connections that add an aura of sanctity to Zygelboym's name.

As we learn from Orczynski's article, “the recent tragic death of the ardent Bund idealist, Deputy Zygelboym, has shaken the English-speaking world… This action has become a turning point in the attitude of the Allies to this issue. Since then, Poland received various types of aid, which helped the rescue operations. Understanding the severity of the problem was followed by requests for information about the condition of Jews in Poland.”

We know that the assistance was great, and we, of course, witnessed the end… Characteristically, Arthur's last bang of his head against the solid wall sounded loudly in the deaf ears. However, the main thing that we and the coming generations will realize is that his suicide was not only a last act of desperation, a last theatrical gesture to jolt the conscience of the world, but, more importantly, an act of profound devotion and love towards his people. It was a love that overcame the boundary between life and death.

This was the figure of Arthur Zygelboym. Thus was his character formed. The Zygelboym book is a well-balanced work that is worthy of his multifaceted personality.

Translator's footnotes:

1. Shmuel Mordkhe (“Arthur”) Zygelbojm (Zygelboym, 1895-1943) was a Polish socialist politician, Bund activist, and member of the National Council of the Polish government-in-exile. He committed suicide after the Warsaw Ghetto was crushed, as a protest against the inaction of the Western allies. He and his family moved to Krasnystaw in 1899. “Arthur” was his code name. In this text, I have presented his last name in English transliteration. Return
2. Di Algemeyne Entsiklopedye (The General Encyclopedia) was a Yiddish language publishing project created in Berlin, Paris and New York between 1932 and 1966. Return
3. Zalman Shneour (1887–1959) was one of the most prolific and popular Yiddish and Hebrew writers between the world wars. The Yiddish writer Arn Glantz-Leyeles (1889-1966) wrote prose as A. Glantz and poetry as A. Leyeles. Zusman Segalovitch (1884–1949) was a Yiddish poet, novelist, and journalist. Avrom Nochem Shtentsl (1897- 1984) wrote Yiddish prose and poetry. Władysław Broniewski (1897-1962) was a Polish poet, writer, and translator known for his patriotic writings. For more see the YIVO Archives website entry “Guide to the Papers of Shmuel Mordkhe (Artur) Zygielbojm”. Return
4. Jan Karski (1914-2000) was an underground courier for the Polish government-in-exile who delivered evidence of the mass murder of European Jews to the western Allies, and reported on Nazi atrocities in the Warsaw ghetto and on the deportation of Jews to killing centers. Stanysław Kot (1881-1975) was a Polish historian and politician. H. Leivik (1888-1962) was a prolific Yiddish writer, best known for The Golem, his 1921 “dramatic poem in eight scenes.” Zygmunt Nowakowski (1891-1963) was a Polish famous actor, theatrical director, and philologist. I could not identify Marek Orczynski. Return

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