2/9 | Yortsayt of Paul Levi
Today in Yiddishkayt… February 9 Yortsayt of Paul Levi, Political Leader Paul Levi was born March 11, 1883 in Hechingen, Germany to a Jewish middle-class family. He joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in 1906 and served as Rosa Luxemburg‘s lawyer when she was tried for inciting soldiers to disobedience in 1914. In 1916, Levi settled in Switzerland where he became active with the Zimmerwald Left and the Spartacus League, which became the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). After the failure of the German Revolution of 1918–1919, and the killing of the KPD’s...
Read More2/5 | Birthday of Zemach Szabad
Today in Yiddishkayt… February 5 Birthday of Dr. Zemach Szabad, Physician and Activist Dr. Zemach (Tsemakh in Yiddish transliteration or Cemach in Polish spelling) Szabad was born in Vilna on February 5, 1864. In 1881, he moved to Moscow where he completed his medical studies at Moscow University. In 1894 Szabad returned to Vilna and worked as a physician at the local hospital. After he supported the 1905 Revolution, he was forced to leave Vilna for several years. During World War I, he provided care and support to Jews living near the front whose shtetlach were devastated by the...
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