Leon Pasternak
Encyclopedia
Leon Pasternak was a Polish
poet and satirist. His Jewish family came to Poland in the 1880's from the town of Tula, Russia, which was outside the Jewish
Pale of Settlement
, where Jews usually were not allowed to reside.
The Tula Pasternaks belonged to a class of "Jewish Landed Gentry" that resided in the manors of the gentile aristocracy, and managed their agricultural estates. In the case of the Pasternaks the estates were in the vicinity of Yasnaya Polyana
, Leo Tolstoy's
estate. Tolstoy invited Leonid Pasternak
, a member of the Odessa branch of the family,
to illustrate his books. Leonid's son, Boris Pasternak
who became years later a famous poet, wrote the novel "Letters from Tula", maybe in tribute to his relatives. The Tula Pasternaks were very much assimilated - one of Leon's aunts was called Marie, a Christian name that no "proper" Jew would have given a daughter of his. Leon's faith was not religious but a universal humanitarian one.
In the 1920's Leon was a young idealist and committed communist. As a result of his political activities — writing satirical verses for socialist revolutionary periodicals, and spreading communist propaganda in any possible way — Leon had to leave Lwow for Warsaw. There his works quickly became popular, but soon the “literary cabaret” which he founded in collaboration with Stanislaw Lec (referred to as the Theater of Boys by some and as the Five Kopeck Theater by others), was closed by the authorities, after only eight performances.
, Leon's relative Boris Pasternak escaped a similar fate of ideological imprisonment: Boris became disillusioned with Communist ideals, and was about to be arrested. Yet it is said that Stalin had crossed Pasternak's name off an arrest list during the purges.
After one year in prison Leon Pasternak was released. In the beginning of WW2 he fled to the USSR, were he joined the Red Army
and fought in the division of the Polish army against the Nazis. After the war was over, he resumed the satirical weekly “Szpilki” with Stanisław Jerzy Lec and Jerzy Zaruba
, which they edited together at first, and became the vice-chairman of the Polish Writers' Association. Pasternak was married to the Polish actress Ryszarda Hanin.
"Leon Pasternak was idealistic till the end, faithful till his last breath" said Ryszard Marek Gronski the well know Polish author and poet.
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...
poet and satirist. His Jewish family came to Poland in the 1880's from the town of Tula, Russia, which was outside the Jewish
Pale of Settlement
Pale of Settlement
The Pale of Settlement was the term given to a region of Imperial Russia, in which permanent residency by Jews was allowed, and beyond which Jewish permanent residency was generally prohibited...
, where Jews usually were not allowed to reside.
The Tula Pasternaks belonged to a class of "Jewish Landed Gentry" that resided in the manors of the gentile aristocracy, and managed their agricultural estates. In the case of the Pasternaks the estates were in the vicinity of Yasnaya Polyana
Yasnaya Polyana
Yasnaya Polyana was the home of the writer Leo Tolstoy, where he was born, wrote War and Peace and Anna Karenina, and is buried. Tolstoy called Yasnaya Polyana his "inaccessible literary stronghold". It is located southwest of Tula, Russia and from Moscow.In 1921, the estate formally became his...
, Leo Tolstoy's
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
estate. Tolstoy invited Leonid Pasternak
Leonid Pasternak
Leonid Osipovich Pasternak was a Russian post-impressionist painter. He was the father of the poet and novelist Boris Pasternak.-Biography:...
, a member of the Odessa branch of the family,
to illustrate his books. Leonid's son, Boris Pasternak
Boris Pasternak
Boris Leonidovich Pasternak was a Russian language poet, novelist, and literary translator. In his native Russia, Pasternak's anthology My Sister Life, is one of the most influential collections ever published in the Russian language...
who became years later a famous poet, wrote the novel "Letters from Tula", maybe in tribute to his relatives. The Tula Pasternaks were very much assimilated - one of Leon's aunts was called Marie, a Christian name that no "proper" Jew would have given a daughter of his. Leon's faith was not religious but a universal humanitarian one.
In the 1920's Leon was a young idealist and committed communist. As a result of his political activities — writing satirical verses for socialist revolutionary periodicals, and spreading communist propaganda in any possible way — Leon had to leave Lwow for Warsaw. There his works quickly became popular, but soon the “literary cabaret” which he founded in collaboration with Stanislaw Lec (referred to as the Theater of Boys by some and as the Five Kopeck Theater by others), was closed by the authorities, after only eight performances.
Imprisoned in Bereza Kartuska
In 1934, Leon then a young man of 24, was imprisoned in the Bereza Kartuska detention camp, where Polish Communist activists were jailed. His relatives traveled all the way from Lwow with parcels of warm clothing and food to help him sustain the harsh conditions of jail where many inmates died. Meanwhile across the border of the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, Leon's relative Boris Pasternak escaped a similar fate of ideological imprisonment: Boris became disillusioned with Communist ideals, and was about to be arrested. Yet it is said that Stalin had crossed Pasternak's name off an arrest list during the purges.
After one year in prison Leon Pasternak was released. In the beginning of WW2 he fled to the USSR, were he joined the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
and fought in the division of the Polish army against the Nazis. After the war was over, he resumed the satirical weekly “Szpilki” with Stanisław Jerzy Lec and Jerzy Zaruba
Jerzy Zaruba
Jerzy Zaruba was a Polish graphic artist, stage scenographer and caricaturist; author of satirical drawings, political crèches and illustrations for books and magazines...
, which they edited together at first, and became the vice-chairman of the Polish Writers' Association. Pasternak was married to the Polish actress Ryszarda Hanin.
"Leon Pasternak was idealistic till the end, faithful till his last breath" said Ryszard Marek Gronski the well know Polish author and poet.