List of East European Jews
Encyclopedia
Until the Holocaust
, Jews were a significant part of the population of Eastern Europe
. Outside Poland
, the largest population was in the European part of the USSR, especially Ukraine
(1.5 million in the 1930s), but major populations also existed in Hungary
, Romania
, and Czechoslovakia
. Here are lists of some prominent East European Jews, arranged by country of origin.
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
, Jews were a significant part of the population of Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. Outside Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, the largest population was in the European part of the USSR, especially Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
(1.5 million in the 1930s), but major populations also existed in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, and Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. Here are lists of some prominent East European Jews, arranged by country of origin.
- List of Czech, Bohemian, Moravian and Slovak Jews
- List of Hungarian Jews
- List of Polish Jews
- List of Romanian Jews
- List of Ukrainian Jews
- List of Jews born in the former Russian Empire (and the former Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
)
Moldova (formerly Bessarabia)
- Lev Simonovich Berg, geographer & zoologist
- Gary BertiniGary BertiniGary Bertini was an Israeli conductor.-Biography:Gary Bertini was born Shloyme Golergant in Bricheva, Bessarabia, then in Romania, now in Donduşeni District, Moldova. His father, K. A. Bertini , was a poet and translator of the Russian and Yiddish Gary Bertini (Hebrew: גארי ברתיני) (born 1 May...
, conductor - Bronfman familyBronfman familyThe Bronfman family is a Canadian Jewish family. It owes its initial fame to Samuel Bronfman , who made a fortune in the alcoholic distilled beverage business during the 20th century through the family's Seagram Company. The family is of Russian Jewish and Romanian Jewish ancestry...
- Samuel BronfmanSamuel BronfmanSamuel Bronfman, was a Canadian business magnate and philanthropist. He founded Distillers Corporation Limited, and is a member of the Canadian Jewish family dynasty, the Bronfman family.-Early life:...
, founder of SeagramSeagramThe Seagram Company Ltd. was a large corporation headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that was the largest distiller of alcoholic beverages in the world. Toward the end of its independent existence it also controlled various entertainment and other business ventures...
- Samuel Bronfman
- Samuel Cohen, composer of hatTiqwah
- I. A. L. DiamondI. A. L. DiamondI.A.L. Diamond was a comedy writer in Hollywood from the 1940s through the 1980s.-Early life:He was born Iţec Domnici in Ungheni, Iaşi County, Bessarabia, Romania, present day Moldova, was referred to as "Iz" in Hollywood, and was known to quip that his initials stood for "Interscholastic Algebra...
, comedy writer - Meir DizengoffMeir DizengoffMeir Dizengoff was a Zionist politician and the first mayor of Tel Aviv.-Biography:Meir Dizengoff was born in 1861 in the village of Akimovici near Orgeyev, Bessarabia. In 1878, his family moved to Kishinev, where he graduated from high school and studied at the polytechnic school...
, politician - Lazar Dubinovski, painter
- Giora FeidmanGiora FeidmanGiora Feidman is an Argentinian-born Israeli clarinetist who specializes in klezmer music.-Biography:Giora Feidman was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where his Bessarabian Jewish parents immigrated to escape persecution. Feidman comes from a family of klezmer musicians...
, musician - William F. FriedmanWilliam F. FriedmanWilliam Frederick Friedman was a US Army cryptographer who ran the research division of the Army's Signals Intelligence Service in the 1930s, and parts of its follow-on services into the 1950s...
, cryptographer - A. N. Frumkin, electrochemist
- Mikhail GershenzonMikhail GershenzonMikhail Osipovich Gershenzon was a Russian scholar, essayist and editor. He studied history, philosophy, and political science at Moscow University, graduating in 1894. From graduation until the Bolshevik revolution he was unable to obtain an official academic position because he was Jewish...
, historian - Roman Grinberg, musician
- Nachum Gutman, painter
- Idel IancheleviciIdel IancheleviciIdel Ianchelevici was a Russian-born Romanian and Belgian sculptor and draughtsman.-Life:Born to Jewish parents in Leova, Bessarabia, he left Romania for Belgium in 1928 to devote himself entirely to his passion for sculpture and drawing...
, sculptor - Mona May KarffMona May KarffMona May Karff was an American competitive chess player. Karff dominated U.S. women's chess in the 1940s and early 1950s and had an extended career. She held seven U.S. Women's Chess Champion titles and four consecutive U.S. Open titles.She was born Mona May Ratner in Bessarabia, a province in...
, chess player - Boris KatzBoris KatzBoris Katz is a Principal Research Scientist at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and head of the Laboratory's InfoLab Group. His research interests include natural language processing and understanding, machine learning and intelligent information access...
, artificial intelligence researcher - Gary KoshnitskyGary KoshnitskyGregory Koshnitsky was an Australian chess master.Born in Kishinev, Bessarabia , he emigrated in his youth to Australia....
, chess player - Abba Ptachya Lerner, economist
- Avigdor Liberman, politician
- Lewis MilestoneLewis MilestoneLewis Milestone was a Russian-American motion picture director. He is known for directing Two Arabian Knights and All Quiet on the Western Front , both of which received Academy Awards for Best Director...
, director - Sigmund MoguleskoSigmund MoguleskoSigmund Mogulesko — Yiddish: זעליק מאָגולעסקאָ Zelik Mogulesko, first name also sometimes given as Zigmund, Siegmund, Zelig, or Selig, last name sometimes spelled Mogulescu — was a singer, actor, and composer in the Yiddish theater, originally from Kalarash, Bessarabia Sigmund...
, singer, actor, composer - Sacha MoldovanSacha MoldovanSacha Moldovan, born was a Russian-born American expressionist and post-impressionist painter- Biography :...
, painter - Moishe OysherMoishe OysherMoishe Oysher Moishe Oysher Moishe Oysher (Yiddish: משה אוישר, (born 1906 in Lipkon (Lipkany), Bessarabia, Imperial Russia – died 27 November 1958, New Rochelle, New York, USA). was a cantor and Yiddish theatre actor. He is considered one of the most entertaining chazanim (cantors) ever...
, yiddish singer - Mendel PortugaliMendel PortugaliMendel Portugali was one of the leading figures in the Second Aliya and a founder of the Hashomer movement.- Biography :Mendel Portugali was born in 1888, in Călărași, Bessarabia, then part of the Russian Empire, actual Republic of Moldova....
, An HashomerHashomerHashomer was a Jewish defense organization in Palestine founded out of Bar-Giora in April 1909. It ceased to operate after the founding of the Haganah in 1920. The purpose of Hashomer was to provide guard services for Jewish settlements in the Yishuv, freeing Jewish communities from dependence...
founder - Sir Michael Postan, historian
- Anton RubinsteinAnton RubinsteinAnton Grigorevich Rubinstein was a Russian-Jewish pianist, composer and conductor. As a pianist he was regarded as a rival of Franz Liszt, and he ranks amongst the great keyboard virtuosos...
, pianist - Joseph ben Yehuda Leib Shapotshnick, rabbi
- Volodia TeitelboimVolodia TeitelboimVolodia Valentín Teitelboim Volosky was a Chilean lawyer, politician and author.Born in Chillán to Jewish immigrants , Teitelboim was interested in literature from an early age...
- Andy ZaltzmanAndy ZaltzmanAndrew "Andy" Zaltzman is a British comedian and author who largely focuses on political material. He has worked extensively with John Oliver; their work together includes Political Animal, The Department and The Bugle.-Early life:...
, British comedian - Meir ZoreaMeir ZoreaMeir "Zarro" Zorea MC was a general in the Israel Defense Forces and later a member of the Knesset. He earned distinction through his combat actions in World War II and in the Israeli War of Independence...
, general in the Israel Defense Forces
Slovakia
- Joseph GoldbergerJoseph GoldbergerJoseph Goldberger, M.D. was a Hungarian Jewish physician and epidemiologist employed in the United States Public Health Service . He was an advocate for scientific and social recognition of the links between poverty and disease...
, discovered cure for pellagraPellagraPellagra is a vitamin deficiency disease most commonly caused by a chronic lack of niacin in the diet. It can be caused by decreased intake of niacin or tryptophan, and possibly by excessive intake of leucine. It may also result from alterations in protein metabolism in disorders such as carcinoid... - Ignác KolischIgnác KolischBaron Ignatz von Kolisch , also Baron Ignaz von Kolisch or báró Kolisch Ignác , was a merchant, journalist and chess master with Jewish roots....
, chess player - Peter LorrePeter LorrePeter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
, actor - Robert MaxwellRobert MaxwellIan Robert Maxwell MC was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and former Member of Parliament , who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire...
, media mogul - Ivan ReitmanIvan ReitmanIvan Reitman, OC is a Canadian film producer and director. He is known for the comedies he has directed and produced, especially in the 1980s and 1990s.He is the owner of The Montecito Picture Company, founded in 2000.-Early life:...
, film director - Richard RétiRichard RétiRéti composed one of the most famous chess studies, shown in this diagram. It was published in Ostrauer Morgenzeitung 4 December 1921. It seems impossible for the white king to catch the advanced black pawn, while the white pawn can be easily stopped by the black king...
, chess player - Herman SteinerHerman SteinerHerman Steiner was a United States chess player, organizer, and columnist.He won the U.S. Chess Championship in 1948 and became International Master in 1950....
, chess player
Slovenia
- Katja BohKatja BohKatja Boh was a Slovenian sociologist, diplomat and politician.-Early life and career:She was born in a wealthy middle class family in Ljubljana, Kingdom of Yugoslavia . Her father was an Austrian Jew who had converted to Roman Catholicism, her mother was Slovene. During World War II, she was...
, politician - Berta BojetuBerta BojetuBerta Bojetu, also Berta Bojetu Boeta, was a Slovene writer, poet and actress. She was one of the first Slovenian authors in the second half of the 20th century to address the question of Jewish identity in her literature....
, author - Israel Isserlin, Medieval rabbi
- Klemen Jelinčič Boeta, historian, anthropologist and translator
- Lev Kreft, sociologist and politician
- Dušan ŠarotarDušan ŠarotarDušan Šarotar is a Slovenian writer, essayist, literary critic and editor.Šarotar was born in the town of Murska Sobota in northeastern Slovenia. He studied sociology and philosophy at the University of Ljubljana. He has published several essays and columns in renowned Slovenian journals, such as...
, author and editor - Mirjam Štajner, writer