50th Anniversary - 08.12.2002

 

 

 

The Night of the Murdered Poets

In 1952, the last year of Stalin's life, 15 Soviet Jews, including five prominent Yiddish writers and poets, were secretly tried and convicted of capital offenses, including treason, espionage, and bourgeois nationalism. They were targeted because of their involvement in the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee and because of their heartfelt response as Jews to Nazi atrocities in occupied Soviet territory. 

On the night of August 12, 13 were secretly executed, a date remembered as the "Night of the Murdered Poets."

On August 12, 2002, 50 years later, NCSJ honored the memory of those who died.

NCSJ Commemorates "Night of the Murdered Poets"
Letter from President Bush to NCSJ

News Coverage:
Chicago Jewish News
Euro-Asian Jewish Congress
Forward
Jewish Agency for Israel
JTA
Moscow Times
Washington Jewish Week

---

NCSJ Commemoration

On August 12, 2002, NCSJ hosted an event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Night of the Murdered Poets, an event of seminal importance in the history of Soviet Jewry. Joshua Rubenstein, Northeast Regional Director of Amnesty International and Co-Editor of Stalin's Secret Pogrom: The Postwar Inquisition of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee provided historical context to the night on which 13 prominent Yiddish poets and writers were secretly executed on Stalin’s orders. Also participating was Vladimir Talmy, whose father Leon Talmy was among those tried and executed.

(l.-r.) Author Joshua Rubenstein, Vladimir Talmy, NCSJ Chairman Harold Paul Luks (holding copy of NCSJ commemorative edition), NCSJ Secretary Lesley Israel, NCSJ Executive Director Mark B. Levin, Russian Ambassador Yuri V. Ushakov

NCSJ Chairman Harold Paul Luks offered opening remarks and delivered a message to NCSJ from President George W. Bush. He then presented to His Excellency Yuri V. Ushakov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States, a commemorative edition of poems composed by some of the 1952 victims.* Following Mr. Rubenstein’s historical brief, NCSJ Secretary Lesley Israel and NCSJ Executive Director Mark B. Levin each read excerpts from the book. Vladimir Talmy, whose father, Leon Talmy, was among the victims, also attended.

Mr. Rubenstein described the executions as a culmination of the two major forces shaping Soviet Jewish history: World War II, and the creation of the state of Israel. The Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, of which the executed were members, was created in 1942 as a propaganda tool for the Soviet Union’s role in World War II. Jewish luminaries and loyal Communists, such as poet Itzik Feffer and Moscow Jewish State Theater Director Solomon Mikhoels, traveled on missions to the United States to promote the Soviet fight against fascism, gathering U.S. Jewish donations for Stalin’s war effort. Throughout the course of the war, the Committee’s efforts on behalf of Jews in Soviet territory contributed to a growing sense of Jewish identity, as the Committee contributed funds and other aid to local victims of the Holocaust.

With the conclusion of war and the establishment of the state of Israel, Stalin initiated a series of secret trials, charging 15 Committee members of treason and espionage. Despite a lack of evidence and over the objections of the judge, Stalin ordered the execution of all but two of the defendants; they were killed in the basement of Moscow’s Lubyanka prison. One of the defendants fell into a coma during the trial and died several years later in hospital; another, the only woman in the trial, was sentenced to internal exile and returned following Stalin’s death in March 1953. 

*NCSJ released the first edition of the book in 1972. 

return to menu

---

THE WHITE HOUSE

WASHINGTON

Crawford, Texas

August 12, 2002

I send greetings to the National Conference on Soviet Jewry (NCSJ) as you gather to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Night of the Murdered Poets.

On August 12, 1952, a group of prominent Jews in the Soviet Union were executed on false charges of treason and espionage.  As we confront the challenges of a new era, this important piece of history reminds us that we must be vigilant as we work for a future of freedom, tolerance, and peace.

I commend the NCSJ for your efforts to raise awareness of this tragic event, and I applaud your dedication to promoting equality, Jewish heritage, and a brighter future for all.

Laura joins me in sending our best wishes.

return to menu