George Fles
Encyclopedia
George Fles was a Dutch
translator with a strong communist conviction. He fell victim to Stalin
's repressions
.
George was born in 1908 in Amsterdam, as the youngest son of Louis Fles
and Celine van Straaten. He spent time in France
and in the United Kingdom
, where he married Pearl Rimel. With his newly wed wife he moved to the Soviet Union
.
In Moscow
he worked as a translator. Later he was sent to Tblisi, Georgia
, where he also worked as a translator. He was informally warned that he should leave, advice that he did not follow. He did send his pregnant wife back to England
.
George was arrested and put on trial for espionage
and Trotskyism
. He was convicted of Trotskyism. As he was asthma
tic his health deteriorated quickly in Russian prison. His father and his brother Barthold Fles
tried to have him released, but to no avail. He died on May 31, 1939 in a prison near Smolensk
.
After George's death, Pearl Rimel and their son Michael John Fles
emigrated to the United States, and settled in Los Angeles
.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
translator with a strong communist conviction. He fell victim to Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's repressions
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
.
George was born in 1908 in Amsterdam, as the youngest son of Louis Fles
Louis Fles
Levie Jacob "Louis" Fles was a Dutch businessman, activist and author. He was a member of the organizing committee of the 1928 Summer Olympics. Louis Fles is best known for writing and broadcasting against Zionism and organized religion....
and Celine van Straaten. He spent time in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, where he married Pearl Rimel. With his newly wed wife he moved to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
In Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
he worked as a translator. Later he was sent to Tblisi, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, where he also worked as a translator. He was informally warned that he should leave, advice that he did not follow. He did send his pregnant wife back to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
George was arrested and put on trial for espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
and Trotskyism
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
. He was convicted of Trotskyism. As he was asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
tic his health deteriorated quickly in Russian prison. His father and his brother Barthold Fles
Barthold Fles
Barthold Fles was a Dutch-American literary agent, author, translator, editor and publisher. Among his many clients were Raymond Loewy, Heinrich Mann, Joseph Roth, Felix Salten, Ignazio Silone, Bruno Walter and Arnold Zweig.-Life and career:Barthold "Bart" Fles was born in Amsterdam into an...
tried to have him released, but to no avail. He died on May 31, 1939 in a prison near Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
.
After George's death, Pearl Rimel and their son Michael John Fles
Michael John Fles
Michael John Fles , known both as John Fles and Michael Fles, is an American poet, editor, musician and film personality. Professor David James referred to him as "the single most important promoter of underground film" in Los Angeles, California.-Biography:Michael John Fles was born to a Dutch...
emigrated to the United States, and settled in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Additional reading
- David AaronovitchDavid AaronovitchDavid Aaronovitch is a British author, broadcaster, and journalist. He is a regular columnist for The Times, and author of Paddling to Jerusalem: An Aquatic Tour of Our Small Country and Voodoo Histories: the role of Conspiracy Theory in Modern History...
: "Stalin's British victims (book review)." New StatesmanNew StatesmanNew Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
16 August 2004. - Francis BeckettFrancis BeckettFrancis Beckett is an English author, journalist, biographer, and contemporary historian. He has written biographies of Aneurin Bevan, Clement Attlee, Harold Macmillan, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. He has also written on education for the New Statesman, The Guardian and The Independent...
: Stalin's British Victims. Phoenix Mill: Sutton, 2004. ISBN 0750932236 - Thijs Berman: Op zoek naar George Fles, het einde van een Hollandse revolutionair in de Sovjetunie (DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
for Searching for George Fles, the end of a Dutch revolutionary in the Soviet Union). Amsterdam: Van Gennep, 1993. ISBN 906012992X - Giorgio van StratenGiorgio van StratenGiorgio van Straten is an Italian writer, editor, translator and manager of arts organizations. In 2000 he was awarded the Grand Official Order of Merit of the Italian Republic...
: My name, a living memory. South Royalton, Vermont: Steerforth Italia, 2003. ISBN 1586420712