David Edelstadt
| David Edelstadt | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
9 May 1866 Kaluga, Russia |
| Died | 17 October 1892 (aged 26) Denver, Colorado, United States |
David Edelstadt (May 9, 1866, Kaluga, Russia – 17 October 1892, Denver, Colorado) was a Jewish-Russian-American anarchist poet in the Yiddish language.
David Edelstadt was born on 9 May 1866 in Russia. He was deeply affected by the life of his father, who was required by force to serve in the Tsar’s army for 25 years. This type of conscription in the Russian army was typical of the Imperial regime, and was often used against Jews (see Cantonist). David was educated in Russian language and literature; he published his first poem in Russian at the age of 12.
In 1882 at the age of 15, David emigrated to the United States after escaping the Kiev pogrom of May 8, 1881. He settled in New York City, where he became involved in the developing anarchist movement. He participated in the first Jewish anarchist group in New York, The Pioneers of Liberty (Pionire der Frayhayt). The group was created after the arrest of the (later to be) Chicago Haymarket martyrs, then a group of anarchist labor organizers working for the 8-hour day. The first dozen workers who initially set the group were later joined by Edelstadt and other gifted writers and speakers – Saul Yanovsky, Roman Lewis, Hillel Solotaroff, Moshe Katz, and JA Maryson.
Edelstadt and the others held meetings, sponsored rallies and raised funds to help the Chicago anarchists. The Pioneers organised a ball on the Lower East Side which raised $100, which was then sent to the families of the defendants. They began to spread anarchist propaganda among the Jewish immigrants, who were arriving in the States in increasing numbers. They set up a club and brought out literature in Yiddish, including a pamphlet on the Haymarket case.
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